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I’m off for a few days, giving a workshop on historical fashion at the LERA RWA chapter, eating Mexican food in Santa Fe, and taking yoga lessons in the mountains. Will be back with a regularly scheduled blog next week In the meantime, these are a few fashions I’m talking about this weekend:


Tudor fashions, from early Tudor to Elizabethan frufferies…

Georgian fashions


Regency gowns and accesories (hats, spencers, pelisses, etc)

1880s bustle dresses

I’m also hauling piles of dresses and accessories in the car, so wish me luck!

What’s your favorite fashion era?

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I’m thrilled to welcome Ann Wass as our guest today. Ann is historian at Riversdale House Museum, MD, which hosts a battle reenactment of the Battle of Bladensburg on August 14 and other events throughout the year. Ann is author of Part 1 (the Federal era, 1786-1820), of the book, Clothing through American History: The Federal Era through Antebellum, 1786-1860. More here about the book.

As my specialty is dress in the United States, I have explored how American women kept up with the Regency fashions of their English sisters and the Empire fashions of their French ones. In Charleston, women “copied from the fashions of London and Paris” (Ramsay 1809, 409). In New York, women seemed “more partial to the light, various, and dashing drapery, of the Parisian belles, than to the elegant and becoming attire of our London beauties, who improve upon the French fashions” (Lambert 1810, 2:196-97).

By the late 1790s, French women wore slender, high-waisted dresses made of lightweight, clinging cotton muslins. Englishwomen generally modified the look, and most Americans did, too; emigrée Rosalie Calvert wrote, “In this more virtuous land only the contours are perceived through filmy batiste–a subtler fashion” (Callcott 1991, 34; even in France not everyone went to extremes. Maria Edgeworth wrote from Paris, “people need not go naked here unless they chuse it” [Colvin 1979, 27]). One American, though, enthusiastically adopted French fashions and became the talk of the town. In 1803, Betsy Patterson of Baltimore married Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger brother. Jerome presented Betsy with gowns from France, and in Washington, DC, Margaret Bayard Smith saw “mobs of boys crowded round her splendid equipage to see what I hope will not often be seen in this country, an almost naked woman” (Smith 1906/1965, 46-47).

How did women learn about the latest fashions from abroad? Some, like Mrs. Bonaparte, received gowns from Europe, while others went shopping there themselves. Elizabeth Monroe and Sarah Bowdoin, both married to diplomats, shopped in Paris and London. Dolley Madison commissioned Ruth Barlow, wife of the minister to France, to send her “large Headdresses a few Flowers, Feathers, gloves & stockings (Black & White) or any other pritty thing” (Shulman 2007).

Ladies also bought imported goods in American shops. In 1805, New York merchant Joseph Kaumann advertised “3 trunks ladies Hats and Bonnets/1 do. ready made Gowns” from Nantes, one of France’s leading seaports. In 1807, the French milliner Mme. Bouchard “just received from Paris, the newest fashions, more elegant than have yet been seen in this city.” Her English rival, Mrs. Toole, also received “a very handsome assortment” including bonnets, shawls, veils, and ribbons from Paris (though she was English, she no doubt knew her clientele would admire the latest Parisian fashions.)

Other merchants sold English goods. In 1805, Baltimore milliner Miss Hunter imported fall fashions from London. Even in the midst of the War of 1812, while there were major disruptions in trade, Mrs. Gouges in Baltimore sold fashions from both England (the enemy!) and France. It may have been Mrs. Gouges that Betsy Bonaparte had in mind when she wrote Dolley Madison in 1813, “There are in the Shops in Baltimore French Gloves Fashions &c: & the little taste possessed by me shall be exerted, in Selecting, if I obtain your permission, whatever you may require.” Mrs. Madison replied, “I will avail myself of your taste, in case you meet with anything eligant, in the form of a Turban, or even anything brilliant to make me. . . .” (Shulman 2007).

American women also studied European fashion plates for ideas to make their own clothes. These hand colored engravings struck from steel plates were published in English and French periodicals. Rosalie Calvert asked her sister in Antwerp for several of “those little engraved sketches showing morning and evening dress. . . with them we will be able to copy your styles.” (Callcott 1991, 347). New Yorker David Longworth subscribed to the English Gallery of Fashion and exhibited the plates to fashion-hungry women for a small fee (Majer 1989, 220). Josephine DuPont sent Margaret Manigault plates from Paris in 1799, and Margaret thanked her friend for the “curious, & entertaining, & astonishing, & very acceptable Costumes Parisiens” (Low 1974, 51). In 1814, Margaret’s daughter received “a fine collection of ‘Belle Assemblies”’ from Mrs. Dashkov, wife of the Russian minister to the United States (Manigualt 1976, 23). La Belle Assemblée, despite its French name, was published in England and was difficult to obtain during the war years.

