Copyright @Jane Austen’s World
Looking at the images in this post, one can only imagine how difficult it was for a woman in full evening dress (or court dress) to move around. Between taking care of her shawl, reticule, dance card, and fan, she had to walk upright and sedately so that her head feathers did not topple over after an abrupt movement or caught fire under chandeliers ablaze with candles.
1794-95 Court Dress
Examining the above image, one can readily see that these costumes were designed for high-ceilinged rooms that were opened by high double doors.
A lady's wig catches fire. Thomas Rowlandson. Image @Yale University
In this dramatic image, Thomas Rowlandson catches a moment of real danger both for the lady whose wig (and feathers) caught fire, and for the guests, who might have been trapped in a house fire, for water to put out flames was not easily obtained. In the late 18th century The London Times reported on several more incidents in which ladies found ways to accommodate their head feathers, or in which the feathers (and mother nature) got the best of them.
Lady Godina's Rout
At all elegant Assemblies there is a room set apart for the lady visitants to put their feathers on, as it is impossible to wear them in any carriage with a top to it. The lustres are also removed upon this account, and the doors are carried up to the height of the ceiling. A well-dressed Lady who nods with dexterity can give a friend a little tap upon the shoulder across the room without incommoding the dancers. The Ladies feathers are now generally carried in the sword case at the back of the carriage. – Times, Dec 29, 1795.
Tippies of Newton, 1796 caricature by Richard Newton. Image @Wikimedia Commons
A young lady only ten feet high was overset in one of the late gales of wind in Portland Place, and the upper mast of her feather blown upon Hampstead Hill. “The maroon fever has been succeeded by a very odd kind of light-headedness, which the physicians call ptereo mania, or feather folly.” The Ladies now wear feathers exactly of their own length, so that a woman of fashion is twice as long upon her feet as in her bed. – Times, Dec 30, 1795.
1796, High Change in Bond Street, Gillray
We saw a feather in Drury Lane Theatre yesterday evening that cost ten guinea. We should have thought the whole goose not worth the money. – Times, Jan 6, 1796.
A Modern Belle Going to the Rooms at Bath, James Gillray, 1796. Image @Wikimedia Commons
Here is a contrivance by which A Modern Belle going to the Rooms or Balls can go fully dressed with her feathers fixed. There is to be seen in Gt Queen Street a Coach upon a new construction. The Ladies set in this well and see between the spokes of the wheels. With this contrivance the fair proprietor is able to go quite dressed to her visits, her feathers being only a yard and a half high. – Times, Jan 22, 1796.
Vis a vis Ladies Coop, 1776
The Times described predicaments regarding head feathers that were not new. Note how twenty years before, both high wigs AND feathers were accommodated. And, indeed, feathers, whether made from ostrich, emu, goose, or peacock, remained popular as a head dress for years to come.
The headdress, while always including a veil, also required feathers as part of it, although, the number and size of the feathers varied with the Monarchy. At the time of Queen Charlotte, young ladies wore one single towering ostrich feather, but through the years, the number of feathers required increased. By the Edwardian Era, the widespread use of feathers to decorate hats and bonnets began the passage of laws that restricted using certain types of bird’s feathers.*
Queen Victoria hated small feathers, so orders were issued that Her Majesty wanted to see the feathers as the young lady approached. Later in Queen Victoria’s reign, as well as in the court of Edward VII, the mandated headdress was three feathers arranged in a Prince of Wales plume–that is, the center feather was higher than the two on each side of it–and it was worn slightly on the left side of the head. Tiaras were worn by married women, and it was extremely difficult to keep the feathers in place, especially during the curtsy.
More on the topic:
Jane Austen's World 
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Vic and Lesley-Anne McLeod, Jane Travers. Jane Travers said: RT @janeaustenworld: Regency Fashion: How a lady accommodated head feathers at end of the 18th century http://t.co/no9dR4P -> fascinating! […]
How fascinating!
An interesting article – feathers catching fire isn’t something you’d imagine happening! What an odd fashion that was, and not at all attractive by modern standards.
Did you find out what was the time period for this fashion to be prominent? 1790-1810 or even longer?
Anna, the fashion was still quite prominent towards the end of the 19th century and during the Edwardian era. In fact, so many feathers were used to adorn women’s fashions, that some bird species were threatened. The Audubon society tried to step in to stop the slaughter. The great crested grebe, for example, was killed in such numbers that the bird nearly became extinct, for it had to be killed before the feathers could be taken. Other birds in danger were herons, egrets, terns, jays, pheasants, finches, eider ducks, and the gannet. The wild craze for feathers (and placing entire stuffed birds, such as sparrows and warblers, on top of women’s millinery) stopped some time in the early 20th century.
Oh! Learnt something new again! The feather fashion sounds like the modern fashion for fur – equally questionable yet popular. Imagine having animal rights groups protesting in front of ball rooms… hehe!
Vic, you’ve outdone yourself with this post! I laughed heartily the entire way through it. :D
One thinks Lady Godina might’ve had a better usage of her feather. ;)
Yeah. This post sold me.
I’m going to stalk you. I’ll start by just doing it on the internet but who knows how far I will go?!
Note: That will be about as far as I go.
The head feather craze of the 18th century reminds me of the bouffant faze of the 1960s. It was quite a feat to tease you hair high enough that you couldn’t see daylight through the hairdo. I was an expert at it. Then, one day in biology, we were dissecting grasshoppers. The boys thought it was funny to cut off their heads and throw them in my hair. I almost passed out. :)))
~Jo~
I remember the backstory from The Duchess in which Keira said that her wig and the feathers were so heavy, she had a headache the whole time they were shooting the scene.
From Wikipedia: Harriet Hemenway (1858–1960) was a Boston socialite who founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society. During the Gilded Age, it became fashionable for women to wear plumes in their hats. These plumes came from woodpeckers, bluebirds, owls, herons and warblers, thousands of which were killed each year. In 1896, Hemenway and her cousin Minna Hall contacted the wealthy women of Boston and invited them to join a society for the protection of birds, the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Nearly 1,000 women joined. The group used its political power to have a Massachusetts law passed in 1897 outlawing trade in wild bird feathers.
Thanks again for another excellent post.