Dressing in a 1790s round gown is a short 23 second clip.
This video of getting into an 1805 gown has been around longer, but is worth revisiting. Koshkacat has a fabulous site. In this video one can see why a maid’s (or a relative’s) help is required.
At the bottom of this web page by Wm Booth Draper, you will see the sort of straight pins that were used to close gowns.
This chocolate brown chintz cloak from 1790 has a cream and turquoise floral print. The hood and edges are deeply pleated, and the entire garment is lined in cream flannel with a scarlet floral print and a tan print cotton. Images@Christie’s.
Jane Austen's World 
I can’t believe she was able to do that alone! Looked so frustrating! The dress was so beautiful, though, it would be worth it!!
The videos were so interesting! Although the clothes are lovely (don’t we all wish we had one of those gowns?), I am so grateful not to have to deal with a corset and all those layers every day. Thanks for sharing, Vic!
Makes me appreciate zippers, lol! Awesome post, thank you. :)
Great post! I love the clothes but they are so hard to get into! I’m glad it’s much easier to get dressed these days.
Great post with the videos. I can see why with the second video one would need a maid. I’m surprised that they didn’t have some sort of an hook-an-eye instead of straight pins to help close the gown.
I’m very appreciative in my clothes. But I bet it is fun to dress up in those gowns. :)
Fascinating! And I also can see why a maid would be most useful. It is clear why, when wearing period clothing, one should wear period underwear as well.
That was fascinating! Keep sharing things like that as you find them.
Oh my! If I had to go through all that to get dressed, I’d probably just stay in my dressing gown all day! By the time I got into my dress, I’d probably be completely out of the mood to go out!
“Cream panel with a scarlet floral print”–maybe just because I write, but that very phrase sounds sensuous to me!
Seeing how much help is required with dressing makes me curious all over again at how “invisible” the “help” is in so many Victorian novels. These people had their hands on your body, cooked your food, washed your clothes! Yet their lives in that literature are near-invisible.
Those are great clips and very informative. It is a chore to get into period costume and one does need help from at least one person. Thirty to forty years ago I was involved in SCA (the Society for Creative Anachronism and getting into medieval costume was very involved and renaissance costume even more so, especially the Elizabethan court dress. It took two people to help me into the latter. The headdresses were also difficult.
It was fun for a few years but then I became interested in other pursuits and sold or gave away all my costumes and accessories except for an antique chatelaine that I kept because it came from my great grandmother.
These two clips are interesting!
Stunning!