Once the war was over, American women again had ready access to European fashions. In Philadelphia, Mary Bagot, wife of the British minister, found, “every sort & kind of French, Indian & English goods to be had-excellent of their kind & not dear” (Hosford 1984, 43). Even out west, women kept up appearances. A Scotsman observed, “I have seen some elegant ladies by the way. Indeed, I have often seen among the inhabitants of the log-houses of America, females with dresses composed of the muslins of Britain, the silks of India, and the crapes of China” (Flint 1822/1970, 286).

Illustrations:
Advertisement, Baltimore American & Commercial Daily Advertiser
Merino Redingote, Costume Parisien, 1812
Ball Dress, La Belle Assemblée, August 1818

REFERENCES
Callcott, Margaret Law, ed. 1991. Mistress of Riversdale. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Colvin, Chistina, ed. 1979. Maria Edgeworth in Franch an Switzerland. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Flint, James. 1822/1970. Letters from America. Repr. New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation.

Hosford, David. 1984. Exile in Yankeeland: The Journal of Mary Bagot, 1816-1819. Records of the Columbia Historical Society 51: 30-50.

Lambert, John. 1810. Travels through Lower Canada, and the United States of North America, in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808. 3 vols. London: Richard Phillips.

Low, Betty-Bright P. 1974. Of Muslins and Merveilleuses: Excerpts from the Letters of Josephine du Pont and Margaret Manigault. Winterthur Portfolio 9: 29-75.

Majer, Michele. 1989. American Women and French Fashion. In The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire 1789-1815, ed. Katell le Bourhis. 217-237. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Manigault, Harriet. 1976. The Diary of Harriet Manigault 1813-1816. Rockland, ME: Maine Coast Publishers.
Ramsay, David. 1809. The History of South-Carolina: from its First Settlement in 1670, to the Year 1808. Charleston: David Longworth.

Shulman, Holly C. 2007. Dolley Madison Digital Edition. Version 2007.07. http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/index.php?page_id=Home.

Smith, Margaret Bayard. 1906. The First Forty Years of Washington Society. Ed. Gaillard Hunt. New York: Scribner.

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I attended my friend Beth’s birthday party the other day. Beth loves vintage everything from the 1960s so it was a 1960s themed party complete with peace symbol party favors and a game of 1960s Jeopardy (to which I answered a couple of questions right…)

So I got to thinking…How was the Regency like the 1960s?

Most obviously, perhaps, there was a war going on, a war lasting several years.

The war with Napoleon must have felt to the British citizens like a far away event, but the Vietnam War was played out in our living rooms through the magic of television. And, of course, the wars ended very differently.

There was social unrest.
The Peterloo Massacre happened when the local magistrate ordered the militia to break up a protest demonstration against the Corn Laws and advocating for other civil liberties.

The 1960s also had protests broken up violently, both those fighting for Civil Rights and, later, those protesting the Vietnam War.

Fashions changed dramatically
From the Georgian to the Regency

From the 1950s to the 1960s

I’m sure there were other similarities, like technological advances. The Regency was beginning to explore the uses of the steam engine, for example, and the 1960s introduced manned space flights.

Can you think of other similarities or differences?

Don’t forget I’m blogging on Thursday on Diane’s Blog. Tomorrow there I’ll announce last week’s winner of a signed copy of Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady.
Blogging at DianeGaston.com

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I have a book called The History of Fashion in France, or The dress of women from the Gallo-Roman period to the present time, from the French of M. Augustin Challamel by Mrs. Cashel Hoey and Mr. John Lillie.

The Present Time, by the way, for the purposes of this book is 1882. I bought it because the plates are intact and really pretty.

Now, the first thing I find interesting is that this doesn’t say translated by so really, you can read this as stolen from M. Challamel because, come on, he wrote the book (in French) and Mrs. Hoey and Mr. Lillie translated it, right?

Well, whatever. Let’s gloss over the fact that I own an apparently pirated PRINT book and get right into some interesting stuff.

From Chapter 1, the very first paragraph:

We learn with horror from ancient writers that certain women of Gaul were accustomed to dye their skin with a whitish matter, procured from the leaves of the woad or pastel, a cruciform plant from which is derived a starchy substance, that may be substituted for indigo for certain purposes. Others were tattooed in almost the same manner as the savages of America.

So, Gaulish women dyed themselves blue. Or had tats. To my vast regret there are no pictures of the tats. I wonder which savages of America they mean? Anyway, obviously these women kicked ass and took names while they were doing it: (not that!, sheesh you have dirty minds, you know that?)

But then time passed. . . and France began to practice industry . . .

