Georgette Heyer's Regency World (24 page)

Ageing Gracefully

For many among the older generation, the rituals and traditions of the previous century in relation to dress were not easily put aside and there was considerable disdain—particularly among older men—for those of the younger generation whom they considered to have adopted a negligent, slovenly approach to their attire. It was not uncommon for some older men, such as Lord Lionel in
The Foundling
, to cling to the fashions of their youth, preferring knee-breeches for both day and evening wear and refusing to entertain even the thought of trousers or pantaloons. Wigs were also still to be seen, although powder had largely disappeared thanks to Mr Pitt’s 1795 tax. Manners were everything and most older men would have considered it an appalling breach of etiquette not to have changed their attire before sitting down to dinner with friends or family. Regency fashions were not always kind to older women, particularly those with a fuller figure. As a result some ladies, such as the wealthy Mrs Floore in
Bath Tangle
, clung to the more flattering, supporting attire of the previous century and continued to wear the wide skirts and panniers of the pre-Revolutionary period. Wigs also continued to be worn by those older women who felt that the soft curls and tousled ringlets of the classical style could only make them look ridiculous.

General Fashion Glossary

Aigrette:
A tall plume of feathers—especially egret or ostrich feathers—worn as a headdress or attached to a hat; it could also be a piece of jewellery in the shape of a plume of feathers. Often worn at Court.

Angoulême bonnet:
A high-crowned straw bonnet with a broad front brim, usually tied at the side of the neck.

Bandbox:
A wide cylindrical box, deep enough to hold a hat; lightweight with a lid and handle.

Belcher handkerchief:
A blue handkerchief with large white spots, each with a dark blue centre. Usually worn tied around the neck, it was named for the famous boxer, Jem Belcher, who used to wear one.

Blacks:
Mourning clothes for both men and women.

Blond lace:
Made by twisting two threads of silk into ‘hexagonal meshes’.

Bombazine:
Black fabric used for mourning clothes. It was made of wool and silk and had a matt surface considered more suitable for mourning than silk, satin or velvet.

Broadcloth:
Fine merino cloth, twilled and woven on a wide loom and in such a way as to make one side of the fabric shiny.

Bugles:
Glass beads sewn on to ladies’ clothes as decorative trimming, tubular in shape and most commonly black in colour, although they also came in blue and white.

Cambric:
Very fine linen cloth.

Chicken-skin gloves:
Despite the name they were often made of other types of thin durable leather dressed with spermaceti oil.

Chip:
A narrow piece of straw which could be woven into a hat.

Crape:
Available from the seventeenth century, crape was transparent black silk gauze which had been crimped to give it a dull finish. It was commonly used for mourning clothes.

Crepe:
Available from the nineteenth century, crepe was a crimped transparent-coloured gauze used mainly for dresses.

Clocks:
Originally the term for the gore or triangular piece inserted into a stocking to widen it at the ankle and which came to be embroidered along the seam lines. Eventually stockings were embroidered with or without the gore and this embroidery became known as clocks.

Cossacks:
A baggy-legged trouser with tight waist and ankles drawn in by a ribbon. They first appeared in 1814 after the visit of the Tsar of Russia for the Peace celebrations and were inspired by the uniforms of the Cossack soldiers who accompanied him.

Cumberland corset:
A man’s corset stiffened with whalebone and laced at the back. Along with the Brummell bodice and the Apollo corset, it was often worn by overweight dandies.

Domino:
A traditional hooded Venetian cloak worn by both men and women over their costumes at masquerades. Originally black, by the Regency they could be tailor-made in almost any colour. Men tended to prefer darker colours such as black, purple or midnight blue while women often chose dominoes in pink, lilac or green or to match their costume.

Drab:
A thick, durable cloth, dull in colour and twilled; it was used to make men’s coats.

Ermine:
The white winter fur of the weasel or stoat (the summer fur was brown).

Fichu:
A triangular-shaped neckerchief made of lawn, muslin or other light material, worn around the shoulders and often crossed over the breast.

Figured:
A term used to describe fabric on to which designs had been woven using coloured threads.

Fillet:
A decorative satin band twisted through the hair for evening wear and often ornamented with pearls or other jewels.

Flounce:
A hand-pleated or gathered frill or ruffle, often quite deep, attached by its top edge to the hem or lower part of a lady’s dress.

Frog:
An ornamental fastening using loops of gold braid or cord which were passed over a braided button, used on military uniforms. Fashionable ladies frequently had them on their riding-habits in imitation of the military style of dress.

