Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Feminine Fashion - Regency Period

I love watching period dramas.  One of the reasons are the clothes.  I love 18th and 19th century clothing.  Clothing of the regency period is my favorite.  The regency period lasted from 1795 to 1820.  Women's clothing during this time was so feminine.  I love the high waist dresses that were complimentary to all figures.  Muslin and silk fabrics were used to make many of the dresses.  There were often ribbons and embroidery work involved in the designs.  I am such a girlie girl.  Some of my friends say that I am way over the top girlie girl.  Deep down I wish that regency period clothes would make a come back.   I love that people also dressed daily for dinner at home.  Well, at least the aristocracy did.  I don't feel that everyone should dress for dinner every day, but it is a nice thought that people used to do so. 


    I love this regency dress.  Look at the beautiful detail on the sleeves in the close up photo.  The pearls as an accent around the neckline is subtle and elegant at the same time.  I love the color of this dress too.  It goes well with my brown skin tone.


Here is another close up of the back of a muslin dress.  Again, I love the attention to detail.  This would be considered a day dress during the regency period.
 
Here is another day dress.  I love the ruffled blouse tucked in under the dress.  You will see this style a lot in the movie Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice.





In this photo actress Jennifer Ehle is wearing a Spencer jacket over her day dress.  I love the Spencer jackets.  They have such an elegant look to them.  Colin Firth looks dashing as Mr. Darcy.  I look seeing men in cravats and these kinds of tailored clothes.

More Spencer jackets   

The above and below Spencer jackets are very light.

I love this entire outfit.  

 This Spencer jacket has a military look to it.




Jennifer Ehle' as Elizabeth Bennett wearing her Spencer jacket.


 The above photo is of a pelisse.  Women wore a light covering called a pelisse over their dresses in cooler weather. 

 Front and back of a pelisse.

Pelisse overcoats


 Notice the lovely detail on these pelisse's.





 The image above is also a pelisse.  This would be worn during winter weather.


 Women love our shoes too....(smile).  These are gorgeous and elegant.  I have a feeling that these shoes are later than the regency period.  


These are regency era shoes.
 




If I was getting married I would be wearing shoes like this pair.


This is called a night cap, but I cannot imagine sleeping is something like this.  It is too pretty to only lay in bed with.  I can see wearing something like this on my head to go out to the theater of dinner with friends.

In period movies I often see the women wearing lace head coverings similar to this one in their home.

Here is another lace cap that was worn at home.

I love this hat.

This hat is even more gorgeous.

 These are reticule handbags that women starting carrying after pockets were no longer sewn into dresses.  Women carried a fan, smelling salts and some money.  They were usually made of silk, brocade or they were crocheted.  This would not do for women today, including me.  We carry around so much more in our handbags.

Reticule purse



Here are some more lovely regency fashions below:








 India inspired regency dress.





All photos I found from doing a Google search.  No copyright infringement is intended.  If you see a photo here that belongs to you and you want credit please feel free to contact me.  I am a very nice person and easy to work with.  Thank you!

 

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I am a fairly ancient male reading the diaries of Anne Lister. This page of yours has been helpful in the extreme, as the dress terms in the diary had no meaning for me.

A few days before her Sept.15 1823 entry, Anne wore a cloth pelisse which caused others to be shocked.
Why? Was it the fact that it was only of cloth? (subsequent lines only hint of that possibility)
Later, she wore a spencer in order to cause less of a stir...This too is, for me a puzzle. Any clues?

Again, many heartfelt thankyous,
ga

Collar City Brownstone said...

Well, I am glad that I was able to help you. Now I have to check out the diaries of Anne Lister myself.

Thanks for stopping by.

yprh said...

This is fascinating. Thanks for uploading so many pictures.

Collar City Brownstone said...

You are very welcomed! Enjoy your day.

Tana said...

Xenia, I too adore period books and movies. The clothes are certainly one of the main draws. Your blog is very helpful.

This is actually a reply to Geoff Aston's question about clothing changes. After perusing this site, I searched further and found a website that explains the changes in women's clothing.

It is very comprehensive. Once you get to the site, you must search within the site to find the specific era in which you are interested. I think you will find the answers to the questions you have.

http://www.fashion-era.com/index.htm

I found it delightful! For those of us who adore elegant clothing, this site provides and opportunity to escape into a favorite time-period for a while.

Enjoy,
Tana