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Book Review: Jane Austen’s Wardrobe by Hilary Davidson

Posted in 19th Century England, Book review, Clothes, Fashions, Jane Austen's letters, Jane Austen's life, Jane Austen's World, Regency fashion, Regency style, Regency Women, Reticule and purse on November 14, 2023| 2 Comments »

Dear readers, I have an exquisite new book to share with you today: Jane Austen’s Wardrobe by Hilary Davidson!

Filled with incredible photos and written information, it’s one of the most detailed books I’ve seen in a long time on this topic. Not only is it beautiful, it is filled with fascinating information on one of my most favorite topics.

This is my new favorite book on Jane Austen’s Regency Fashion. I know I’ll continue to pour over it for years to come!

Austen’s Wardrobe by Category

Within the pages of this lovely book, Davidson works her way through Austen’s personal wardrobe chronologically, from head to toe. Davidson’s system for cataloging Austen’s wardrobe is fascinating! For those of us who delight in a linear and/or chronological order to a wide and varied topic, Davidson definitely checks all the boxes.

First, she breaks all of Austen’s clothing down into the following categories:

  • Clothes Press: Gowns
  • Closet: Spencers, Pelisses and Outer Garments
  • Band Box: Hats, Caps and Bonnets
  • Shelves: Shawls, Tippets, Cloaks and Shoes
  • Dressing Table: Gloves, Fans, Flowers, Trims and Handkerchiefs
  • Jewelery Box: Necklaces, Rings and Bracelets
  • Drawers: Undergarments and Nightwear

Davidson even includes several pages of sketches, descriptions, and explanations for Jane’s “Portrait Gown” – which I found completely engrossing.

Austen’s Letters Quoted

Next, Davidson utilizes Austen’s personal letters to explore every inch of Austen’s wardrobe, working her way through each category in chronological order. To do this, she shares one quote at time, citing portions of letters that mention Austen’s clothing. Then, for each article of clothing, every hat, and every piece of jewelry, she explains that quote in great detail and provides photos to aid our understanding.

For instance, Austen writes this in Letter 65:

“I can easily suppose that your six weeks here will be fully occupied, were it only in lengthening the waists of your gowns. I have pretty well arranged my spring & summer plans of that kind, & mean to wear out my spotted Muslin before I go. –You will exclaim at this–but mine has signs of feebleness, which with a little care may come to something.”

Tuesday 17 – Wednesday 18 January, 1809, Castle Square

Davidson provides photos of spotted muslin fabric swatches and a photo of a dress made of spotted muslin, dated 1805-10. Then she explains the muslin fabric, provides quotes from Austen’s novels about muslin dresses, and explains Austen’s quote. She goes over the dress styles, what was involved in “lengthening the waist” of a gown, the meaning of “worked” fabric, and the ins and outs of fragile fabrics of that time period, including how women used belts to cover holes in the fabric when a waist was lengthened.

I found this incredibly interesting because I’ve always been curious about Austen’s extensive quotes about her dresses and hats in her letters. The result is a delightful (and sometimes hilarious) tour through Jane Austen’s closet in her own words, with pictures and explanations to match!

Here are several more examples, provided by Yale University Press:

Informative and Beautiful

Like many of Austen’s heroines, this book is both intelligent and beautiful. Inside and out, this book is absolutely stunning. The photos provide a detailed look into Jane Austen’s clothing that is hard to find, especially all in one place. This book feels like a worldwide museum tour of all the most exquisite clothing artifacts from Austen’s time.

This is the perfect addition to any Jane Austen library – and it will look gorgeous on your coffee table!

Book Description

Hilary Davidson delves into the clothing of one of the world’s great authors, providing unique and intimate insight into her everyday life and material world.
 
Acclaimed dress historian and Austen expert Hilary Davidson reveals, for the first time, the wardrobe of one of the world’s most celebrated authors. Despite her acknowledged brilliance on the page, Jane Austen has all too often been accused of dowdiness in her appearance. Drawing on Austen’s 161 known letters, as well as her own surviving garments and accessories, this book assembles examples of the variety of clothes she would have possessed—from gowns and coats to shoes and undergarments—to tell a very different story.

The Jane Austen Hilary Davidson discovers is alert to fashion trends but thrifty and eager to reuse and repurpose clothing. Her renowned irony and wit peppers her letters, describing clothes, shopping, and taste. Jane Austen’s Wardrobe offers the rare pleasure of a glimpse inside the closet of a stylish dresser and perpetually fascinating writer.

