1771 September New Assembly Rooms opened on the north east of the Circus, Bath, U.K. #Bath #BritishHistory #GeorgianEra #dancing
1771 September New Assembly Rooms opened on the north east of the Circus, Bath, U.K.
Bath had two assembly rooms in the lower part of the town but they weren’t large enough for the rapidly increasing population so on the 30th September, 1771, New Rooms were opened on the north east of the Circus, between Bennett and Alfred Streets. These Upper Rooms were designed by the architect, John Wood, and were in a better part of town so they became much more fashionable. They were called the New, or Upper Rooms, to distinguish them from the older Assembly Rooms in the lower part of the town.
They were a set of public rooms purpose-built for the 18th century form of entertainment called an ‘assembly’, where a large number of people came together to dance, drink tea, play cards, listen to music, or parade around the rooms and talk and flirt. The four rooms are the Ball Room, the Tea Room or Concert Room, the Octagon Room, and a Card Room. The Upper Rooms held two balls a week, a dress ball on Monday evenings and a fancy ball on Thursdays during the Bath season which was from October to early June. These balls were so popular they attracted between 800 and 1,200 guests at a time.
John Wood raised the money for the New Rooms by a “tontine” subscription, which was like a lottery. By April 1769, £14,000 was raised amongst 53 people. When a subscriber died, their shares were added to the holdings of the other subscribers, which meant that the last surviving subscriber inherited everything.
The exterior of the Upper Assembly Room looks typically Georgian, but the interior is very grand and the high ceilings gave good ventilation on crowded ball nights and windows set at a high level prevented outsiders from looking in. Two long rectangular rooms flank the entrance hall and are linked by an octagonal room at the far end to form a U-shape.

via 1835 The Historical and Local New Bath Guide Published By C. Duffield.

What did Jane Austen and friends wear? Early 1800s fashions were elegant and pretty with high waists and fabrics that were almost transparent. These Empire style gowns, named after Napoleon’s first Empress, became popular throughout Europe, and were then copied around the world. Colorful outwear was added to make an ensemble more attractive and warmer. History Notes Book 26 Fashion Women 1805-1809.
https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1805-1809
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.

Fashion Women 1805-1809 History Notes Book 26
What did Jane Austen and friends wear? This book looks at early 1800s fashions, which were elegant and pretty with high waists and fabrics that were almost transparent. These Empire style gowns, named after Napoleon’s first Empress, became popular throughout Europe, and were then copied around the world. Colorful outwear was added to make an ensemble more attractive and warmer.
https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1805-1809

1830-1835 ca. Canary Yellow Leather and Silk Slippers, British. #RomanticEra #Shoes #Fashion
1830-1835 ca. Canary Yellow Leather and Silk Slippers, British. Silk satin lined, kid leather and linen. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
1830s Shoes: Producing different shoes for right and left feet started around 1830 in France. In these first attempts, little paper labels on the insoles of the shoes indicated left and right. However, the shoes were still made on straight lasts with no differentiation between the left and right foot. By the end of the 19th century, producing left and right shoes had become common as shoemakers then worked with combinations of sole and vamp cuts tailored to fit either the right or the left foot. The first steps towards the mechanisation of shoemaking were taken during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1810, engineer Marc Brunel developed a machinery that could mass-produce nailed boots for the soldiers of the British Army. But after the end of the war in 1815, manual labour became cheap, and the demand for military shoes declined. The industrialization of shoemaking began around 1830.

1830-1835 ca. Canary Yellow Leather and Silk Slippers, British. #RomanticEra #Shoes #HistoricalFashion https://www.bookbub.com/profile/suzi-love

- Fashion Must Haves In Jane Austen’s times: Reticules, Spencers, Redingotes. History Notes Books 3, 4, and 5 By Suzi Love.
- books2read.com/suziloveReticules
- books2read.com/suziloveSpencers
- books2read.com/suzilovePelisse
- Reticule Or Bag: Purse, often with a drawstring to pull closed and usually made of cloth or covered cardboard and often decorated with beading or embroidery. Carried by a woman during the Regency period to carry all their daily necessities. in the place of pockets.
- Spencer: Short jacket, cropped at the waist, worn over a dress, or gown. Delicate and regency dresses provided so little protection from the cold, so over garments were essential for warmth, modesty and good health.
- Pelisse Or redingote Or Walking Dress: Coat worn over clothing of both sexes for warmth and protection from the elements.

