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Regency Fashions

© Christina Inge

Costume historians often describe Regency fashion as a reaction against the stiff, formal styles of the 1700s. The styles of the Georgian era had been ornate and uncomfortable, with wide hoop skirts for women and tight knee breeches for men. Clothes for both sexes were covered in embroidery. Ladies and gentlemen both sported massive powdered wigs, high-heeled shoes, and huge amounts of lace. But by the end of the 1700s, the French had abandoned these fussy styles. After the French revolution, Parisian women abandoned the ornate clothes of earlier times in favor of simpler, more elegant styles based on ancient Greek and Roman designs. Long, flowing white dresses became all the rage. Wigs went out of fashion. Instead, women arranged their own natural hair in graceful, classical styles. The rest of the world soon followed the French. By the Regency period, British women had adopted the new look enthusiastically. Draped, form-fitting dresses flattered a variety of figures with their high "Empire" waists. Clothes were elegant, comfortable, and charming.

The most popular fabric was muslin. Other fabrics were cambric, a fine, thin cotton, and gauze, which was worn in layers so that dresses were not transparent. Sometimes muslin was embroidered all over with little floral sprigs, creating a material called sprig muslin. Embroidery was also a popular trimming for the hems of dresses, as were lace, ruffles, and appliqué designs. Lace trims were also added to necklines, sometimes in the form of a ruff, a stiff lace collar that stood out from the neck, framing the face attractively.

White was the most important color for dresses during the entire Regency era. As late as 1820, La Belle Assemblee, the leading fashion magazine of the time, declared that "white dresses are universal, either for morning costume or half-dress." (Half-dress was semi-formal wear for occasions where a lady did not need to wear her most elaborate evening gown) In time, pastel colors did become fashionable, particularly rose pink, sky blue, and lemon chiffon yellow. Brighter colors played a role in fashion, too, mostly in outerwear. Spencers and pelisses, the two main outer garments, were often brightly colored. Spencers were short jackets that came only to the high waistline of a dress, just under the bust, making the Spencer what we would call a shrug today. Pelisses, on the other hand, were long coats. They were shaped like dresses, with high waists and puffed sleeves. They were a few inches shorter than the average dress, though, so that the lovely decorations on the hem of a woman's dress would show even under her coat.

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