18th Century Mid. Gentleman’s Toiletry Nécessaire Of Shagreen and Tortoiseshell, England. #GeorgianEra #Travel #Antiques
18th Century Mid. Nécessaire, London, England. Wood, shagreen, silk, tortoiseshell with gold mounts, steel. Includes: pen knife, beard trimmer, scissors, bottles, paper cutter, 6 razors, hone, strop. via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Definition Shagreen: A type of rawhide, or rough untanned skin, originally made from the back of a horse or a wild donkey. In the 18th century, the skin of a shark or stingray also began to be called shagreen.


1816 June Blue Wool Riding Dress With High Waist As Worn by the Bridgertons and Jane Austen. #Bridgerton #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #RidingFashion
1816. June Blue Merino wool riding dress with high waist and embroidered and ornamented round the bust and cuffs and fastens on the back of the shoulder. Double ruff of fine Vandyke lace is separated from shirt collar by a Chinese silk handkerchief of blue and white. Small round hat made of fine beaver or moss silk, the half boots are of blue kid with Limerick gloves worked and seamed with blue and she is carrying a riding whip. These riding habits were usually designed by men and were in two pieces, a jacket and a skirt, worn over a shirt but this is in one piece and the full skirt falls from directly under the bust. Fashion Plate via John Belle’s La Belle Assemblée or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine, London.
Typical of the riding costumes worn by Jane Austen’s female contemporaries. The style is still in the Empire fashion of a high-waist with the full skirt falling from just under the bust and with a frill and small decorations on the wrists and shoulders to make it look unique.
Definition: Riding Habit: Early 1800s riding habits copied men’s riding fashion and so were often in two pieces. A close-fitting jacket, skirt with a train, and worn over a shirt, or with a fichu covering the neck. The skirt had either a waistband, or straps over the shoulders, to keep it in place. Some habits were made as one piece with the skirt and bodice joined or as a high-waisted dress. Most women’s riding habits were designed by men, rather than female modistes.
Fashion Women 1815-1819 History Notes Book 28. What did women in Jane Austen’s and the Bridgerton’s years wear? This book looks at what was fashionable for women in the Georgian Era and at the end of the Regency Era in Britain and the reconstruction in Europe after the wars. Lifestyles were freer and fashions expressed this by becoming the focus of most women’s lives. A wardrobe full of opulent accessories was requisite. Includes mourning and riding fashion, dresses, hats, shoes, reticules or bags, underclothing, and fashion accessories. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819


1660-1700 ca. Green Velvet Gaming Purse For Holding Money, Probably French. #Antiques #purse #France #Gambling
1660-1700 ca. Green Velvet Gaming Purse, Probably French. Trimmed with Copper-Gilt Thread, probably French. This purse was designed especially for gaming, or gambling, and would have held money, or counters, and is of a different design to other 17th-century purses. The base is a flat circle and the sides are gathered on a drawstring to stop money or gaming counters from spilling out, and to hide how much a gambler had in the purse. The bag’s plain look was probably a deliberate move to fool other gamblers into thinking the owner had little money.The purse is quite plain, with no embroidery and only a twist of copper gilt thread, gilt being a cheap substitute for gold or silver thread.
Playing and betting on card games was a socially acceptable pastime for the wealthy in the late 17th century. Along with dancing, riding and the theatre, it was an amusement for those classes that did not have to work. A gentleman or lady who did not participate in games such as ‘Quadrille’ and ‘Basset’ would have been considered ‘low-bred and hardly fit for conversation’ according to ‘The Compleat Gamester’, published in 1674. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.


1820 Short Sleeved Ball Gown of Embroidered Silk Net, British. #RegencyFashion #Historicalfashion #sewing
1820 Ball Gown of Embroidered Net, British. Silk satin and silk net embroidered with metal and trimmed with silk blonde bobbin lace, hand sewn. Short-sleeved ball gown comprising of an underdress of silk satin and an overdress of machine-made silk net embroidered with metal and trimmed with blonde bobbin lace. The dress has a low oval neckline, puffed short sleeves, a wedge shaped front bodice panel, and a medium high waist. The skirt has a central front panel, wedge shaped panels and the centre back panels are tightly gathered at the waist.
From the Museum Curator: ‘Women saved their most elaborate dresses for special occasions such as balls. Lavish gowns embellished with gold thread or sparkling beads glittered in the artificial light of the dancing room. Thin, gauzy materials created a soft dreamy look. These light materials also prevented the wearer from getting too hot while dancing in stuffy, overcrowded spaces’. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK







1811 Blue Levantine Redingote, Or Coat, in Jane Austen Style. #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #Fabric
1811 Lady’s Redingote, or Coat, or Pelisse, or Walking Dress, French. Blue Levantine walking dress, with pale blue hat of Drap. Fashion Plate via Journal des Modes et des Dames, or Costume Parisienne.
The term, Redingote, was used more in France and other parts of Europe and Pelisse or Walking Dress was used more in England. While the terms Redingote and Pelisse are often used interchangeably, the Redingote usually features a close fitted top and flares out at the hemline with a more tailored or military look than a Pelisse. Redingotes or Pelisses were needed to cover the flimsy dresses made of lightweight fabrics of the Regency years to provide warmth and some protection from windy conditions when gowns might lift and cause modesty issues. In Europe, a Redingote was a coat or robe like garment worn both indoors and out, indoors left open to reveal a dress while the outdoor version was made of heavier materials and of darker colors than the type worn indoors. The name comes from the term ‘riding coat.’
Definition Drap: Made of wool, shiny and velvety after treatment, hair uniformly laid in the direction of the cut, thick and resistant. Used for coats.
Definition Levantine: Stout silk cloth in twill weave. First made in the Levant, a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia.


