Regency Reader Question
Are the characters in Jane Austen’s books dressed in Regency or Georgian styles? I have heard her referred to as a Regency-era writer, but she lived most of her life in the Georgian era! What would she have worn, and would it be different from how her characters are described?
| Source of Question | Research |
This question comes from The Wanderer Literary Journal. Thank you for the excellent question!
Jane Austen was born in 1775, the Georgian era. Generally, she is thought of as a Regency era author, as most of her works were published between 1804 and 1818. The exception is the short story, Lady Susan, which was published in 1794.
It is widely presumed her novels are contemporary in setting, so that her characters would largely be dressed in accordance with the Regency era fashions of empire waisted, muslin gowns without hoops and trousers rather than breeches. In fact, there are several books on fashion of the Regency era that focus on Jane Austen including:
Its important to note that fashion didn’t adhere to the strict definition of the Regency era. In reality, fashion began to shift towards the Regency era style in the 1790s. Here is an example from 1799 and here is another from 1799. The empire gown started to become popular in the 1790s evolved from a chemise shift gathered under the breasts and at the neck (https://www.fashion-era.com/regency_fashion.htm#:~:text=The%20high%20waisted%20graceful%20styles,breasts%20and%20at%20the%20neck.). This was, in large part, due to the influences from Parisian fashions and what was going on during the French revolution (https://www.epochs-of-fashion.com/the-epochs/empire-regency/).
The question about what Jane wore is more interesting. Jane was not a wealthy woman, so wouldn’t have been in the highest stare, but nor would she have appeared in the panniers and hoop skirts that were the mainstay of the Georgian era. By the time she was a young lady about town, the empire waist was in fashion and indeed her portraits show her thus. Prior to 1790, she would have still been very much a girl and dressed more simply, albeit with a waist more closely matched to the actual waist. Someone has curated a pinterest board with looks for Georgian era children (https://www.pinterest.com/juliroo/the-way-we-wore-children-georgian-1715-1790/) which makes a great reference for researchers. Similarly, if you are wanting a gallery view of all the fashions we have featured, check out our Regency Fashion board on pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/romanceanne/regency-fashion/).
We can see from the plates the tides of fashion turn again starting in the 1820s towards a more Victorian silhouette (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/i/introduction-to-19th-century-fashion/).
The best article to summarize many of these points succinctly while also pushing the narrative is this one: https://lithub.com/tight-breeches-and-loose-gowns-going-deep-on-the-fashion-of-jane-austen/
The end result is to suggest that Jane’s characters largely would have conformed to the modern fashions, and inasmuch as she could afford, Jane would have, too. Indeed, her portraits depict her in a high waisted gown, mob cap and minimal furbelows. I think its safe to assume her characters, similarly stationed and resourced, would have dressed in step with Jane herself.
Thank you for the question. It is always fun for us to see what you are interested in! You can submit your reader question here.
