REGENCY FASHION FOR WOMEN BY KOVANI M & KARATZALIS D.docx

1. FASHION FOR WOMEN
1810-1819 (1810-1819,19th century, decade overview )
BY KOVANI MARIA & KARATZALIS DIMITRIS

2. OVERVIEW
The high-waisted neoclassical silhouette continued to define womenswear of the 1810s, as fashion remained
inspired by classical antiquity. However, the purity of the line was increasingly broken by trim, colors, and a new
angularity as tubular skirts were gradually replaced by triangular ones by the end of the decade. Menswear was
led by British tailors, as a perfect fit was paramount. World events such as the Napoleonic Wars played a large
role in shaping fashion of the period.
WOMENSWEAR
The 1810s were a continuation of the Neoclassical period in fashion, what fashion historian C.W. Cunnington named the “Vertical Epoch”. Fashion
remained inspired by classical antiquity studies such as Costume of the Ancients published in 1809 and An Illustration of the Egyptian, Grecian,
and Roman Costume published in 1810 were very influential in fashion design.While Classicism remained the most powerful force in fashion,
various other inspirations and influences began to break up the classical line in the 1810s. The Napoleonic Wars brought the dress of faraway
places home to influence European women’s clothing; for example, campaigns in Prussia, Poland, and Russia resulted in an influx of fur (le
Bourhis 108). A growing historicism, linked to the Romantic Movement, drew on dress dating to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In an
etiquette and fashion book published in 1811, the anonymous author noted:
“The fashions of every nation and of every era are open to [a woman’s] choice. One day she may appear as the Egyptian Cleopatra, then a
Grecian Helen; next morning the Roman Cornelia; or, if these styles be too august for her taste, there are Sylphs, Goddesses, Nymphs of every
region, in earth or air, ready to lend her their wardrobe. In short, no land or age is permitted to withhold its costume from the adoption of
a…woman of fashion.”

3. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) played an enormous role in the development of fashion, spreading trends across Europe and inspiring a martial
appearance in both men’s and women’s clothing. Notably, during the first years of the 1810s, Britain and France were cut off from one another
during the Continental blockade. While there is some debate as to how much fashion information crisscrossed the battle lines, there is no doubt
that the two countries’ fashions diverged.Most notably, when left to their own devices, British women began to lower the waistline. In 1814,
when the British could once again cross the Channel following the Peace of Paris, they were ridiculed by the French. British women quickly
adopted the French styles, raising the waistline to its highest point yet. Indeed, Paris was the leading fashion capital, and during the war, Parisians
were present at every conflict, helping to spread French Empire style. The United States continued to receive fashion news from both Britain
and France during the war, but fashion-conscious American women desired French fashion most of all, as did their European counterparts.
Fig. 2 - Rudolph Ackermann (English, 1764-1834). Fashion Plate: "Walking dress or Carriage Costume" for "The Repository of Arts", February 1, 1811. Hand-colored engraving on paper; (9 5/8 x
5 11/16 in). Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.83.161.270. Gift of Charles LeMaire. Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art

4. Fig. 3 - Artist unknown. Fashion Plate: "London Dresses for November" for "Ladies' Museum", November 1810. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Public Library, rbc0318. Source: Los Angeles Public
Library

5. The silhouette of the 1810s continued the vertical emphasis established during the previous decad.However, from about 1812, the purity of this
line was increasingly interrupted. In general, the waistline remained high. However, the tubular skirts of the 1800s gave way to a more angular
shape. By 1815, trains had disappeared as hemlines shortened to just above the floor, and skirts were cut with gores at the sides, allowing the
width of the hemline to expand, resulting in a distinctly triangular shape by 1820. Gores also smoothed the skirt flat at the front and sides, as
the fullness was gathered at the back.This back fullness was exaggerated by a bustle pad which by the mid-1810s was a long sausage-shaped roll
tied around the torso. Since the waistline was so high, this resulted in a hump right below the shoulder blades, giving women a round-backed
appearance known as the “Grecian bend”.
Along with the bustle pad, women wore stays and corsets, especially to support the bust. During this period, stays more usually referred to
stiff, heavily boned structures like those of the eighteenth century, while corsets were a lighter garment with minimal or no boning. However,
as corsets supplanted stays, the words were increasingly used interchangeably. Both long and short stays were worn. Long stays, extending
past the hip were ideal for creating the willowy, slender silhouette.A variation on the corset appeared around 1810, nicknamed the “Divorce
Corset” as it featured a stiff panel that separated the breasts, ideal for the wide, square necklines; these were often rather short-waisted as the
main objective was to shape the breasts. A petticoat was also worn which followed the shape of the skirt
Bodices also became increasingly angular. The fall-front gown began to disappear around 1810, as the back-fastening frock became dominant,
and bodices were often cut on the bias with darts, creating a smoother fit. Both square and V-necklines were fashionable, the latter emphasizing
the new angularity. The back of bodices eased and widened, with sleeves set further forward than previous years. Sleeves also changed
throughout the 1810s showing an increasing Romantic influence. In the early part of the decade, there was an increased fullness at the back of
the sleeve, which gradually moved to a true puff all around the arm by 1820. This late 1810s puffed sleeve was a precursor to the gigot sleeve
of the 1820s and 1830s. During the day, sleeves were long and lower necklines could be filled in with a chemisetts. Evening dresses were more
décolleté, with incredibly short bodices, sometimes as short as two and a half inches. Both long and short sleeves could be seen in the evening.

