"A muslin dress, with long sleeves; an Algerine tunic of white satin, trimmed round with an embroidered border of silver, simply confined in the centre with a Regency broach. A Turkish cloak, or short coat, with arm-holes, composed of Indian muslin, and lined with cerulean blue sarsnet, trimmed with white lace, put on very full; the cloak to be open in front, to shew the front of the tunic."
[London Dresses for June, The Lady's Monthly Museum, pub June 1811]
Most women's outfits, or types of "Dress", were made up of one or more layers, worn over underwear. It always began with a base layer. Some examples I've seen mentioned as the lowest layer of an outfit included:
A plain round frock or robe
or
A plain train dress
or
An underdress, either white or coloured
or
A full-length petticoat
or
A full-length satin slip, either white or coloured (particularly used with evening gowns)
A petticoat wasn't necessarily underwear. Some of them were highly decorative, especially along the hem where it was intended to be seen. In 1811, one ball dress was described as having a petticoat trimmed with "twisted satin and beads". A satin slip would be similar to what we would think of as a lining today, and the colour would be visible through a semi-transparent upper layer, like lace, muslin, net or crape. Satin slips were very flexible because they were a simple item that could be changed for a new, more fashionable colour to update a wardrobe.
If you were staying indoors, particularly in the country, a plain, printed or embroidered muslin frock or robe could be the only layer, perhaps with a shawl for added warmth. In winter, or for evening dress, or half/full dress, you would then add another layer to the base layer and also a suitable accessory such as a scarf or shawl.
Some second layers added decoration over the plain layer, such as a transparent muslin or net layer decorated with embroidery over a more substantial robe. Or sometimes it added a train to a round base layer or added warmth instead of using a shawl. The material of the upper layer could be opaque or transparent, to show the colour of the satin slip beneath.
It made a lot of sense to have delicate beading, embroidery or lace on an upper layer, with washable fabrics underneath, as it was difficult to clean the more decorative articles.
There was a wide range of design variations, and an even wider list of names, as dressmakers would provide different names to the same item of clothing to make it sound new and different in that year. Some examples of second layers include:
Bodice - similar to the Swiss Corset, but without sleeves or straps. It was the equivalent of the modern strapless bustier or corset top. The bodice—sometimes called a Peasant's Bodice—was laced at the front, over the base layer, adding colour and decoration to a plain underdress. In Full Dress, a bodice could even be a highly decorated third layer, as in this example from a Ball Dress printed in Ackermann's Repository for June 1813:
"A Grecian round robe, of lilac or apple-blossom crape, worn over a white satin petticoat. A satin bodice, the colour of the robe, ornamented with white beads and drops, a la militaire."
Later in the Regency period, a bodice could also describe a coloured item with sleeves that covered everything from the waist upwards, similar to the Demi corset. It would normally be worn over a plain white layer for contrast.
Corsage - a bodice, often made in a contrasting colour from the layer beneath. This was the French word for bodice, which might have been used by dressmakers to make their creations sound more fashionable.
"Swiss corset worn over any dress, made of white or other coloured silk, trimmed with pink chenille, and finished on the shoulder with lace."
[London Dresses, Fashions of London & Paris, pub. November 1799]
Demi corset or Swiss corset - a bodice, often decorated or made in a contrasting colour, that was fastened or tightened at the back with corset lacing. It could include long or short sleeves or be sleeveless. This was worn over an otherwise plain base layer. From the front, a long-sleeved version could look similar to a Spencer jacket with back lacing.
Drapery - was exactly as it sounds. A piece of material, scarf or shawl that was draped around or across the body, sometimes fixed on the shoulder with a clip or brooch. This gave a similar appearance to statues of ancient Greek ladies that provided fashionable inspiration in the early years of the 19th century.
Vest - whether long or short, a vest had either very short sleeves or no sleeves. They could be worn open at the front. The Cottage Vest looked more like a Peasant's Bodice. In the early days of the 19th century, some short vests looked similar to men's waistcoats (UK)/vests (US) today.
