One of my Christmas gifts was a copy of "Regency Women's Dress: Techniques and Patterns 1800-1830" by Cassidy Percoco. I've been eyeing the book for awhile and ended up receiving it from an aunt who picked it up because she thought I'd like it! (I do. I do like it.) The book wasn't on my wishlist, but she's followed my Instagram for awhile.
The book starts with an Introduction, which has a lot of great information. The book itself draws from garments in American museums, but the Introduction looks at the differences in timelines between America, Britain, and French fashions. It also explains some common terminology related to dress in that period.
The book ends with Acknowledgements, Further Reading, Useful Addresses (which include both museums and sewing suppliers), and an Index.
The bulk of the content is, as the title implies, patterns and techniques. There are 26 patterns total - two chemises, two corsets/stays, three types of jackets, and 19 (!) different dresses. Each pattern is taken from an extent garment dated to 1795-1827, gridded to scale, and prefaced by a page of background and construction information. Each pattern is also accompanied by one detail shot of the original garment, one line drawing of the garment, and, occasionally, a period illustration of a similar garment.
This is where my biggest complaint comes in - we don't really get a complete picture of the garment, literally or figuratively. We don't get a photograph of the whole original garment (or even most of it), and the line drawing only gives one view of the garment (usually the front, but occasionally the back). That is my biggest issue, though.
My only other complaint is the lack of construction information given. The description talks about seam finishing (which is cool), linings, and piecing (piecing is period!), but there's almost no information beyond that. Not an issue if you're an experienced sewer, but if you're newer (like me!) there's going to be a lot of trial and error involved.
Overall, though, I definitely recommend this book for sewers interested in the Regency era!
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