6. Fig. 6 - Designer unknown (Probably French, worn by an American). Dress, 1815-1820. Silk. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 49.874. Gift of Emily Welles Robbins (Mrs. Harry Pelham Robbins) and
the Hon. Sumner Welles, in memory of Georgiana Welles Sargent. Source: Museum of Fine Arts

7. Fig. 7 - Artist unknown. Fashion Plate: Evening Dresses, 1818. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, b17509853. Gift of Woodman Thompson. Source: The Met Digital Collections
Fig. 8 - Sir Martin Archer Shee (Irish, 1769-1850). Lady Jane Monro, 1819. Oil on canvas; (30 1/4 x 25 3/8 in). London: National Portrait Gallery, NPG 3124. Purchased, 1942. Source: National
Portrait Gallery

8. Fig. 9 - Designer unknown (English or French). Dress, ca. 1818. Cotton muslin. London: The Victoria & Albert Museum, T.79-1972.
Given by Miss Joan Gibbon. Source: The Victoria & Albert Museum
Fig. 10 - Artist unknown. Fashion Plate: Autumnal Walking dress, 1815. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, b17509853. Gift
of Woodman Thompson. Source: The Met Digital Collections
Fig. 11 - Designer unknown (English). Redingote, ca. 1810. Wool flannel. Kyoto: Kyoto Costume Institute, AC5646 87-27-1.
Source: Kyoto Costume Institute
Trim and decoration were the fashionable elements that most disrupted the Classical line during this
period. As early as 1812, skirts began to feature horizontal tucks at the hem. By 1815, this hem
decoration became more elaborate as flounces of lace, often featuring scalloped or vandyked edges,
were applied as well. At the advent of the 1820s, skirts were richly festooned with not only tucks
and flounces, but satin rouleaux (stuffed tubes of fabric), puffs, and embroidery in a wide variety of
designs. By 1815, the emphasis on trims spread to the bodice and sleeves; sleeve caps known
as mancherons, were common, and panes of fabric at the shoulder revealing puffs underneath
became very fashionable by the end of the year. The increasing trim reflected a move away from
Neoclassical influence to a Romantic one. In an arguably “Gothic” style, many elements of fashion
were drawn from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Panes and puffs imitating slashing , ruff
collars , “vandycked” edges, extra-long sleeves that came over the hand, and the very modish
“Marie” sleeve, which was a long sleeve banded down at intervals to form a series of puffs, were all
examples of such Romantic historicism.
Outerwear was rich and varied during the 1810s. The pelisse or redingote, both types of long coats, or the spencer, a cropped jacket, were the
most common. By 1817, the pelisse developed into the pelisse-robe, a coat-dress that could be worn by itself. These garments often displayed

9. the influence of the wars, with a widespread use of military-inspired trim. The uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars were some of the most elaborate
and dashing in military history, providing excellent material for fashion. Braid, tassels, frogging, and cords festooned female outerwear especially.
The hussar cavalry uniforms served as a particular inspiration; observe figure 2 of the Menswear section. Fashion frequently borrowed their
horizontal braid and Brandenburg buttons. Finally, Kashmiri shawls imported from India, highly-prized and prohibitively expensive for most
women, were a much-desired accessory. Note the shawls worn by Empress Joséphine in the Fashion Icon section below and the woman in figure
4 of the Children’s Wear section. During the first decades of the nineteenth century, there was an expansion and development in the imitation
market, most notably in Paisley, Scotland. The city’s name became synonymous with the Indian pine or boteh/buta motif that decorated the
shawls.
Textiles became more diverse during the 1810s; firmer cottons and silks supplanted the draping fine muslins of the previous years. Additionally,
while white remained a color very much in vogue throughout the decade, it gave way to increasingly brighter colors and patterns such as stripes
(Byrde 36; Foster 36). Lightweight, transparent nets became extremely popular after the bobbin-net machine was patented by John Heathcoat
in 1808, which made the material more affordable (Johnston 146; le Bourhis 100). This net could be embroidered and further decorated, and
evening dresses were frequently made entirely of transparent net worn over a silk satin slip (Fig. 12). Lace, particularly the silk “blonde” variety,
was a desirable material as well (Davidson 220-223). These lightweight materials softened the stiffer silks and cottons, lending a Romantic quality
to a woman’s appearance (Foster 39). Overall, though, textiles lost the sense of fluidity that defined gowns of the previous two decades; by the
end of the 1810s, “a soft, curving femininity was established…one featuring stiffer surfaces with increased decoration” (Davidson 26) (Fig. 13).
Fig. 12 - Designer unknown (English). Evening dress, ca. 1810. Machine-made silk net, embroidered with chenille thread and silk ribbon. London: The Victoria & Albert Museum, T.194-1958.
Given by Mrs George Atkinson and Mrs M. F. Davey. Source: The Victoria & Albert Museum
Fig. 13 - Designer unknown (British). Dress, 1817-1820. Silk, cotton, metal. London: The Victoria & Albert Museum, T.110 to B-1969. Given by Mrs A. Wallinger. Source: The Victoria & Albert
Museum

10. Fig. 14 - Artist unknown (French). Fashion Plate: Costume Parisien, 1814. Source: Pinterest

11. Hairstyles continued to show classical influence, although they now usually parted in the center, with ringlets hanging in the front and
arrangements of curls at the back. Cropped hairstyles were still sometimes seen in the early years of the 1810s. There was a stunning variety of
hats, caps, and bonnets. White cambric or muslin day caps were worn indoors by married or older women. In the evening, turbans, brought to
European fashion through Napoleon’s occupation of Egypt, remained a stylish choice. Outdoor hats and bonnets ranged from the face-shielding
poke bonnets, to tall conical hats inspired by the shakos worn with hussar uniforms. Overall, millinery grew in size and trimmings as the decade
wore on. C.W. Cunnington wrote: “as the Gothic taste grew, from 1812 onwards, they shot up into the air with extraordinary exuberance”.
REFERENCES
Φωτογραφίες-Pinterest
Πληροφορίες-Fashion History Timeline