Furbelow:
Showy ornamental trim for clothes—often in the form of ruffles or flounces.

Fustian:
Durable fabric made of cotton and flax or cotton and wool. It was twilled and had a nap which looked similar to velvet; it was also known as ‘mock velvet’.

Gauze:
Transparent fabric, originally made of silk but later of linen or cotton.

Hoop:
The term refers to the hooped petticoat which was made hugely circular using hoops made of wire, cane or whalebone and worn under an over-dress. During the Regency they were only worn at Court.

Hose:
Women’s stockings.

Hussar boots:
Inspired by those worn by the military, Hussar boots were calf-length with a slightly pointed front upper. They were worn with pantaloons and sometimes had turnover tops.

Inexpressibles:
Another name for men’s trousers or breeches, especially those of the close-fitting variety.

Jaconet:
Fine cotton cloth similar to muslin and cambric.

Jean:
A heavy, durable twilled cotton cloth.

Kerseymere:
A soft, finely woven woollen cloth of unusual texture owing to the method of weaving.

Lappets:
A small piece of plain or lace-trimmed fabric used to ornament the back or sides of an indoor headdress.

Lawn:
Linen cloth so fine as to be semi-transparent; believed to have originated in the French town of Laon.

Leading strings:
Long thin pieces of fabric attached to children’s clothes at the point where the sleeve joined the back of the dress or shirt. Used to restrain or assist the child while walking, when not in use they looked like ‘hanging sleeves’.

Leghorn:
Used to make hats, leghorn was a kind of Italian wheat straw which could be plaited or woven. Probably named for the Italian town of Livorno (in English Leghorn).

Loo mask:
A mask made to cover only the upper half of the face. They were usually worn at masquerades.

Mourning gloves:
Made of black kid, they were worn by both men and women to funerals and by women for the period of full mourning. For half mourning, grey gloves could be worn.

Muslin:
Light, thin, finely woven opaque cotton fabric.

Nankeen:
Durable yellow-coloured cotton originating in Nanking, China.

Open robe:
A woman’s dress with the skirt styled open at the front to reveal a decorative underskirt.

Pelisse robe:
Derived from the outdoor coat known as a pelisse, the pelisse robe was a dress for day wear which looked similar to the pelisse but which was fastened all the way down the front.

Plumpers:
Usually worn by older ladies and gentlemen, these were artificial cheeks in the form of a thin round cork ball which was placed inside the mouth to restore the smooth contours of the face. (A ‘plumper’ was also the slang term for a lie.)

Poke bonnet:
Any bonnet with a forward-poking brim—the size of which varied enormously.

Redingote:
A kind of overcoat which began to become popular towards the end of the Regency. Similar to the pelisse, it was very fitted and fastened across the chest; it could be differentiated from the pelisse style of coat by its wide, flat collar.

Riband:
Ribbon.

Sable:
The highly prized glossy black or dark brown fur of the marten.

Sarcenet:
Also known as sarsnet; a soft silk fabric of fine weave and texture, with a slight lustre.

Small clothes:
Another word for breeches.

Spangles:
Originally made in France of gold and silver and similar to today’s sequin, these were small thin round pieces of metal with a hole in the middle, generally used to decorate ladies’ dresses.

Stockinette:
Machine-made woollen material with a closely woven mesh similar to that of knitted fabric; used for making pantaloons, stockings and underwear.

Stuff:
Woollen fabric without a nap or pile.

Superfine:
A high-quality English broadcloth made from merino yarn which was felted and carefully finished by raising and cropping the pile; although heavy, it had a soft lustrous finish.

Tippet:
Often made of swansdown, but also of fur or lace, the tippet was a short cape or stole for the shoulders. Worn by women, they were often made to match a muff.

Tucker:
A piece of fabric or lace tucked into the bodice of a lady’s dress to raise the line of the neck and reduce the amount of décolletage or visible cleavage.

Twill:
A method of weaving which produced a ribbing effect in the fabric of parallel diagonal lines.

Wellington boots:
Made in the same manner as a top-boot but without the turn-over top. Wellington boots became fashionable after 1817.

Whalebone:
Actually cartilage, not bone, taken from the upper jaw of the whale. It was prized for its flexibility.

Worsted:
Yarn or fabric made from long-staple wool which has been combed straight and then spun. Material made from worsted yarn was close-textured and smooth and had no nap.

York tan gloves:
Soft leather or suede gloves, usually buff or fawn-coloured, they could be either wrist or elbow length.

Zephyr:
A very fine, light cotton or gingham which was thin and silky.

