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 [...]
Regency Bathroom Breaks
You've overdone the punch at Lady Insufferable's rout. You need a bathroom break, but it's 1811. Is a bourdaloue really the only option? Engraving 1801. British Museum In the first decades of the 19th century the average English family used some kind of outdoor privy, rather like the one shown in the 1801 caricature (left) of an 'old maid' ousted by her squabbling cats. The "water closet" (as a flush toilet was known) was considered a prestigious luxury. Indoor plumbing barely existed, making the first toilets costly and impractical to install. [...]