1830s Tantalus Set, French, with Burl Wood veneers and brass corners. #RomanticEra #drinks #Antique
1830s Tantalus Set, French. Burl Wood veneers, brass corners and lined with red leather. via 1st Dibs Auctions.
Tantalus: Small box or cabinet containing decanters. Lock and key keep unauthorized people from drinking the contents e.g. servants and younger sons, yet still allowing the decanters of drinks to be on show. The word, Tantalus, is a reference to the unsatisfied temptations of the Greek mythological character, Tantalus.

Lover of Jane Austen and the Regency Era fashions? History Notes Book 25. #JaneAusten #RegencyFashion #HistoricalFashion
Writer Or Reader Of Regency Era? What did Jane Austen and friends wear? Women’s clothing changed dramatically in early 1800s. New silhouette copied simplistic styles of Greeks and Romans. High-waisted white dresses and flowing skirts with color and warmth added by outerwear and accessories. Fashion Women 1801-1804 History Notes Book 25 https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1801-1804
Fashion Women 1801-1804 History Notes Book 25 This book looks at the changes to women’s clothing in the early 1800s and the move away from complicated styles and heavy fabrics. The new silhouette copied the simplistic styles of the Greeks and Romans. White dresses were high-waisted and skirts were flowing, with color and warmth added by outerwear and accessories. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1801-1804
Definition Empire Style Dress: High-waisted white gown defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given to the period when Napoleon Bonaparte built his French Empire. High-waisted, loose gowns were adopted by the aristocracy as a symbol of turning away from the fussy, elaborate and expensive clothing worn in the 1700s. The type of dress worn across Europe in the early 1800s. This sort of high-waisted dress would have been worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries in England.
The Empire waist gown defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given in France to the period when Napoleon built his French Empire. High-waisted, loose gowns were adopted by the aristocracy as a symbol of turning away from the fussy, elaborate and expensive clothing worn in the 1700s. Jean-Jaques Rousseau advocated copying peasants and returning to a simpler life and more natural fashions. Unrestricting clothing was part of the new Democracy in France and these simpler and flowing fashions were adopted all over Europe, including Britain and despite the continual wars being fought against France during the early 1800s. Not even war stopped fashions from being copied everywhere.


1817 June Lady In Bridgerton And Jane Austen Style Morning Dress and Marlborough Cap. #Bridgerton #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #HistoricalFashion
1817 June Morning Dress and Marlborough Cap, English. As worn in the Bridgerton Series and in Jane Austen’s times in England. Round dress of jaconet muslin, bottom of skirt trimmed with mix of tucks and embroidery. Body is perfectly novel, of three-quarter height, and displays the whole of the throat and a little of the neck and composed of the same material as the dress, formed to the shape in a manner at once singular and becoming, by bands of letting-in lace, profusely ornamented with lace which is set on very full. Long full sleeve, the fullness confined by a tasteful cuff and finished by a lace ruffle. Marlborough cap of white lace ornamented with full-blown roses and blush colored satin ribbon. This elegant cap is in the English style. Hair parted in front so as to display a little of the forehead and curled lightly over the temples. Necklace and ear-rings are white cornelian mixed with gold and with white kid slippers and gloves. We are indebted to the elegant taste of Mrs. Marchant of 40, Gerrard-street, Soho, for both our dresses this month.”
Definition Morning or At-Home Dress: Loose and comfortable dress and soft lace cap to be worn at home for reading, painting, sewing or for walking in the garden. To be seen by family, servants and close friends. Not accessorized enough to be out in the wider public, although the pretty pink roses and trim on the cap suggest this outfit may have been worn for receiving visitors at home.


1815 First Quadrille at Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London. #RegencyEra #JaneAusten #Dancing
1815 The First Quadrille at Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London. Left to Right: Marquis of Worcester, Lady Jersey, Clanronald MacDonald and Lady Worcester. “It was not until 1815 that Lady Jersey introduced from Paris the favourite quadrille, which has so long remained popular. I recollect the persons who formed the very first quadrille that was ever danced at Almack’s: they were Lady Jersey, Lady Harriett Butler, Lady Susan Ryde, and Miss Montgomery; the men being the Count St Aldegonde, Mr Montgomery, Mr Montague, and Charles Standish.” From The Reminiscences of Captain Gronow 1810-1860.



19th Century Mid. Dance Card or Aide de Memoire With Timepiece. #VictorianEra #Dance #writingtool #antique
19th Century Mid Dance Card or Aide de Memoire. Jeweled and enameled gold dance card with concealed timepiece. Lid with a blue enamel with rose-cut diamonds floral wreath, opening to compartment with watch dial, pencil, and notebook. via Sotheby’s Auctions. sothebys.com

