Miss Pierpoint
The self-declared "inventor of the Corset à la Greque," Miss Pierpoint was the busiest marketer of all the Regency modistes, with over 230 of her dresses appearing in fashion plates across multiple publications from mid-1819 until she went out of business ten years later. Miss Mary Maria Pierpoint (1787-1835) 1819-21: 9 Henrietta St. Covent Garden 1821-29: 12 Edward St. Portman Square Miss Pierpoint was perhaps the most "modern" modiste of the Regency era. She understood how to boost her brand through name recognition, targeting both the élégantes of the ton and the prosperous middle-class women who wanted to [...]
Mrs. Bean
A humble milliner in 1806, Mrs. Bean rose to giddy heights in just a decade, building a clientele of blue-bloods. In 1816, working with another leading modiste, Mrs. Triaud, she created twenty-six dresses and pelisses for Princess Charlotte's wedding trousseau, some of which still survive today in museums. Mrs. Charlotte Bean nee Kennedy (ca.1785-1868) approx. 1806-08: Bean's Millinary Rooms 42 Oxford St. approx. 1809-18: Mrs Bean's Magazin des Modes 32 Albemarle St. Born Charlotte Kennedy, the daughter of haberdasher John Kennedy, Mrs. Bean was married very young to her husband Thomas in 1803, and almost [...]
Madame Lanchester
By the time Regency modiste, Madame Lanchester was jailed for bankruptcy in Marshalsea Prison on February 8, 1812, she had spent more than a decade as one of London's best known milliner/dressmakers. Unfortunately, her flair and big ideas were not matched by her head for business. Margaret Ann Lanchester (1784-1818) 1800-02: 37 Sackville St. 1803-05: 17 New Bond St. 1806-10: 59 St. James St. Margaret Ann Lanchester had big ideas, talent, and a love of fine clothes. Inspired by Heideloff's Gallery of Fashion, to which her mother had subscribed in 1798-99, she set up shop [...]
