Regency era fashion

What is Regency style fashion?

Strictly, the Regency is the nine years from 1811 to 1820 when the future George IV ruled as Prince Regent for his ill father, George III. Fashion historians use the name more loosely for the whole style that came in during the 1790s and lasted until waists began to drop and skirts to widen in the 1820s. It sits between the wide hoops and powdered hair of the Georgian court and the corseted, full-skirted Victorian age.

Its look came from two places. The French Revolution made the stiff, expensive court dress of the old regime unfashionable; and a passion for ancient Greece and Rome, fed by archaeology and by Napoleon’s imperial style, made women want to look like classical statues. Hence the high waist, the straight fall of the skirt, the pale colours that suggested marble, and the short curled hair and bandeaux. The French called the late-1790s version “Directoire” and the later one “Empire”, after Napoleon’s empire of 1804, which is where “Empire line” comes from.

Austen was not a slave to it. Her narrator in Northanger Abbey reminds readers that “dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim”, and the same novel gives us Mrs Allen, who can think of nothing else.

Spencers, pelisses, bonnets and shawls

Thin muslin was cold, so outdoor dress was all about the layer on top:

• Spencer: a short, close-fitting jacket ending at the high waistline, often in a contrasting colour, perfect for a walk.
• Pelisse: a coat-dress of the same length as the gown, often wool or silk and sometimes fur-trimmed, for cold weather and travel. A redingote was a similar riding-coat style.
• Shawl: large shawls of fine wool from Kashmir, or the cheaper imitations, were draped over the arms and treasured.
• Bonnet: straw or silk, from close “poke” bonnets that framed the face to taller styles trimmed with ribbons and feathers. Lydia Bennet buys one in Pride and Prejudice because she “might as well buy it as not”.
• Gloves and reticule: gloves were essential outdoors and at evening parties; with no room for pockets under a slim gown, women carried small drawstring bags called reticules.

Regency fashion for men

Men’s dress changed even more than women’s. The silks, embroidery and bright colours of the eighteenth century gave way to sober, superbly cut wool, a revolution usually credited to the dandy George “Beau” Brummell, who made cleanliness, fit and a perfect cravat the marks of a gentleman.

• Tailcoat: dark blue, black, bottle green or brown wool, cut high at the front and long behind, with a high turned-down collar.
• Waistcoat: short, ending at the waist, in white, buff or a quiet pattern.
• Shirt and cravat: white linen with tall collar points, and a starched cravat tied in one of many named knots.
• Legs: knee breeches with stockings, then tight pantaloons, and later in the period trousers strapped under the foot.
• Feet and head: Hessian or top boots by day, pumps for dancing; a tall beaver hat outdoors, and a caped greatcoat in bad weather.

That is how a gentleman like Mr Darcy would dress. Officers like Wickham wore their regimental red, and naval men like Captain Wentworth their blue and gold, which made the militia so dashing to Kitty and Lydia Bennet.

What to wear to a Regency party or ball

For a costumed ball, a Jane Austen festival or a themed party, aim for the silhouette first and the details second:

• Women: a long, high-waisted gown in white, ivory or a pale colour, with short puffed sleeves for evening; long gloves; a shawl; flat slippers you can dance in; hair up with curls and a ribbon or bandeau.
• Men: a dark tailcoat, a pale waistcoat, a white shirt with a high collar and a tied cravat, pale breeches or trousers, and boots or plain dark shoes.
• Avoid: natural-waist or full-skirted dresses, which read as Victorian, and anything shiny and synthetic.