Moniker/Name
Kathy Jones
Source of Question
Reg Rom Book
Your Question
This question relates to a book I am writing and I’ve run into a problem regarding dress. If a woman was going out in public, what would she typically wear and would she have an escort? What class of woman would have an escort?
Thanks for your questions, Kathy, and for being a Regency Reader!
Upper class unmarried women would have a chaperone, as would many middle-class young women. I have some more posts on chaperones:
Regency Reader Questions: On Chaperones – Regency Reader (regrom.com)
Regency Reader Questions: Young Widows and Chaperones – Regency Reader (regrom.com)
Regency Reader Questions: Chaperone Requirements – Regency Reader (regrom.com)
Upper class and middle class women, if they were going out in public during the day would typically wear a morning, day, or walking dress. We have lots of examples of these from various prints on the site: Search Results for “morning dress” – Regency Reader (regrom.com)
If going out in the evening, depending on the event, she would dress a little more formally: Search Results for “evening dress” – Regency Reader (regrom.com)
Kristen Koster, who is an excellent 19th Century historian, has a primer on Regency dress: A Primer on Regency Era Women’s Fashion – Kristen Koster
