Fashion In The Time Of Jane Austen

The broader Regency period 1795 to 1820, stands alone as an incredible moment in fashion history, unlike anything that went before it. For the first time England became a fashion influence, especially for menswear, and became the toast of Paris, as court dress became secondary to the season-by-season flux of fashion as we know it today. Sarah Jane Downing explores the fashion revolution and the innovation that inspired a flood of fashions taking influence from far afield. It was an era of contradiction immortalised by Jane Austen, who adeptly used the new-found diversity of fashion to enliven her characters: Wickham's military splendour; Mr Darcy's understated elegance; and Miss Tilney's romantic fixation with white muslin.

This beautifully illustrated book explores the rich complexity of Regency clothing through the lens of the collected writings of Jane Austen.

Jane Austen loved clothes, and followed fashion with enthusiasm. She was also an expert needlewoman. Her novels use the clothes people wore and their attitudes to dress to convey their characters. Her lively letters, extensively quoted, are full of shopping trips and visits to dressmakers. Penelope Byrde, an expert in the costume of the time, explains all, from corsets to topcoats: how clothes were made and bought, what they cost, and what was worn when and by whom.

What would Jane Austen knit? Enter the world of Jane Austen through timeless knitting patterns inspired by the places and characters in her beloved novels. Designers including Susanna IC, Vicki Square, Annie Modesitt, Heather Zoppetti, Karen Joan Raz, and Kathleen Dames have translated their love for Jane Austen's novels into a stunning tribute to the beloved author. The gorgeously evocative pieces include cardigans, knitted shawls, bags and other accessories, and knitted projects for men and children. While the knitting projects are inspired by the fashions of the regency era, they are every bit as relevant today. Knitters obsessed with Jane Austen as well as stitchers just looking for wonderfully appealing projects will fall in love with the beautiful knitting designs. Essays on fascinating aspects of Austen's life and the regency era round out this inspiring collection. Topics include the places where Austen lived, knitting in Regency England, the yarns available to Austen and her contemporaries, and dressmaking during the time period.

What gown would you have worn to be the belle of the ball in April 1811? Choose any month in any year between 1809 and 1820 and find the most fashionable attire in England. Fashions in the Era of Jane Austen is a comprehensive pictorial guide of ladies' fashions collected from one of the most influential periodicals of Austen's lifetime - Ackermann's Repository of Arts. Ackermann's Repository was published in London over two hundred years ago and it provided ladies with monthly etchings of exquisite hand-painted plates featuring the latest fashions. Discover splendid illustrations of morning, evening, riding, and walking dresses with their coordinated accessories: hats, shoes, scarves, jewelry, parasols and more. The book contains more than 275 exquisite illustrations which are accompanied by the original descriptions, as published more than two hundred years ago. Fashions in the Era of Jane Austen covers twelve years of fashion in the Georgian and Regency periods (1809-1820). Costume designers, researchers, authors, and fashion lovers will all treasure these authentic examples of fashionable dress in the era of Jane Austen. * This book is best viewed in the paperback version and includes a full color illustration on nearly every page. The physical book price is set by CreateSpace, a company of Amazon.com approx. pages: 325 word count: 52,217

A study of clothes and fashion in Jane Austen's novels and letters with many contemporary colour illustrations.

A history of the women who taught Americans how to dress in the first half of the 20th century—and whose lessons we’d do well to remember today.