Shopping

Shopping in London

Shopping was a centuries-old tradition in London, with jewellers, printers, linen drapers, haberdashers and furniture makers, among others, making their wares available to those with the money to buy. As both the Regency and industrialisation progressed, and more and more manufactured and imported goods became available, shopkeepers increasingly capitalised on the growing wealth of the new middle class and the desire within all classes to ‘ape their betters’. The knowledge that others in the upper class and those of the middle and merchant class, keen to rise up the social ladder, would follow where the elite led, compelled many shopkeepers to survive largely on credit. Aristocratic clients would often purchase food and goods knowing full well that they might not pay the bill for years. In
Friday’s Child,
Lord Sheringham’s usual response, prior to his marriage, to tradesmen’s bills was to throw them into the fire. The promise of inheritance or title could be as good as cash in the hand for some members of the
ton
as shopkeepers would supply them with merchandise in the hope that they would be paid eventually. It was also hoped that if it was known that a shop enjoyed the regular custom of such notable (but debt-ridden) personages as the Prince Regent, Beau Brummell, the Duchess of Devonshire or Lord Alvanley, the cost of supplying them with goods would be outweighed by the number of paying customers who would follow them. In
Frederica,
Miss Starke, milliner in Conduit Street, recognised at once the commercial advantages of having the beautiful Miss Charis Merriville wear her hats (rather than those from Clarimonde’s in New Bond Street) and reduced the prices accordingly. To shop where the
ton
shopped, to buy a coat made by Weston or a pair of boots from the hand of Hoby, to bump elbows with a lady at Grafton House or buy an ounce of snuff known as Lord Petersham’s ‘sort’ at Fribourg & Treyer’s, gave those outside the inner circle the sense of being one step closer to acceptance by the
beau monde
.

London Shops

Traditionally, many shops had been set up in the City—the business section of London near St Paul’s—but towards the end of the eighteenth century more and more shops opened along Piccadilly, Bond Street and Oxford Street and whole new precincts, such as Nash’s Regent Street, were designed and built specifically for the retail trade, encouraging a shift by retailers away from the City. Bond Street stood at the centre of the move by shopkeepers seeking to establish quality businesses in the expanding, wealthy neighbourhood of Mayfair. Bond Street had long been home to gentlemen’s tailors, boot makers, hatters and hairdressers and for some time was considered a male precinct into which no lady would dare venture unaccompanied—if at all—and rarely in the afternoon when the Bond Street beaus were on the strut and ready to ogle any woman who came into view. By the time of the Regency, however, women could and did shop there although when the eponymous heroine Venetia expressed her intention of doing a little shopping on Bond Street after paying a morning call, the benevolent Sir Lambert Steeple insisted on escorting her as a protection against the attentions of the Bond Street beaus.

West of Bond Street was Berkeley Square where Gunter’s, the famous confectioner’s shop, had been established in the late eighteenth century. Famed for their sweetmeats, pastries and fruit ices, by the nineteenth century Gunter’s was the upper-class host or hostess’s first choice for catering when arranging a ball or formal party. Further south on Piccadilly stood Fortnum & Mason, the high-class grocer, and in St James’s Street, Berry Brothers, the wine merchant and grocer. These shops were well established by the time of the Regency and hugely popular with the aristocracy, and many a noted citizen, including royalty and Beau Brummell, was weighed on the great scales at Berry Brothers (generally kept for weighing tea and sugar). John Hatchard began his famous bookshop, Hatchard’s, in Piccadilly in 1797 with £5 and just a few second-hand books, while Fribourg & Treyer’s, the famous snuff merchants, carried on a thriving trade in their shop at number 34 the Haymarket, just off Piccadilly.

Outside the West End the more traditional shopping precincts, such as Soho and the Strand, attracted all classes of people. Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, the famous print shop and gallery, opened in the Strand in 1771 and was enormously popular. During the Regency Ackermann’s opened its doors one evening a week to the
ton
, and members of fashionable society would meet there to view prints, discuss and buy items from the latest collection. Ludgate Hill, north of the Strand, was home to the fashionable jeweller, Rundell and Bridge, who not only sold jewellery, snuff-boxes and all kinds of trinkets—such as the seal bought by Bertram in
Arabella
—but also came to the aid of debt-stricken aristocrats with jewels to sell or to leave as surety against a short-term loan. Across London more and more shops were opening and for those with money there were all the delights of returning to favourite establishments or discovering new emporiums in which to spend it.