About the Author

Hilary Davidson is a dress, textile and fashion historian and curator. Her work encompasses making and knowing, things and theory, with an extraordinary understanding of how historic clothing objects come to be and how they function in culture.

Hilary is equally skilled in analysing historical and archaeological material culture artefacts; presenting engaging, fascinating talks to diverse audiences; and producing influential academic research.

Her extensive experience includes:

  • Scholarly research
  • Lecturing, teaching and public talks
  • Broadcasting and journalism
  • Historic dressmaking

Hilary trained as a bespoke shoemaker in her native Australia before completing a Masters in the History of Textiles and Dress at Winchester School of Art (University of Southampton) in 2004. Since graduating, Hilary’s practice has concerned the relationship between theoretical and highly material approaches to dress history, especially in the early modern and medieval periods.

As a skilled and meticulous handsewer, she has created replica clothing projects for a number of museums, including a ground-breaking replication of Jane Austen’s pelisse. At the same time she lectured extensively on fashion history, theory and culture, on semiotics, and cultural mythologies, especially red shoes.

In 2007 Hilary became curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London. She contributed to the £20 million permanent gallery redevelopment opening in 2010, and curated an exhibition on pirates, while continuing to publish, teach and lecture in the UK and internationally. In collaboration with Museum of London Archaeology, Hilary began analysing archaeological textiles and continues to cross disciplines by consulting in this area in England and Australia. She also worked on the AHRC 5-star rated Early Modern Dress and Textiles Network (2007-2009) and from 2011 has appeared as an expert on a number of BBC historical television programmes, and as a frequent radio guest speaker in London and Sydney.

From 2012 Hilary worked between Sydney and London as a freelance curator, historian, broadcaster, teacher, lecturer, consultant and designer, while working on a PhD in Archaeology at La Trobe University, Melbourne. In addition to historical studies she has been a jewellery designer, graphic designer, photographer, gallerist, and worked in retail fashion and vintage clothing. In 2022 she moved to New York City to take up the role of Associate Professor and Chair of the MA Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Hilary has taught and lectured extensively, including at the University of Southampton, Central St Martins, the University of Cambridge, the University of Glasgow, New York University London, The American University Paris, Fashion Design Studio TAFE Sydney and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney. She speaks regularly at academic conferences and to the public. Her first monograph book was Dress in the Age of Jane Austen (2019) followed by Jane Austen’s Wardrobe in 2023. Her extensive publications can be found on Academia and ResearchGate.

To Order the Book:

You can order the book by clicking HERE
or by clicking the image below:

Recommended Book Gift

I hope you’ve enjoyed this short tour of this stunning new book by Hilary Davidson. If you’re looking for a gift for a fellow Jane Austen fan, or if your friends or family members need an idea for a gift for you this holiday season, I highly recommend this one!

RACHEL DODGE teaches college English classes, gives talks at libraries, teas, and book clubs, and writes for Jane Austen’s World blog. She is the bestselling author of The Little Women Devotional, The Anne of Green Gables Devotional and Praying with Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen. Now Available: The Secret Garden Devotional! You can visit Rachel online at www.RachelDodge.com.

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The Contents of a Lady’s Reticule: Part 2

Posted in Jane Austen's World, Regency fashion, Reticule and purse, Sanditon, tagged , , , , , on December 31, 2020| 20 Comments »

by Brenda S. Cox

“Here, sir,” taking out his pocket book, “if you will do me the favor of casting your eye over these advertisements which I cut out myself . . .”—Mr. Parker in Sanditon

What did ladies carry in those beautiful little reticules? In Part 1 we looked at some of the items that author Candice Hern has collected. We began with the necessary items: a fan, a vinaigrette, and a coin purse. Then we added some optional items: a perfume étui (a little container for a perfume bottle) and a cosmetics case. What else might ladies have carried in their reticules?

Books

Candice says they carried books in their reticules! That sounds right up my alley. I often carry a book or my Kindle in my purse. But these were very specific kinds of books, made very small to fit in the reticule. Candice showed us two types, pocket books and almanacs.

Pocket Books

The pocket book, perhaps like Mr. Parker’s, was the Regency version of a Day-Timer®. It was about 3” by 5”, usually covered with leather. A foldover flap kept it closed in the reticule. Many publishers produced these, so apparently they were a popular item.

Each began with a title page and a foldout fashion plate. Most pages showed a week’s calendar on one page, opposite a page to list expenses for that week. The lady might list items she bought, losses at cards, and gifts to poor people. A tiny pencil would probably accompany the pocketbook.

Pocket books also included short stories, essays, poetry, and even games. I hope these ladies had good eyes!

