Risky Regencies

Following Fashion

Updated on November 15, 2008 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

I’ve been totally obsessed with 18th century France since I visited Versailles last month! And I’ve been feeding that obsession by reading the new book Versailles: The Biography of a Palace by Tony Spawforth. (I also wanted to buy another new book, Marie Antoinette and the Last Garden of Versailles, but I have been strictly warned by my family that I am not to buy any object on my Christmas gift wishlist!) And I’ve been shopping for fabric and trim for next summer’s Beau Monde Soiree costume. It’s just a total Marie Antoinette moment around here. And then I heard about this fabulous exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. They are displaying one the few extant gowns that belonged to Marie Antoinette!!! It’s very delicate and can only be displayed for a short time, but they’ve extended the exhibit to November 16. If you live near there at all, go go go, and send me info! (In the meantime, the website’s podcast about the gown is very interesting, but not nearly long enough)

It seems the gown was given to a lady-in-waiting and eventually taken to England (probably when that lady or her family fled the Revolution). It was re-cut during the 19th century, and the (fabulous, I’m sure) stomacher was lost. But it’s easy to picture how it must have looked when the Queen ordered it from Rose Bertin. It’s amazing.

I also found this picture of an exhibit in France (the shoes and garters are Marie Antoinette’s; the baby bonnet belonged to her daughter Marie Therese, Madame Royale).

And this is a fragment of one of the Queen’s petticoats in the Museum of London (given as mourning mementos to emigres in London after her death)

And this little goat carriage belonging to the royal children, displayed at the Petit Trianon

More Petit Trianon pictures!

So, I need some help putting together this costume for next summer. My living room is littered with swatches and bits of trim, not to mention “inspiration images” like the ones above! What color (pink, blue, silver, lavender? All of the above?) Trim (lace, tassles, fringe, flowers)? Shoes? Jewels?

And who are some of your historical inspirations? If you were going to a costume ball, what would your costume be (if you had to be either a historical figure or a character in a book?)

It’s The Economy, Bookworm!

Updated on November 14, 2008 by megan

The economy is sadder than the Prince Regent confronting an empty larder.

And although the romance genre isn’t hurting as much as other genres, publishing houses are facing economic downturns.

Already, book retailers are warning that only the big names will be moving significant numbers, and houses taking chances on new names are decreasing. Random House is trying to combat the book malaise by launching a new campaign to spur sales: “Books=Gifts,” promoting the value of books as holiday gifts. Several big name authors such as Dean Koontz and Maya Angelou are lending their names and their words to the campaign, and Random House is not limiting its promotion to its own company’s books. The campaign reaches both old and new media outlets in its ad buys.

I love giving books, although I like best giving them TO ME. I find, however, that gift book giving is an idiosyncratic notion, because asking someone to read a book is a serious commitment. You can’t just toss something at them and expect them to jump right in.

How do you decide who to buy books for? What kinds of books do you buy? Do you always sneak in a book for yourself? Do you need help with suggestions for books for anyone on your list? What’s the oddest book someone has ever gotten for you?

Happy Book Buying!

Megan

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Megan | 15 Replies

My theory

Updated on November 13, 2008 by Janet Mullany

Elk: The Theory by A. Elk brackets Miss brackets. My theory is along the following lines.

Host: Oh God.

Elk: All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much MUCH thicker in the middle, and then thin again at the far end. That is the theory that I have and which is mine, and what it is too.

Monty Python, The Dinosaur Sketch

So my theory is…

It wasn’t bare arms, bosoms, or ankles, it was the bared nape of the neck that defines Regency gowns.

(Although with the lady at the right, you get the best of all worlds.)

Have you ever noticed how so many fashion prints show women with their necks crooked or bent, even if they’re covered by the brim of a hat or a ruff? Men, for the most part, were paying for ladies’ gowns, and while they might appreciate the bared skin, they might not want wives, daughters, mistresses to assume that just because they were dressed as a goddess, that they might assume immortals’ free behavior.

Women might not have to appear in public any more with heads and shoulders decently covered, but submissiveness was expected (unless they were extremely well-born and/or mad, bad, and dangerous to know).

I think there’s a great comparison here with the geisha’s kimono, cut to expose what in Japanese culture is a potent erotic zone–yes, the nape of the neck.

I have to admit I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot as I’ve been reading Pam Rosenthal‘s wonderful The Edge of Impropriety, in which clothes, and the massive changes in fashion of the first two decades of the nineteenth century, play a supporting role. Pam will be here as our Riskies guest this Sunday, November 16, to talk about the book and give away a signed copy.

And today I’m over at the Hoydens, talking about dumb luck in a box. Come and visit!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged eroticism, Fashion, nape of neck, Pam Rosenthal, shoulders | 6 Replies

Wish Lists

Updated on November 12, 2008 by Elena Greene

In my family, everyone makes wish lists around this time of year. It just makes holiday gift-giving so much simpler and avoids painful mistakes. There’s still a small element of surprise because we purposely make our lists long, not expecting to get everything on them and of course some items are a bit open-ended.

On my list this year there are the usual reference books including this one. My obsession with riflemen will not be satisfied until I’ve read every available firsthand account and I’ve barely begun.

I am hoping that some gaping holes in my DVD collection will be filled.

And there are always (figurative, not literal) gaps in my keeper shelf to be filled: books by favorite authors I’ve either had to borrow or not been able to find at all though friends with similar tastes rave about them. Some are hard to find. Luckily, my husband enjoys the challenge.

So what else is out there for us historical romance/Jane Austen junkies?

There’s always some fun stuff at the Pemberley shop at Cafe Press. I already own the “I blame Jane” T-shirt but now I am drooling over the new collection of magnets, such as this one and the one at the top.

The Jane Austen Centre has some cool holiday offerings. There’s a Regency straw bonnet you can trim yourself. And how about your own portrait of Mr. Darcy, printed on canvas?

For just a tiny splurge, check out The Three Graces’ Georgian jewelry section. There are all sorts of lovely baubles, including these diamond day night earrings. One can wear just the top part for day and attach the dangles for evening. So practical and only $5,450!

So what’s on your holiday wish list, fantasy or otherwise?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Posted in Risky Regencies | Tagged Uncategorized | 14 Replies