Daily Needs

Although London continued to expand throughout the Regency, the countryside remained close enough to maintain a connection between the provision of food and its sources. Fifteen thousand acres of market gardens lay within a mere ten miles of the city while just beyond that were the farms which raised the livestock and produced the eggs and cheese which were transported to the urban centre on a daily basis. Every night hundreds of farmers and their wives loaded carts, drays and wagons and brought their produce to London to sell at the market. Herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats were sent in on the hoof from outlying farms, fish was brought up from the river ports and game and poultry made available from nearby farms and estates.

The great London markets were Billingsgate, Leadenhall, Farringdon, Newgate, Smithfield and Covent Garden. Meat on the hoof was taken straight to Smithfield, there to be slaughtered or sold to local butchers for slaughter in the yards behind their shops. Farringdon and Newgate sold dead meat, and Leadenhall traded in hides and live poultry. Billingsgate was the main city fish market while Covent Garden was renowned for its vast supply of fruit, vegetables and dairy produce, as well as the ready-made pies, gingerbread, sausages and pasties which individual hawkers sold from trays hung around their necks. Middle- and upper-class householders did not go to the markets themselves but preferred to send their servants instead. Unlike recreational shopping, which was considered a pleasure, daily food shopping, or marketing, was considered tedious and a chore to be avoided if possible. The difference was in the nature of the shopping experience as much as in the items purchased. In a shop a customer could sit down and be shown a range of enticing goods by a deferential shop assistant, whereas markets were bustling, crowded, noisy, dirty places—the cattle market at Smithfield reeked with piles of offal and carcasses, and literally ran with blood—making the daily purchase of foodstuffs an unpleasant task best given to a servant.

Milk was not sold at the market but was produced in London itself from herds of cows kept in backstreet yards or in several of the city’s parks. It was in Green Park with its dairy cows and attendant milkmaids that the heroine in
Frederica
got into such trouble after failing to control her dog Lufra. Milk was also supplied from suburban farms and carted in daily over distances of up to twenty miles. Mainly used for cooking rather than drinking, milk was sold door to door by milkmaids or milkmen carrying traditional wooden shoulder yokes with a five-gallon pail hanging from each end. Coal was the other important household staple and was generally bought direct from the coal merchant. Wealthier households often had a set arrangement for weekly or monthly delivery of supplies which were delivered straight into the coal hole.

Lock’s for Hats

Hat makers, or hatters, made hats for men, while milliners made hats for women. The only exception to this was the lady’s riding hat which was usually ordered from a gentleman’s hat shop. Hat making was a long and complex process which included making, shaping, dyeing, stiffening, moistening, brushing, ironing and lining. The entire process was usually carried out on the hat maker’s premises by a team of men, each of whom was skilled in one part of the procedure. Although beaver hats were usual for town wear, in
The Unknown Ajax
Claud Darracott was emboldened to try one of Baxter’s daring new creations when visiting the town of Rye in Sussex. One of the best-known London hatters was James Lock at number 6 St. James’s Street. Lock made hats for some of the most eminent gentlemen of the day and in his earlier years had made hats for Lord Nelson, several of which included a specially designed eye shade to cover the eye Nelson had lost in battle at Corsica in 1794. Lock supplied the finest beaver hats to the first gentlemen of the day, military helmets to officers in the Hussars and the Royal Dragoon Guards, and elegant, folding chapeau-bras to be worn by gentlemen at Court or at Almack’s. In 1815 Lock supplied the Duke of Wellington with the plumed hat which he wore at Waterloo. Like other fashionable London hatters such as Baxter, Yeow, James Swallow and hatter and hosier Mr Dolman, Lock gave substantial credit to his aristocratic customers, often waiting years for payment, but he also gave a discount of a shilling per pound to customers who chose to pay on receipt of their goods. Lock enjoyed patronage from clients across the country and would dispatch hats by coach in response to orders sent by mail. With its quaint multi-paned windows on either side of the small centre door, Lock’s remains one of the few Regency shops still in existence today.