Tunic - some tunics were full-length wrapping robes that fully covered a base layer. Shorter tunics (demi tunics) could be hip, thigh or knee-length and might be open or closed at the front. Tunics could have varied length of sleeve, or no sleeve at all. They might also be called a jacket, although it didn't look like the sort of jacket we would know today. A tunic could be added to day wear or evening wear. Sometimes a tunic or demi tunic would look very similar to a robe or demi robe. In different years, tunics could be given other names. In 1811, a French Coat looked identical to an open tunic from previous years.
Robe - a full-length robe, often of see-through material like gauze, net or thin muslin, which could be highly decorated or trimmed. One transparent robe worn over different coloured base layers could give the impression of different dresses.
Open robe - a full-length robe, open at the front, sometimes fastened at the waist, which may or may not include a train. These were often highly decorative, particularly for full dress. One open robe, worn over a trimmed satin slip, was described this way:
"The gown, composed of spotted British net, is an open robe, with a short train, which meets in front, but slopes gradually off towards the bottom, so as to display the trimming of the slip. The robe is ornamented with a flounce of blond lace to correspond with the slip, and a wreath of intermingled lilies and roses."
[Full Dress, Ackermann's Repository of Arts & Science, pub. August 1817]
Semi-open robe - a full-length robe, fastened together for part of its length, but open at the front from below the waist or mid-thigh level. This robe could also add a train.
Half robe or demi robe - a shorter layer, worn over a plain base. It could be as short as hip-length, mid-thigh, or sometimes knee-length. The hem could be straight, curved or asymmetrical.
Outer Layers
"At length Lady Susan, weary, I believe, of her situation, proposed walking; and we left the two gentlemen together, to put on our pelisses."
[Chapter 20, Lady Susan by Jane Austen]
Today, when we leave our homes, we might add another item of clothing to protect us from the weather or keep ourselves warm. Those ladies living in the Regency period also had clothes more commonly worn outdoors. An outer layer could be a second layer over a plain morning dress, but could also be a third layer of a more decorative outfit. Although I think of these as outdoor layers, they would not always have been removed when arriving at someone's house.
Outer layers weren't just for walking and carriage rides. They often added one of the following layers when visiting the theatre or the opera, possibly because those large auditoriums were cooler than they are today.
You might assume that every young lady would always cover her evening dress as she travelled to her next party or event, but that was not the case. In November 1814, The Lady's Monthly Museum made the following observation:
"Headless of the approach of winter, many of our young belles still expose their persons in cold and almost transparent dresses; but the more prudent, who pay attention to health, have guarded against the uncertain atmosphere of this climate, by the introduction of a short, round cloak."
Even items that we would think of as suitable for the outdoors were not always as warm or thick as you might imagine. While many cloaks or mantles were made of cloth, velvet or wool materials, suitable for walking outside, there were also a number of examples that would have been more decorative than useful. Some examples included wraps and cloaks of lace, muslin or net, commonly worn in the warmer months.
Cloak - there were many different types of cloak; short or full length, made of thick wool, mole-skin or transparent lace or net, and everything in between. In some fashion plates, what they called a cloak looked more like a wrap or wide scarf.
Warm cloaks were often seen on fashion plates depicting opera dress or carriage dress. Morning dress sometimes added a transparent net or gauze cloak that provided no warmth but added decoration to an otherwise plain layer.
Mantle - A mantle looked very much like a cloak or a cape, extending to hip, mid-thigh or knee-length. During the winter they would be made of thicker materials like wool or velvet, while a summer mantle could be embroidered silk, satin or lace-edged sarsnet. Mantles usually had matching bonnets and some mantles included shorter second layer, or cape, around the shoulders.
In January 1815, La Belle Assemblee printed the following observation: "Mantles are not very general by themselves, but they are much worn over half high pelisses; indeed the latter cannot well be worn without a tippet or mantle."
Pelisse - A longer coat or coat dress that could be made of various different materials, depending on the time of year. One pelisse from October 1814 was described as being "made of rose colour satin for the carriage dress, and for walking, velvets and kerseymeres are most approved of."
In the colder months wool cloth, velvet and kerseymere, sometimes edged with fur or swansdown, were common. A woman's Redingote was the French equivalent of a pelisse, and translated as a "frock coat".
Shawl - Although shawls could be classed as accessories, very large square shawls were frequently used as the top layer of an outfit. One corner of the square would be folded over, while two opposite corners of the square draped over the shoulders, leaving the fourth corner pointing downwards at the back. Some shawls were large enough that the lowest point almost touched the floor.