800-1819 Bridgerton And Jane Austen Fashions In A Box Set. #Bridgerton #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #HistoricalFashion books2read.com/suziloveReticules books2read.com/suziloveSpencers
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1800 ca. Ormolu Ink Stand With Lid. Type of decorative desk tools used in Jane Austen’s times. #JaneAusten #RegencyEra #France #Antique
1800 ca. Ormolu Ink Stand with Lid, French. Ormolu ink stand in the shape of a globe surrounded by three rams head pen supports with animal legs and hoofs on a tripartite base. The top is removable revealing a silvered compartment with containers for sand and ink. via 1st Dibs Auctions 1stdibs.com
Definition Ormolu: Gold colored alloy of copper, zinc, and tin used in decoration and for making ornaments. Ormolu is used in mounts i.e ornaments on borders, edges, and as angle guards) for furniture, especially 18th-century furniture, and for other decorative purposes. Its gold colour may be heightened by immersion in dilute sulfuric acid or by burnishing.

1800 ca. Ormolu Ink Stand With Lid. Type of decorative desk tools used in Jane Austen’s times. #JaneAusten #RegencyEra #France #Antique books2read.com/SuziLoveWritingTools

Love the Bridgerton Series? Fan of Jane Austen? What did men wear in the early 1800s? Suits, hats, shoes, underclothing, military and bedroom fashions. #Bridgerton #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #BritishHistory
A Regency Era, or early 1800s, gentleman was outfitted in more practical fabrics, such as wool, cotton and buckskin rather than the fussy brocades and silks of the late 1700s. French fashions and Georgian and Regency Era fashions from Great Britain were copied around the world. Take a look at the outfits worn by gentlemen in the Bridgerton series and in Jane Austen’s lifetime.
History Notes Book 23 Fashion Men 1800-1819 https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionMen1800-1819
The British Regency was the period from 1811-1820. King George III was deemed mad and unfit to rule so his son became his proxy, the Prince Regent, or Prinny to his close friends. This was the situation when Jane Austen was alive. The Regency Era was famous for its beautiful clothing as well as the magnificent buildings erected and furnished in the ‘Regency Style’ under orders from the extravagant Prince Regent.The Regency Era saw a wide variety of acceptable pants for men. Breeches were worn as part of a man’s daily outfit during the early 1800s and were necessary for formal occasions, such as court appearances, during the entire Regency Era. However, younger gentlemen moved away from breeches for daytime wear around 1807 and adopted a variety of long pants called trousers, pantaloons, buckskins or inexpressables. Knee-length breeches, worn with stockings, continued to be worn by older gentlemen through the entire Regency Era.
Around 1807, upper class gentlemen wore trousers held up by suspenders or pantaloons, which were closely fitted and worn with tall boots. Buckskins, made from deerskin, were comfortable to wear for riding. Inexpressibles were very tight leggings that left little to the imagination of young ladies. Every Regency man’s outfit included a hat, gloves, shoes or boots, and a selection of added accessories from a walking stick, watch on a chain, fobs, coin purse and a handkerchief.


