Research
Regency Gowns
Regency period fashion is most recognizable in the many Jane Austen films that have been made. The most intriguing thing about the regency style is that it is so unlike the fashions before or after it’s time. Far from the small waists and huge skirts the regency style is much simpler. Gone are the long corsets and huge hoops; in came shorter corsets and heavy petticoats, if any. The Grecian tubular style is very distinct in regency fashion; the simple lines and high empire waist make the clothing very easy to wear. Puffed sleeves, trains, and spencer jackets had their popular moments in the regency period, but the basic shape remained the same; and no respectable women would be caught out without a bonnet. Young ladies found ample amounts of amusement trimming, undoing and re-trimming bonnets. Turbans and feathers were desired hair accessories Regency clothing was simple and functional, yet reserved and elegant, not unlike the women who wore them.
The Regency period was about looking back and finding simpler ways of doing things. It was in this time period that there came into being tbe middle class. Before there had been two types of people, the rich and the poor but now there was a position in the middle for people who were not ridiculously wealthy but were not in the depths of poverty. Their clothes reflected this, as more people could afford the clothing the middle class was able to dress better and have more articles of clothing than those beneath them in social standing.