Some lightweight shawls could be made of lace lined with coloured silk. A Shawl Cloak fastened at the neck and included armholes at the sides.
Spencer - a short jacket, ending at the waist. During much of the Regency period, the "waist" was somewhere between the natural waist and the underside of the bust. In colder months the spencer might be made of a thicker material, while in summer, they could be made of muslin or even lace. In French fashion plates, the spencer was described as a canezou.
A Spencer Cloak looked like a spencer from behind and had short sleeves, but from the front extended below the waist.
Habit - Used for riding, these were always made of woollen cloth or other thick, hardwearing materials like nankeen. They were one of the few items of women's clothing made by men, as tailors were more used to working with the thicker woollen fabrics. They were long enough to cover a lady's legs and feet while she was riding side-saddle.
[Left] Fine worked india muslin over a white satin slip. A white satin spencer, trimmed with swansdown, and a swansdown muff. [Right] Pelisse of merino cloth trimmed with gold, and a round ermine tippet, over an unspecified white lower layer.
Accessories
"Jane, Jane, my dear Jane, where are you?--Here is your tippet. Mrs. Weston begs you to put on your tippet. She says she is afraid there will be draughts in the passage."
[Chapter 38, Emma by Jane Austen]
The following list includes accessories that aren't large enough to be a layer in their own right, or were carried by their owners.
Fan - These were popular accessories for afternoon and evening wear. The materials, where mentioned, could include crape attached to sticks made of rare woods like ebony or other materials like amber or ivory. They were often decorated with spangles or inlaid with ivory or precious metals. Fans could have wider sticks or blades made of carved ivory joined together with ribbon. (also known as a Brise fan) Some ivory fans were painted. Folding fans were the most expensive type, while fixed fans, which did not open and close but were decorated or printed half-circles made of various materials, were used by less wealthy people. Opera fans were smaller than normal fans, possibly to avoid obstructing the view of the person sitting behind.
Gloves - these can be separated into gloves for morning and gloves for evening wear.
Morning gloves could be made of silk, net, or leather. York tan was a specific type of leather glove, represented in the fashion plates as a mustard yellow or dark peach colour. Gloves from Limerick, Ireland, known as Limerick gloves, were made from calf-skin and were so soft and delicate they were sometimes referred to as "chicken-skin" gloves. Kid gloves were made from the skin of young goats, sometimes referred to as "French Kid". Riding dress always included leather gloves.
Evening gloves were usually long, often worn past the elbow, and made of silk or soft white leather.
Habit Shirt - often just referred to as a shirt, it was simply a fake shirt that covered the chest, shoulders and upper back, up to the throat, and tucked under the neckline of a dress. Some were decorative, while others were quite plain, with the neck of the shirt drawn up to sit close to the skin. Habit shirts were often added to morning, riding and walking dresses, as this example describes:
"The Waterloo dress, when worn for dinner parties, has no shirt, but some ladies shade the neck a little by a narrow frill of white crape round the bosom. In the walking costume, it is worn with a shirt invented for the occasion, and trimmed in a very novel and appropriate style."
[Waterloo Walking Dress, La Belle Assemblee, pub. July 1815]
Handkerchief (1) - this was smaller than a shawl, made of various thicker materials. In the late 18th century and early years of the 19th, a large square handkerchief, folded into a triangle, would be wrapped around the front, with the long ends crossing over the chest and fastening at waist level behind.
Handkerchief (2) - a smaller version of the above could be wrapped around the neck and tucked into the neckline of a low necked dress to convert it from evening wear to something more suitable for daytime use. This was more likely to be made of silk, net or fine muslin. In French, this was known as a Fichu-Cravate or sometimes just a Fichu.
Half-handkerchief - this was a narrow band of lightweight material, used as we might use a light scarf. In 1809, one promenade dress included a "small French tippet or half-handkerchief of lace, thrown negligently across the back and falling over the left shoulder." These were also described as a Tippet Handkerchief.
Mantlet - A small cape that covered the shoulders, sometimes made of fur.