Love gorgeous fashions from Jane Austen years? Take a look at what women wore and carried around 1800. #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #nonfiction
Fashion Women 1800 By Suzi Love History Notes Book 12 #Regency #Fashion Love gorgeous historical women’s fashions? Take a look at what women wore and carried in 1800 in Europe and around the world. books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1800
- Women’s dress changed dramatically after 1785. The rich fabrics and complicated, formal shapes of the late 18th century gave way to simple, light fabrics that draped easily. These new gowns achieved something of the effect of the simple tunics shown on classical Greek and Roman statues and vases. Inspired in part by the statuary of ancient Greece and Rome, the new fashion was epitomised by light cotton gowns falling around the body in an unstructured way, held around the high waist with a simple sash and accompanied by a soft shawl draped around exposed shoulders. This style was ideal for the Indian imports like Kashmiri shawls and Bengali muslin, as used in this embroidered gown. Championed by such influential figures as Emma Hamilton in England and Madame Récamier in France, the so-called ‘Empire’ style catapulted Indian muslin into the forefront of fashion.
- Empire Dress: Owes its name, physical emancipation, popularity, and even its sexiness to France. In this English example, French style is slavishly followed in the gown’s high waist and modish stripes.
- Empire style, or early 1800s, high-waisted dresses made it impossible to either sewn in a pocket or to tie on a pocket. So women began carrying small, decorated bags called Reticules, or ridicules, which generally pulled close at the top with a drawstring.
- Inspired in part by the statuary of ancient Greece and Rome, the new fashion was epitomised by light cotton gowns falling around the body in an unstructured way, held around the high waist with a simple sash and accompanied by a soft shawl draped around exposed shoulders. This style was ideal for the Indian imports like Kashmiri shawls and Bengali muslin, as used in this embroidered gown. Championed by such influential figures as Emma Hamilton in England and Madame Récamier in France, the so-called ‘Empire’ style catapulted Indian muslin into the forefront of fashion.

Love gorgeous fashions from Jane Austen years? Take a look at what women wore and carried around 1800. #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten #nonfiction books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1800

1820 Brown Evening Dress Of Figured Silk Muslin With Brown Gauze Trim. #RegencyFashion #HistoricalFashion #England
1820 Brown Evening Dress Of Figured Silk Muslin With Brown Gauze Trim. An evening dress of tobacco coloured figured silk muslin, warp float, small sprig repeat design. Shallow, round neckline, short puffed sleeves, high, empire-style waistline and long tubular skirt. Bodice has narrow cream lace trim above a band of self fabric edged with cream silk braid and brown silk taffeta piping. Bodice front has brown silk gauze joined on at side seams with 3 van dyke points down sides of centre front. Edges of points bound with silk taffeta and trimmed with ball buttons covered in brown silk floss.
Centre front panel has brown silk cord lacing through 17 handworked eyelets bordered by 2 v-shaped strips of same silk taffeta rouleaus. Self fabric waistband is trimmed with cream braid and piping, with two van dyke points either side of centre back. Bodice laced at back from neck to waistband while gauze overlay from front forms a band tucked over the waist, which extends over skirt to form a narrow peplym, also van dyke pointed and bound with taffeta. Two self fabric epaulettes attached at sleeve seams and trimmed with brown silk passmenterie tassel, at shoulder and with same braid and piping. Short sleeves overlaid with brown silk gauze ruched between rouleaux bands stitched to lining. Cuff bands piped and braided and cut into 8 van dyke points above overlay. Points are trimmed with braid, piping and silk covered ball buttons. Skirt of dress falls to the ground, trained at back, and flounce of satin striped silk gauze falling from corded seam. Bodice lined with cream cotton. Via Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia. collection.maas.museum.
Passementerie: Art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, passements) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings. Styles of passementerie include the tassel, fringes, ornamental cords, galloons, pompons, rosettes, and gimps, as well as other forms. Tassels, pompons, and rosettes are point ornaments, and the others are linear ornaments.

1820 Brown Evening Dress Of Figured Silk Muslin With Brown Gauze Trim. #RegencyEra #Fashion #England https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819
1820 Brown Evening Dress Of Figured Silk Muslin With Brown Gauze Trim. #RegencyEra #Fashion #England
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1787 St. George’s Church, Hanover Square, London, U.K. By T. Malton. A favorite place to be married for the Regency aristocracy during Bridgerton and Jane Austen times, but also a haunt of pickpockets.
From the Edinburgh Annual Register 1810: Complaints have been made of numerous robberies, by daring gangs of pickpockets in the daytime, in the public streets, also at churches, chapels, and meetings, particularly at St. George’s church, Hanover-square. The Countess of Aylesford, and several other ladies of distinction, having been robbed there, mentioned the circumstances to Townsend, the officer. The Countess of Aylesford said, she had no doubt but she was robbed by a short fat woman. Townsend went to the church and observed Mary Blakeman, alias Hills, a well known female pickpocket, genteelly dressed in a black velvet pelisse and a cottage straw bonnet. When he called her outside, no stolen property was found on her person, despite him knowing her to be a thief for 25 years.



