French directoire. Neoclassical fashion in the in the transition to the Empire. The young escorting the classically garbed young woman.

With just a few days to finish this dress before the deadline, I dove headlong into making this gown yesterday. I didn't get very far. I thought that patterning the bodice would be pretty easy. I was wrong. I started out with the pattern I made for the bodice of the bodiced petticoat. I thought I could redraw the seams a bit and have something workable. But for some reason it didn't work out that way. I had to go through four or five mock ups before I had a pattern that fit me how I wanted it to. So last night all I was really able to do was to cut out the pieces of the bodice. I decided, as you may have noticed, to NOT use the white linen blend fabric. It just seemed a tad heavy to me so I decided to use the rest of the fabric left from my Hobbit shift. There was an entire nine yard length of fabric when I purchased it so there was plenty left to make a regency gown! The only thing I don't like about this fabric is that it is a crinkly gauzy fabric. When I press it with starch it flattens out nicely but still, I think the finished dress will have a "rustic" quality. But it's better than the heavier linen blend stuff, I think, and will make very nice drawstring channels. :) Today I have been able to sew the bodice together. I cut the lining of white cotton (a white cotton sheet, actually!) and treated the layers as one for the back and sides. The seam allowances were turned over and slip stitched down for a firm finish. Then the lining at the front was hemmed at top and bottom and front opening and is left loose from the outer bodice since it will close seperately. The outer bodice front pieces are cut extra long and will be drawn up with a drawstring. Here you can see where I've pinned it to approximate the look it will have when drawn up. And excuse the red scratch on my neck. That is what comes of fitting onself and wiggling in and out of mock ups held together with pins. :P The lining flaps look super tight here but I intend to close them edge-to-edge with hook and eyes (pins are probably more period correct, but since I have a nursing infant I want to avoid poking her when I hold her!) I am really happy with how it is coming out so far! I hope I can find time this afternoon to finish the neckline around the straps (the straps form the back neckline as well, and sadly I have no picture to share of the uber-cool diamond back since my camera batteries died a sudden and dismal death). Then the skirt will be next, full pleated in the back and stitched flat in the front, which will be drawn up with drawstrings for a little fullness there. I will save the sleeves for last. Those will probably be the most difficult part of this dress due to the cut of the back armscye. Love, Sarah

embroidered muslin, 1830-35c, English; Whitework

Reign of Napoleon I. 1804 to 1814. Fashion history. First Empire. Turban de Fantaisie. Robe Garnie en Torsades. Costume Demi-Habillé. Costume Parisien.