This English Ladies Pocket Book was published in Birmingham in 1803. The foldout shows ladies in some interesting bonnets. The book also includes calendar pages, expense pages, and things to read.

Almanacks

Another book that might be in a ladies’ reticule was a miniature almanac (or, as they would have written it, almanack). These were published yearly from 1690 to 1885. You could buy them at stationers’ shops and give them as Christmas gifts. Or, your dressmaker or milliner might give you one if you were a regular customer, as companies today might give out calendars.

These almanacs were either 1 1/8” square, or 1 1/8” by 2 ¼”. They included pictures; calendars showing holidays, phases of the moon, etc.; lists of the Kings and Queens of England and the Lord Mayors and Sheriffs of London; and information about coins and currency.

By the way, do you know why phases of the moon were important? Most evening visiting was done when the moon was full, so there was enough light to travel in your carriage by night. For example, in Sense and Sensibility when Sir John Middleton wants to invite a lot of people over, he wasn’t able to because “it was moonlight and every body was full of engagements.” So the phases of the moon were part of people’s social planning.

This miniature almanac from 1788 shows phases of the moon, dates of holidays, the church calendar, and dates for terms at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

The tiny almanac came in a lovely case of tooled and gilded leather, to protect it in the reticule.

What else might have been in a ladies’ reticule?

A few years ago I had the privilege of attending the first few days of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath. Way up in Upper Camden Place, near where the Elliots lived in Persuasion, Jane Tapley gave a fascinating talk called “Rummaging Through the Reticule.” She added many more ideas on what might have been in the reticule. Of course reticules were not just carried to parties and visits. They were also used for travel; perhaps they had larger ones for that purpose. Besides some of the items Candice showed, Jane Tapley suggested that the reticule might have included:

  • dressy shoes (silk, satin, or starched cotton), so they wouldn’t get dirty or scuffed on the way to and from the party
  • ostrich feather for your hat (so it didn’t blow away on the way)
  • a small chamber pot if the lady was traveling; they would use it in a coach under their skirts, then dump it through a trap door in the bottom of the coach! Or they might bring one going out to dinner. It could also be carried in your muff. It would have been about the size and shape of a gravy boat.
  • cutlery (silver or wood), including a spoon, probably silver, to be used all during your lifetime
  • a cup, fork, corkscrew, and a little pot for mustard, salt, or pepper, all in a small set for traveling or visits
  • traveling drinking cup made of horn or silver

When traveling, a lady might carry her own cutlery and even salt. Items from Jane Tapley’s collection, photo by Brenda S. Cox

  • a small case (or étui) specifically for sewing. It might include a needle case, scissors case, ivory bobbin winder, silver thimble, ivory pincushion, and a little penknife for cutting thread, plus a box of colored beads and a fine needle for beading. A small sewing kit might be called a huswife or a housewife.
  • little lead pencils or a writing set
  • a tiny book like The Merchant of Venice
  • a silhouette of your sweetheart

Little books were made small enough to carry in the reticule. A silhouette was a way to carry a picture with you. (Items from Jane Tapley’s collection, photo by Brenda S. Cox)

  • glasses or magnifying glasses
  • lorgnettes (folding glasses on a string, worn on a chain around the neck)

Glasses, embroidered handkerchiefs, and sewing supplies might also come in handy in your reticule. (Items from Jane Tapley’s collection, photo by Brenda S. Cox)

  • a half sovereign case that carried two half-sovereigns
  • potpourri or pomanders to keep away body odors
  • handkerchiefs with fine embroidery
  • invitations

Now, imagine that you’re going with Jane Austen to an evening party. What will you carry in your reticule, out of these many options? Or, if you’re traveling with her to another town, what would you carry then?

To find out more about her and her work, look for her on:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Regency World

To see more of her lovely collections, go to her Regency Collections.

 

You can connect with Brenda S. Cox, the author of this article, at Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen or on Facebook.

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The Contents of a Lady’s Reticule: Part 1

Posted in Dear Mrs Elton, Emma, Fashions, Jane Austen's World, Regency, Regency fashion, Reticule and purse, tagged , , , , , on December 28, 2020| 18 Comments »

by Brenda S. Cox

When Emma encountered Mrs. Elton visiting Jane Fairfax, “she saw [Mrs. Elton] with a sort of anxious parade of mystery fold up a letter which she had apparently been reading aloud to Miss Fairfax, and return it into the purple and gold ridicule by her side,”—Emma, Volume 3, chapter 16, Cambridge edition

If you’ve ever made yourself a Jane Austen-era costume, you know that a reticule is an essential accessory. These lovely small purses hung by a drawstring from the lady’s wrist.