Milliners, Tailors, Modistes and Mantua Makers

Although they had originally been sellers of all kinds of Milanese fancy ware, by the time of the Regency, milliners had begun to specialise in the making of hats, caps and bonnets and their trimmings. Muffs, tippets and cloaks could also be purchased at a milliner’s shop, and upper-class ladies could visit fashionable establishments in Bruton, Conduit or New Bond Street to try on the latest style in bonnets, take in a hat for refurbishment, or order accessories for a new gown. Although during the eighteenth century, men had served in milliner’s shops and male corset or stay makers had attended ladies in their homes, by the time of the Regency, millinery, along with corsetry, was generally considered to be an exclusively female domain. Millinery was one of the few professions available to gently born women lacking independent means or a family to support them. Hats and accessories were usually made on the premises by the milliner herself assisted by as many employees as the demands of the business required. Feathers, artificial flowers, ribbons, spangles and lace were all common trimmings for a wide range of headwear made, most often, from silk, satin or straw, but also from velvet or crepe. Fashions changed quickly during the Regency and a good milliner could always offer her customers the very latest in styles from the Court, the Continent or from the coloured plates of the newest fashion magazine. In
April Lady
, Nell Cardross was horrified to discover that she had somehow managed to buy nine hats in less than three months—one of which had cost forty guineas.

During the Regency, every article of a gentleman’s wardrobe, except for his stockings, was made by hand, usually in the home by his mother, sister, wife or daughter, or other female relative. Gentlemen of means, however, whose clothing needs or aspirations were beyond the skill of their womenfolk, usually paid for a tailor to measure, cut and fit individual garments. London tailors were considered the best in Europe, having gained an unshakeable ascendancy over the French after the Revolution and there were many who would have agreed with Lady Steeple in
Venetia
when she declared, ‘
No
Frenchman can make a riding habit.’ London tailors set the standard, and the best and most exclusive of them were master cutters with a precise eye for line and a passion for detail and a perfect fit. The best-known were Beau Brummell’s tailors Schweitzer and Davidson at 12 Cork Street and John Weston at 27 Old Bond Street, both of whom also made clothes for the Prince Regent, and Stultz and Scott who were favoured by military gentlemen. So superbly cut was the Earl of St Erth’s evening dress in
The Quiet Gentleman
that his cousin Martin found himself wishing that he too had had his made by Weston. A perfectly fitting coat was a great tailor’s trademark and his reputation could be made by his ability to enhance or highlight nature’s art. Men who were less well-endowed by nature in terms of well-shaped legs or broad shoulders could be helped by the tailor’s skill—along with a little sawdust stuffing or buckram padding.

A small tailor did all his own measuring, pattern making, cutting and sewing, but a larger business, with a good clientele and a reputation to maintain, employed a staff of tailors overseen by a foreman. It was the foreman’s job to measure customers and cut out the pieces which were then handed to the working tailors for sewing. The master tailor would personally measure and cut only for his most important customers as they were the best advertisement for his business. When visiting Weston’s in
Regency Buck
, Peregrine Taverner found himself attended by the tailor and advised by him to follow either the Prince Regent’s or Mr Brummell’s taste in coats. To gain the favour of royalty or one of the leading dandies of the day was a guarantee for increased custom from other members of the
ton
.

A Regency female’s wardrobe consisted almost entirely of items made by hand—either by herself or by someone skilled in the art. Although industrialisation was making rapid inroads into machine-made fabrics, during the Regency only stockings were made entirely by machine (aside from hand-knitted stockings, of course) and ready-made clothes were still some years away. In the years following the French Revolution in 1789, many French
émigrés
fled to England—some of whom were dressmakers, milliners, lace makers and embroideresses. A number of these women set up establishments in fashionable streets, such as Bruton or Conduit Streets in London or Milsom Street or South Parade in Bath, and advertised themselves as modistes with elegant French names designed to attract the cream of society ladies to their salons (although in
Black Sheep
, Madame Lisette was actually Eliza Mudford, formerly in service to the Princess Elizabeth). On visiting a modiste, ladies would be shown delicious examples of the dressmaker’s art from which they could order to suit their needs. In some cases, as when Abigail Wendover returned from a visit to London in
Black Sheep
, pre-purchased fabrics could be taken to a dressmaker and made into an agreed style of dress or other garment. The modiste, or mantua maker as they were also known, would discuss in detail with a customer the best choice of fabric, style and trimming for a dress before measuring her and taking a pattern. Patterns were generally made of paper or cloth, with cloth patterns sometimes used as the final lining of the dress. An exclusive dressmaker such as Madame Fanchon in
Cotillion
was expected to have exceptional taste, an eye for colour and line and a talent for designing and creating a garment ideally suited to the shape and complexion of her client. Dressmaking was a demanding occupation with long hours and close, careful work often done in poor light. During the Season when the aristocracy was at its busiest and many gowns were needed for a single debutante or society belle, or when a member of the royal family died and mourning dress became
de rigueur
, a dressmaker’s life—or that of her workers—could become one of unending toil. For a modiste with a well-established shop and a good name, however, dressmaking could be extremely profitable.