My mother gifted me with a copy of Hilary Davidson's "Dress in the Age of Jane Austen: Regency Fashion" for Christmas last year.
I was very excited, but I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. While the book is full of gorgeous contemporary illustrations, it's still mostly text and comes in at about 300 pages, not including the Glossary, Notes, Bibliography, Picture Credits, and Index.
Now, I'd like it noted that this is NOT a criticism of the book - it made good use of each and every page - but a warning. This is not a light read.
"Dress in the Age of Jane Austen" takes an incredibly thorough look at English fashion during the Regency era and covers both men and women's clothes. (I grabbed a stack of sticky tabs and used... a lot of them.)
It begins with an 'Introduction,' which introduces the Regency era and Jane Austen.
Chapter 1, 'Self,' looks at how fashion was created culturally and how people used garments to create their social selves.
Chapter 2, 'Home,' goes through undergarments and stays, pajamas, and the concept of "undress."
'Village,' chapter 3, focuses on how social circles curated local ideas of fashion. It discusses how people made clothes, where fashion ideas came from, and what people considered proper charity work. We also get a glimpse of mourning dress and what people wore to church, which is always a fascinating topic.
Chapters 4 and 5, 'Country' and 'City,' takes a look at fashion curation in these areas, including what materials may be found where and how city and country fashions influenced each other. The country chapter has a section on riding habits and other sportswear. The city chapter has sections on formalwear and court fashions.
'Nation' and 'World,' chapters 6 and 7, focus more on production, trade, and cultural exchanges. 'Nation' includes information on military and navy uniforms.
I hope you're staying well in these stressful times.
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