19th Century Women's Dress

Three (Affordable) Resources for Learning About Women's Fashions in the Regency Era:
When I first began researching women's dress of the Regency era, I looked up lists of books on the topic, only to find many of these resources were out of my price range. Hence, the list below for budding researchers who don't want to exceed their budgets.

1.Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen  is probably one of the most affordable books on this list. Although it is relatively brief, just 63 pages, Sarah Jane Downing includes numerous images to enhance the reader's understanding of the intricacies of Regency women's dress.

2.The Art of Dress was one of the first books I used when I began researching the history of women's dress. Jane Ashelford, a respected historian, uses the National Trust's costume collection to provide a broad survey of four centuries of fashion. The book contains a  treasure trove of images and includes information on different styles and materials.

3. Elizabeth Ewing's Dress and Undress  is essential if you wish to acquire a full understanding of the typical Regency woman's use of clothes. Ewing provides fascinating accounts of nineteenth century "bust improvers" and details on specific enhancement such as the divorce corset. This book will definitely assist romance writers and interest nineteenth century researchers in general.

Bonus Resource: The Regency Fashion Page
 Cathy Decker's website provides hundreds of images for the serious researcher. I especially enjoy Decker's Regency Style Year-by-Year page, which is helpful for writers with a specific date in mind.

Regency Dress of the Month: March

Morning Dress, Ackermann's
Morning dress were generally plain and allowed for ease of movement. Generally, they were worn with a cap, as seen in the image above, and the arms and chest were covered. Morning dresses were appropriate both for remaining at home or for early (before noon) walks or carriage rides in the park. The lady above is no doubt working on her morning correspondence, perhaps responding to an invitation or communicating with friends back at home if it is during the London season.

From Regency Etiquette: The Mirror of Graces (1811)
"There are a race of women, who, priding themselves on their superior rank, or wealth, or talents, affect to despise what they deem the adventitious aids of dress. When this folly is seen in female authors, or, what is much the same thing, ladies professing a particularly literary taste, we can at once traces its motive. Wishing to be thought superior to founding any regard on external ornament, they forget external decency; and by slatternness and affectation, render, what is called a learned woman, a kind of scare-crow of her own sex, and a laughing-stock to the other. This error is not so common now with bookish ladies, as it was in the beginning of the last century. Then our sex did, indeed, show that 'a little learning is a dangerous thing.'"