The cleanliness of the Gallic women, which has been praised by historians, added another charm to their unrivaled natural beauty. No Gallic woman, whatever her rank, would have consented or even ventured to wear dirty, untidy, or torn garments; nor did any one of them fail to frequent the baths which were established everywhere, even in the very poorest localities. The Gallo-Roman woman was admired for her fair complexion, her tall and elegant figure, her beautiful features; and she neglected nothing that might tend to procure her that homage. Cold bathing, unguents for the face and often the entire body were to her a delight, a duty, and a necessity.

Are you seeing the same image I am? Happy peasant women skipping through the fields (watch out for the cow pies!) humming and perhaps even trilling out loud, their clothes pristine and put together with that certain Je ne sais quois.

Honey, mon amour, I cannot feed the children or milk the cows until have I spent three hours with the cold bath and applying unguents. Tra-la-la-la!

And really a COLD BATH? Are you freaking insane? I think that’s the work of Mr. Lillie. He made that up. No woman would actually take a cold bath without ending up kicking some ass.

Anyway, on to Chapter XXL – Reign of Napoleon I, because that is our period here at the Riskies.

Under the Empire, which was proclaimed in 1804, the fashion of short waists continued in favour, and even developed into extra-ordinary results. The fair sex adopted “sack” dresses, with the waist close under the arms, and the bosom pushed up to the chin. This was far from graceful, and a woman needed to be perfectly beautiful to look well in such a costume.

Gold, precious stones, and diamonds were lavishly used. Numerous balls were given, and official receptions held, and the dress of the women was handsome, nay, even magnificent. Unfortunately, it was chiefly remarkable for its bad taste. A French-woman seemed to have attained the height of glory when it could be said of her: “Voila une personne cossue!”
[There’s a warm, substantial person.]

However, I question the accuracy of the translation. I believe it should be Here is a well-to-do person. But whatever.

Handsome, magnificent gowns in bad taste. Is that awesome or what?

I particularly admire the glib description of Napoleonic extravagance that sounds like someone grabbed their fifth grader’s report and cribbed at will (Mrs. Hoey? Was that you?) but then someone brilliant added the thing about bad taste.

So, pretend you’re a French lady (or better yet, an English Miss, pretending to be a French lady) and you’re at a ball or official reception.

What are you wearing?

Extra credit if it barely hides your tattoo.

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I did it! I went to see Bright Star, the movie I blogged about a month ago, the movie about John Keats’s love affair with his neighbor, Fanny Brawne . It finally came to two local theaters so Sunday night I finally got to see it.

I liked it very much for many reasons.

It was wonderfully acted. Abbie Cornish as Fanny definitely should be nominated for an Oscar. She had the most expressive face; you could almost tell what she was thinking. Ben Whishaw as Keats was also very good, although I can’t figure out why he was always unshaven. Was that supposed to show he was poor? Anyway, he managed to be masculinely appealing while still sensitive and poetic and sick. Paul Schneider played Brown, Keats’s friend and roommate. He also is said to be Oscar worthy. I was surprised to discover he is an American actor, from South Carolina, no less. He spoke with a very authentic-sounding Scottish accent. In addition to these main characters, even the minor roles were very well done.

The costumes were spectacular, especially Fanny’s dresses. Fanny Brawne designed and sewed her own dresses, so her costumes were beautiful creations. All the costumes were well done, though. I loved the hats and lace caps! I think the costumes in this movie were the most beautiful depiction of Regency era fashion that I have ever seen. Even the shoes were fascinating.

In addition to the costumes, the settings were wonderful. The four seasons were beautifully represented. The snow really looked like snow; the rain, like rain. Details were attended to. Stacks of books in Keats and Brown’s rooms, tea cups and dishes at dinner, the kitchen pots.

I had not expected the movie to be as emotional as it was. It had me trying to hold in sobs!

I thought there were some weaknesses in the movie. It was sometimes difficult to tell what was going on, who some of the people were, and why the scenes skipped from one to the other. If I had not read up on this part of Keats’s life, I would not have understood as much as I did.

The pace was slow. (One of my friends said she started thinking, “Die already, Keats!”) But because the film was so beautiful to look at, I didn’t mind so much.

If I wanted someone who knew nothing about the Regency period to fall in love with it, I’d probably recommend the BBC/Colin Firth version of Pride & Prejudice. But if someone is already in love with the time period, I’d definitely recommend Bright Star.

Have you seen Bright Star? What did you think of it?
Of movies set in the Regency era, which do you think best would make someone new fall in love with it?


I’m hoping my December book, Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady, evokes a rich Regency setting, a great love story, and lots of emotion. The excerpt is now up on my website. And a new contest.

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