Miss Macdonald
Fashion has always been a copy-cat industry. One of the best known Regency modistes, Miss Macdonald (later Mrs. Smith) was ahead of the curve, creating designs and trim techniques that "inspired" many of her competitors, and promoting the white wedding dress as a style in its own lane. Miss Euphemia Macdonald (1793-1857) 1810-18: 84 Wells St. 1818-20: 50 South Molton St. Hanover Square 1820-21: 29 Great Russell St., Bedford Square /15 Old Burlington St. Miss Macdonald was a prominent Regency milliner/dressmaker who left a lasting legacy in her approach to bridal fashion. At a time [...]
Mrs. Bell
Fond of declaring herself the inventress of this or that fashion, Mrs. Mary Ann Bell was not above purloining designs from other magazines and calling them her own. She was the great survivor of the Regency modistes. No slouch in self-promotion, she saw the rise of a wealthy middle class as an opportunity, and was never so exclusive in her clientele that she went broke waiting for impoverished aristocrats to pay their bills. Mrs. Mary Ann Bell nee Millard (1786-1835) 1813-14: 22 Upper King St. 1814-18: 26 Charlotte St. Bedford Square 1817-30: 52 St. James [...]
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 [...]