Muff - a tube of fur or other warm material, which ladies used to cover their hands in winter. Common materials used to make a muff were black, brown, silver or white bearskin and swansdown. Less common, seen after 1810, included angora rabbit fur, spotted ermine, seal skin, squirrel and chinchilla. Man-made materials that looked like fur were introduced in the fashion magazines from 1814, when Mrs Bell began touting her Britannia trimming, which she described as: "more elegant than fur, and the best substitute for fur hitherto discovered."
Parasol - an umbrella-like sunshade, usually made of silk or sarsnet. Some were plain but many were decorated with silk fringe or tassels. Parasols were most often seen with walking or carriage dress. In 1809, La Belle Assemblee observed that "The parasol strikes us as being more correct when chosen of the same colour as the lining of the Coat or the shoes."
Pelerine - A small cape that covered the shoulders. Sometimes a pelerine was added to a cloak, as with this example from January 1818: "With this dress is worn the Russian wrapping-cloak, composed of tufted mole-skin cloth, and lined with black sarsnet. ... A pelerine of enormous size, and a large full hood, render this one of the most comfortable envelopes we have seen for a considerable time." Depending on the year, this might also be called a tippet.
Pocket - A drawstring bag, worn under a dress and accessed through a slit in the skirt. As dresses became more streamlined the pocket was carried in the hand, when it was called a hand-pocket or ridicule. Pockets were outdated by 1800, but some older ladies, favouring late 18th century fashions, might still have used them.
Pocket handkerchief - these were the small handkerchiefs; the sort for drying tears and blowing noses. In the words of one of my favourite movies: "A handkerchief is a Kleenex you don't throw away." Handkerchiefs could be embroidered with flowers or someone's initial and were often given as a useful hand-made gift.
Ridicule - A handbag. Sometimes called a hand-pocket, because they began life as a drawstring bag, or pocket, carried by hand rather than hidden under the skirt. As time went on the designs became more fanciful, and were often made to match a particular outfit. Ridicule was the English version of the French word Reticule. The English word seems more commonly used in fashion plates until around 1815 when mention of them declined, and Reticule took over towards the end of the Regency period and into the 1820s.
The Mirror of Graces, published in January 1811, observed: "The ridicule, when used, should be composed of the same materials as the coat, fixed into a gold lion snap. It is necessary, however, to observe that this article (though exceedingly convenient, since fashion has excluded the use of a pocket) is considerably on the decline with females of a superior order; but as we hear of no substitute, it can never be completely banished until the fashion of the pocket is revived."
Scarf - Just like a scarf today, made from many different materials and of different lengths. Long scarves could also be wound around the dress like drapery. The ends of a scarf were often highly decorated with embroidery or finished with tassels. Items that look to us like a scarf might also be called a tippet.
Shawls - Although large shawls were often used as a top layer, more moderate-sized shawls could be used as accessories. One Parisian Dinner Dress in 1816 included the following comment: "A blue shawl of the new Parisian manufacture, with a rich border of different colours, is thrown over this dress on quitting a theatre or crowded apartment."
Tippet - a kind of scarf or stole, depending on the material used. Tippets could be made of muslin and lace in warmer weather, and fur, swansdown or velvet in the winter. Sometimes, a tippet could also describe something like a mantlet or pelerine that covered the shoulders. Some tippets, particularly those made of fur, came with a matching muff, while cloth mantles and cloaks often included a matching tippet in the same material. An Opera Tippet was one worn to the opera, often in the colder months and was commonly made of fur or swansdown.
Tucker - A piece of fabric, either plain or decorated, that was tucked into the neckline of a dress, like the French Fichu. This could convert a low cut evening dress into something more suitable for afternoon wear. Some tuckers were shaped and designed to fit with a specific dress and matched other elements, such as the cuffs. Some tuckers provided a decorative element around the neckline, and were often made of blond lace. Other designs of tucker were similar to a habit shirt.
Footwear and hats will be covered separately.
[Image: Ball Dress, Ackermann's Repository of Arts, vol. 7, plate 27, pub. April 1812, via Internet Archive. (edited) This image illustrates a round robe of pink crape over a white satin slip. A Peasants boddice of darker pink satin or velvet, laced with silver. A fan of white ivory and gloves of white kid. An occasional square "veil" of Mechlin lace, used as a scarf or tippet.]
[Image: London Dresses, Lady's Monthly Museum, pub. January 1810, via Los Angeles Public Library, (edited)]