Regency Mourning
Mourning customs have differed widely between societies and classes throughout history. Because mourning was very strictly observed in Victorian England, there seems to be less awareness of the somewhat looser conventions that prevailed during the Regency years. Regency Mourning In the early 1800s, life was short. War with Napoleon left no village untouched by battlefield losses, and the mortality rate for children was painfully high. This reality has always been poignant for me, personally, as I have a miniature of a female ancestor who had thirteen children between 1804-1820. Only three reached adulthood. I think [...]
Regency Waistlines Part Two 1811-1820
When George became Prince Regent in 1811, Great Britain had been at war with Napoleon for seven years. Decoupled from Paris trends, English fashions had gone rogue. Regency Waistlines Part Two - 1811-1820 Having started the 19th century with Empire styles inspired by classical Greece and Rome, by 1811 English fashions were increasingly influenced by the Romantic movement and by public sentiment about the war with Napoleon. Waistlines had taken their first dive in the hot summer of 1808 and demi-trains had now vanished in streetwear. Inch-by-inch, waistlines had lengthened since 1809 and bodices became more [...]
Other Interesting Posts
Outsiders Within – Romani in the Regency
By the time 'Gypsies' appeared on the pages of Jane Austen, Sir Walter Scott and Maria Edgeworth, Romani people had been in England for centuries. Sidebar: Believing the copper-skinned migrants to hail from Egypt, the Europeans had coined the term "Gypsies" for these migrants. Some consider [...]