In previous generations, wide skirts had allowed for two huge pockets, one on each hip, to hold essential items. But with the slim new Regency style, there was no longer room for pockets. So the pockets were externalized and made small and beautiful.

If you have a reticule, you realize that it doesn’t hold nearly as much as a modern purse. Nowadays we might put our phone and a credit card, driver’s license, and little cash in the reticule. But what did Jane Austen’s ladies carry in theirs?

Candice Hern recently gave three lovely presentations for the JASNA AGM*. She showed her collection of items an Austen-era lady might have carried in her reticule. First, she pointed out that Jane Austen would probably not have used the word reticule! This little purse was more often called a ridicule.  This was the word used in ladies’ magazines of the time. That’s why, in the quote above from the original 1816 edition of Emma, Mrs. Elton has a purple and gold ridicule, not a reticule.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists sources calling it a ridicule from 1799 to 1999, and sources calling it a reticule from 1801 to 2004. So the terms were used interchangeably for a long time. Both words apparently came from the French word réticule for a small handbag. That word came from the Latin rēticulum for a small meshwork bag. Ridicule may have been a pun on the French word, though no one seems to know for sure.

The only time Jane Austen mentions a reticule, or ridicule, is in the above passage from Emma. Mrs. Elton slips a letter into her ridicule, which is, of course, a showy purple and gold one. Austen may have purposely chosen the form ridicule because Mrs. Elton is so often ridiculous! But modern versions usually change it to reticule.

So, we know that reticules could be used to carry letters. The Cambridge edition of Emma tells me that reticules might also hold handkerchiefs, snuff boxes, or sweets. However, snuff boxes seem to have been a gentleman’s item, so I doubt ladies would have often carried them. (Though some ladies did take snuff, though not as widely as men did.)

Candice Hern tells us that Regency reticules might range from only two inches long up to about ten inches long. So everything that ladies carried began to be made smaller. This created some lovely, tiny treasures.

Here are some of the items Candice showed us, with photos she kindly provided from her collection:

Reticule Essentials: the Fan, the Coin Purse, and the Vinaigrette

Fans

For hot evenings in the “crush” of a crowded ball or party, women carried fans. In Austen’s novels, she says Catherine Morland carried a fan at a dance. At Fanny Price’s ball, it seems her brother fanned her with his partner’s fan. Austen talks about her own “white fan” in a letter of Jan. 8, 1799.

Before and after this period, fans were about 10-12 inches long. (This is the length of the fan sticks; the open fan would be almost twice that in width.) But, to fit in the reticule, fans were made smaller, only about 7 inches long. They were most often made from ivory. Some were pierced with a tiny jeweler’s saw, to give a lacy effect. This was called brisé (pronounced bree-ZAY). Here are two of Candice’s (and my) favorites:

This gorgeous brisé fan is made of mother-of-pearl. It would shine and sparkle in a candlelit ballroom. The guard sticks, at each end of the fan, are made of faceted and polished steel. It also sparkles like jewels. Each stick is pierced identically, but the sticks are placed in alternating directions to form a pattern. c. 1810-1815.

The top section of this fan is painted rather than pierced. The birds and butterflies are made of real feathers. The flowers were created with tiny pieces of velvet.

On the lower part, sticks of three different pierced patterns are arranged to form a more complex pattern. The sticks are 6 ½” long. c. 1810-1820, or earlier.

For more lovely fans, see Candice’s website.

Coin Purses

Regency women didn’t have wallets like we carry today. In small reticules, they may have carried loose coins. But in larger reticules they kept coins in a coin purse so they could find them easily. Ladies usually made these purses, which might be beaded, knitted, or netted. In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bingley marvels at the accomplishments of young ladies, who can all “net purses.”

Some coin purses closed with drawstrings, while others had a metal closure at the top. The closure might be made of pinchbeck—a cheap metal alloy that looks golden—or other metals. Ladies also made coin purses for men. Austen’s favorite poet, William Cowper, wrote a poem thanking his cousin for making him a network purse. Gentlemen’s purses were sometimes called miser’s purses.

A lady probably bought the sterling silver frame (dated 1816) for this coin purse, then netted it with pink and silver metallic thread. It is 3 ¾” long, plus the tassel.

Vinaigrettes

If a woman began to swoon, in an airless room or when she learned something unpleasant, a vinaigrette was pulled out of a reticule and waved under her nose. These tiny metal boxes held a sponge soaked in vinegar and perfumed oils, with a grille over the sponge to let out the fumes. The grille might be dotted with holes, or might be pierced in a lovely design. Vinaigrettes were made of various materials and in many shapes and designs; those in Candice’s collection are silver.

