Ladies Fashion in the Regency Era
Published on Nov 23, 2015
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Ladies Fashion in the Regency Era
Presented by Camille Jackson
The Regency Era included the late 18th and early 19th century in England. At this time the fashions in England usually followed those out of France.
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However, during the Napoleonic War French fabrics such as silk were blockaded and being blind to new trends, English designers had to take new direction in creating a different style for ladies fashion.
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Inspiration was drawn from ancient Greece and the Roman Republic. Classically simple and elegant styles became prominent.
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"Ladies abandoned the panniers, horizontally emphasized dresses and heavy fabrics of 18th century fashions in favor of vertical, draping, more natural styles which were light in both color and weight....
Simplicity and understatement came to be viewed as beautiful, tasteful, and elegant." (Scott)
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"Terms of En-dressment"
• Figured: Fabric with a repeating pattern or design woven into it.
• Jackonet or Jaconet: A semi-transparent cotton with a coarser weave than mull, glazed on one side.
• Mull: A sheer cotton, similar to the silky textures of Indian muslins.
• Spotted: Fabric with a repeating pattern of small dots printed on it.
• Sprigged: Fabric with a repeating pattern of small sprays of flowers or leaves printed on it.
• Tamboured: Fabric with a hand embroidered design on it. So called because the frame holding the fabric taut was a tambour. (Forgue)
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"Fashion plates" were pencil and watercolor drawings and provided the models for fashionable dress designs for women in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce,
Manufacturers, Fashion and Politics was a popular publication in England and usually issued two plates per issue.
Dresses were ordered for a variety of occasions and situations. Wearing the appropriate clothing was important enough that ladies might change their outfit several times a day. There were morning dresses, evening dresses, ball gowns, promenade or walking dresses, opera gowns, dinner gowns, carriage gowns and more.
Shown here is what a simple ladies morning dress might look like.
One might wear a spencer jacket while promenading to keep off the chill.
Then of course there are the more formal evening gowns.
"In 1798, when Northanger Abbey was first written as Susan, muslin was an extremely popular fabric for both day and evening fashions and was used for every type of dress except for those worn in the coldest of weathers." (Forgue)
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Perhaps not so coincidentally, it is in this book that muslin fashion is addressed by Henry Tilney, who understands muslins "particularly well."
Again because of the lack of materials like silk from France, muslin became popular and even economical because it was woven in England, as well as the British colonies in India.
White muslin was the most popular choice for young ladies of the Era. Thought to be the most modest color for young ladies, it also asserted the ladies' status as "a lady of the gentry or aristocracy who had servants to worry about removing stains from clothes." (Forgue)
High "empire" waistlines, just under the bosom, became the fashion, the skirts falling in long graceful column-like folds.
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Under the gowns, ladies wore corsets.These corsets were "designed to force an erect posture and to hold high the bosom in a manner termed 'lift and separate.' It was worn over a long linen or cotton chemise" (Scott)
The chemisette was another undergarment that added modesty and variety to the wardrobe. It was worn under day dresses with lower necklines.
Ladies gloves were a part of daily life. One always wore them outside and often indoors, especially if in a social setting. At formal ball they were always long and white. (Boyle)
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