Regency fashions for 1820 began in the normal mode of what was new and some lovely color; however by late January the royal family saw two more deaths to continue the mourning period they had already been experiencing for the previous two years. On January 23, 1820 Prince Edward the Duke of Kent (the 4th son of King George III) and then a few days later on January 29, 1820 King George III also passed away. These additional royal deaths once again impacted fashions as the Royal family was placed back into full-mourning, subsequently causing members of court and most of England to follow in one form or another out of respect. Having the nation follow a state of mourning again after spending part of 1818 and 1819 in it, was having an adverse effect on the trade economy. The new king - King George IV (previously the Prince Regent) had decreed that a shortened period of mourning would be observed, putting and end to the nations state of mourning on April 30, 1820. Even with this stipulation you will notice that many of the fashions for the first half of 1820 are mourning or half-mourning colors and then fashions seem to resume a more normal trend as the year progressed. (For those of you who love historical bits and pieces; I will post the Ackermann's death notices for both the Duke of Kent and King George III at the end of all the pretty fashions.) One of my all time favorite Ackermann's Repository fashion plates July 1820 is also the first time a Court Dress is shown as a fashion plate in Ackermann's Repository and I have to say this is one of my all time favorite Ackermann's plates. Evening and Ball dresses of this time period are exquisite; but the court dresses were just amazingly over the top with plumes,trains and heavy trims. King George IV did not have his coronation till the following year in July of 1821; however I believe Ackermann's wanted to uplift the public a bit by showing such an elaborate and colorful costume. There was also increased activity at court during this time and for those who had need to appear before his royal highness, the appropriate clothing was a necessity. png version of the above 1820 Court Dress fashion plate Being one of my top fashion plates by Ackermann's Repository; I removed the background and created this lovely lady to be a png image so I could use her when creating fun pieces of digital art. One example were she was used can be seen HERE along with several other Regency ladies. See if you can spot her. - giggles Now on to the Lovely Ladies of Ackermann's Ackermann's Repository 1820 Fashion Plates 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - January Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository fashion description - January Issue In my previous post for 1819, I gave a few examples of fashion plate errors that can be found in Ackermann's Repository. The January 1820 issue I had access to shows a colorization error in the first fashion plate for a Half Dress. The color is to be an odd shade between dark fawn and sage green - leaning more to the sage green color. The colorist who worked on this particular plate made the dress a fawn color leaning toward a peachy coral not the sage green as suggested in the description. Just one of those fun quirks that makes the pages of Ackermann's even more interesting. 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - January Issue The British nation was back in mourning due to the deaths of Prince Edward the Duke of Kent and King George III in January and for the next few months this will be apparent in the fashions at large. February 1820 - Ackermann's Mourning Fashions Ackermann's Repository placed a black band around death announcements. This is the only time I saw where they also placed a black band around the fashion descriptions. These descriptions are for the next two fashion plates and I found it interesting that prior to this point when a fashion plate depicted a mourning dress it was obvious on the plate itself - in that the dress title said Mourning Dress or Half-Mourning Dress as the case may be. For the next few months the mourning costumes do not contain the word mourning on the fashion plates themselves but it is evident from the colors and descriptions of each that they are mourning dresses. 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - February Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - February Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - March Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - March Issue Example of Fashion Descriptions and Fashion based articles from Ackermann's Repository April 1820 issue this particular issue is most informative since it states: - how mourning fashions are adversely effecting the trade economy, - the monarchy reducing the mourning period - the changes in mourning fashion for members of court vs the general public - how the death of a French royal duke is effecting french fashions there and the differences in French and English mourning fashions. (even if this kind of historical information is not your cup of tea, it does cause the fashions seen here to take on a new dimension and it really gives you a feel for the time period.) Half- Mourning fashions - April 1820 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - April Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - April Issue This last month of mourning shows fashion of half-mourning with the first of grey and the evening dress of white with black decorations. As we continue into June of 1820 The British Public is no longer in a state of national mourning and colors have started to re-surface in the fashion plates. This first plate for June is a "transitional" garment. It is in a color Ackermann's describes as "a peculiar shade of lavender"; of a fabric Ackermann's has listed as "a new silk called zephyreene". 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - May Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - May Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - June Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 9 - June Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - July Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - July Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - August Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - August Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - September Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - September Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - October Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - October Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - November Issue This garment is described as being of "a singular but beautiful colour between lilac and purple." (I love the way things were phrased in this time period) 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - November Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - December Issue 1820 - Ackermann's Repository Series 2 Vol 10 - December Issue It is so nice to see the Regency fashions back with pretty colors. I know in our current culture we view black as an ordinary color to wear and in evening wear an elegant color; but in Regency times when a woman wore black it was tied to sadness and loss, so even though it may appear attractive it was not a color worn unless necessary. (Morning fashions and restrictions were not as harsh for the men of the time; they were more loosely impacted where as the women carried the heavier burden socially.) Mourning fashions will appear in Ackermann's over the next 10 years; however not with the intensity we have seen in the 1818 - 1820 issues. ******************* Now for you history lovers (like me) Here are the Death notices Ackermann's published for the Royal Duke of Kent and His Royal Majesty King George III Prince Edward - The Duke of Kent Nov 2 1767 - January 23, 1820 King George III June 4, 1738 - January 29, 1820 (nicknamed Mad King George) King George III was no longer ruling the British empire as of 1811. Due to the Regency Act of 1811 the Prince of Wales (later King George IV) became regent and he started ruling in his fathers place with the title of Prince Regent (giving this time period in British history the name "Regency") King George the III was permanently insane by the end of 1811 and spent the remainder of his life in seclusion at Windsor castle till his death in 1820. (It's quite interesting to see how politely his "infirmity" was referred to; when in today's terms we would just say he was plain "batty".) I hope you have enjoyed seeing the latest installment of Regency fashions for Ackermann's repository. For those just finding my blog you can see the previous Regency fashion posts by clicking the links below. Ackermann's ran series 1 from 1809 - 1815 Series 1 - Vol 1 & 2 - 1809 Series 1 - Vol 3 & 4 - 1810 Series 1 - Vol 5 & 6 - 1811 Series 1 - Vol 7 & 8 - 1812 Series 1 - Vol 9 & 10 - 1813 Series 1 - Vol 11 & 12 - 1814 Series 1 - Vol 13 & 14 - 1815 Ackermann's ran series 2 from 1816 - 1822 Series 2 - Vol 1 & 2 - 1816 Series 2 - Vol 3 & 4 - 1817 Series 2 - Vol 5 & 6 - 1818 Series 2 - Vol 7 & 8 - 1819 Series 2 - Vol 9 & 10 - 1820 (1821 - 1822 - are yet to be posted) Series 2 - Vol 11 & 12 - 1821 Series 2 - Vol 13 & 14 - 1822 Ackermann's ran series 3 from 1823 - 1828 (series 3 coming soon) I hope you join me again for more Regency fashions from Ackermann's Repository Till next time... Thanks for visiting me here at EKDuncan.blogspot.com If you have enjoyed seeing these images from Ackermann's Repository and would like the opportunity to see and read an original for yourself they are are available on line at www.archive.org Click HERE then choose the volume you are interested in. You can then see and read them online or download them to your computer for future reference. Enjoy!

Explore Regency Fashion Plates' 2496 photos on Flickr!

Piping is used along the neck edge and over the shoulder seams to reinforce the seams. The band of piping across the shoulders hides the gathering and the cut edges of the fabric.

"A dress of white crape over a white satin slip; the dress made very low in the back, and laced with white satin ribband; the sleeves full and laced to correspond with the back ..."

"Long square mantelet of primrose silk, embroidered with a dark rich border of embossed ribband; the two ends are tied with a knot on the front of the bosom ..."

Men of fashion began to wear short and more natural hair at the end of the 18th century, sporting cropped curls and long sideburns in a classical manner much like Grecian warriors and Roman senato…

One of the questions that has come up in 18th & early 19th century costuming is what to call the ubiquitous scarves/neck-fillers. Are they handkerchiefs? Fichus? Neckerchiefs? And when did each term arise? A handkerchief was a large square of fabric folded into a triangle, or cut and sewn as a triangle, worn around the neck throughout the 18th century. If you were upper class, your handkerchief would probably be white. Poorer woman were more likely to wear darker handkerchiefs that would show less dirt. George Eliot describes Adam Bedes mother at the end of the 18th century with “her broad chest covered with a buff handkerchief.” Handkerchiefs were not limited to women – men wore then as bohemian alternatives to cravats and stocks. They could be of linen or silk, or later cotton. For men and women, silk versions were the dressiest. They were frequently embroidered, and could be bought pre-made, but even the very wealthy frequently made their own, as the decorative finishes were considered appropriate needlework for a gentlewoman. Neckerchiefs were …