The sponge might alternatively be soaked in something sweet-smelling, like rose water or lavender water. Many places in the Regency era stank, and a sweet smell could help the lady tolerate them.

Austen doesn’t mention vinaigrettes, but she does mention smelling salts, which were used similarly. Candice thinks these salts would actually have been a solution in vinegar, kept in a vinaigrette.

Regency vinaigrettes were tiny and delicate; Candice’s range from ½” across to 1 ¾” across.

This vinaigrette is made of silver but gilded inside, so the vinegar did not discolor the silver. It still contained a ratty sponge when Candice bought it. It could be carried in a reticule, or, with the metal ring, attached to a chatelaine: chains used for hanging things to a woman’s belt. Marked 1802, made in Birmingham.

Other Items That Might be Carried in a Reticule: Perfumes and Cosmetics

Perfume étuis

Perfume also counteracted bad smells. In Austen’s age, when bathing was not very common, perfumes were essential. However, perfume bottles were breakable, easily spilled, and too large to carry in a reticule.

So a lady would carry a perfume étui (pronounced ay-twee), a tiny container that could hold a glass vial of perfume and be fastened tightly shut. (Other types of étuis were used to carry sewing materials, writing materials, eating utensils, and other items; the word is French for any portable case.)

Perfume étuis were made of enamel, metal, tortoiseshell, shagreen, or other materials. Shagreen was a cheap option. It was shark’s skin, usually dyed green, with a knobbly texture. Shagreen étuis were probably used by middle-class women, while upper-class women used more expensive materials.

This painted enamel étui with brass fittings is about 2 ½” high. It held a tiny glass bottle of perfume with a screw-on metal top. 1760s to 1780s.

This shagreen étui is only 1 ¾” tall. It holds two tiny bottles of scent, so the lady can choose which she wants to use.

Cosmetic Cases

Some ladies also carried small cosmetic cases in their reticules. These were similar to today’s compacts. When open, the top was a polished mirror, and the bottom might contain rouge and/or lip color, and an applicator.

This 2 ½” wide cosmetic case still had traces of rouge in it when Candice bought it. The applicator brush is made of ivory. The outside of this case is shagreen (dyed shark skin), with silver decoration. 1770s or 1780s.

Next time, in Part 2, we’ll look at some other fun items a woman might have carried in her reticule. What else do you guess a lady might have carried?

*JASNA AGM—the Jane Austen Society of North America Annual General Meeting, which this year was held online in October.

Candice Hern writes Regency-era novels.

To find out more about her and her work, look for her on:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Regency World

To see more of her lovely collections, go to her Regency Collections.

Links in the article above take you to Candice’s articles about specific items.

All images courtesy of Candice Hern, used by permission.

For more information, see also:

Fans: Essential Accessories, including the language of the fan

Reticule: The Regency Purse

A Fashionable Accessory

The Reticule and Purse

 

You can connect with Brenda S. Cox, the author of this article, at Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen or on Facebook.

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The Reticule: A Fashionable Accessory in the Regency Period

Posted in Fashions, jane austen, Jane Austen's World, Regency Life, Regency style, Regency World, Reticule and purse, tagged , on October 7, 2007| 3 Comments »

She soon believed herself to penetrate Mrs. Elton’s thoughts, and understand why she was, like herself, in happy spirits; it was being in Miss Fairfax’s confidence, and fancying herself acquainted with what was still a secret to other people. Emma saw symptoms of it immediately in the expression of her face; and while paying her own compliments to Mrs. Bates, and appearing to attend to the good old lady’s replies, she saw her with a sort of anxious parade of mystery fold up a letter which she had apparently been reading aloud to Miss Fairfax, and return it into the purple and gold reticule by her side …

Emma, Chapter 16

Reticules became popular when pockets were no longer sewn into the slim delicate dresses and skirts so common during the Regency era. These small handmade bags, frequently beaded or tasseled, came in a variety of shapes and are made of silk, velvets, handmade lace, or knitted fabrics. Most fashion plates of the Regency Era show ladies attired in walking costumes carrying a reticule similar to the one on top, circa 1800-1824 (Victoria and Albert Museum). These fashionable accessories were used from the late 18th Century through the flapper era in the early 20th Century.

Read my previous post on the reticule here, and find more examples of the Reticule in the following links:

  • Please Don’t Ridicule My Reticule discusses the history of the purse, including the reticule.Click here.

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