dressing regency, 1800s-1820s

Let's get dressed in the Regency era. Hello and welcome. I'm Maria from Sew Through Time and this time we're taking a look at how Regency fashion changed throughout the decades. From left to right we have the 1800s, 18-teens, and 1820s. All of them start with a linen shift and stockings held up with garters. And next comes the corset. Though the specifics of the silhouette change a little bit, throughout the Regency era the main purpose of the corset is to lift and separate the bust and create a smooth straight front below the bust. If these corsets reduce anything, it is most likely your under bust rather than your waist measurement. And even then, it's just a result of smoothing things out rather than actually a thing that you would desire to do. Because the idea is to lift your bust to the high heavens, the easiest way to achieve this is by leaning forward and just scooping your bust into the cup. There is variation in how these stays were made throughout the era, but they most often laced down the back with spiral lacing. And this shaping was done with gores. Though there wasn't much emphasis on the waist, most corsets still came to the upper hip. That is to provide back support and also with that big wooden busk in the middle, provide a smooth line down the front. This also helps you maintain your posture, keeping that graceful upward stance that is very typical of this era. And as you can probably guess from the amount of futzing around I did with my bust, the 1800s has the highest bust line. This also has the least amount of bust separation, but it's definitely still not a monoboob. It's all about lifting your bust as high as it will go while maintaining the forward thrust as far as that will go. So definitely no squishing. The corset I'm wearing for this era is called the corset for the lazy because of its lack of lacing. The 1820s has the lowest bust point of these, providing a silhouette similar to a modern day balconette bra. This decade also has a bit more waist definition provided by cording. And virtually all Regency era corsets have some sort of straps. The 1810s has the most bust separation. This is achieved not only by the wide bust, but also the shape of the gores that kind of thrust the volume of the breast a little bit to the sides. And here you can see the difference in silhouette in each era. And next comes your petticoats. While the shift's purpose is to protect you from your outer clothing, the petticoat's main purpose is to keep your skirts from tangling onto your legs and help create that fashionable silhouette, whichever one it happens to be. Here I'm going to focus mostly on the silhouette each of these garments provide, but if you're interested more in the function of each garment, I have a separate video on that, which provides detailed information on why each layer was worn. Because the Regency silhouette is high-waisted, especially in the 1800s and 1810s, petticoats of these eras also come to the underbust. So to keep them up there, they can have either a full bodice or a partial bodice, like the one I'm wearing, or they can just have a strap contraption. In the 1820s, waistlines start to lower closer to your natural waist, though corsets of this era typically help keep it still slightly raised. Petticoats become skirts again, and to help provide that structured bell shape that was fashionable in the era, petticoats often had cording on the bottom hem, like mine does. Though here I'm wearing a petticoat in the 1800s, there was also complaint, especially from older women, that some young women would even omit their petticoats to emphasize the translucent nature of their gowns. But that was definitely a high fashion thing, not a common occurrence in everyday life. And next for the 1800s comes my gown. Gowns of this era have a strong ancient Greek and Roman influence to them, and because of the same common misconception as we have today, they associated white with antique fashions. So while other colors and dresses existed in this era, white was by far the most common. And because of the high waistlines of the gowns, fashionable gowns in the 1800s and 18-teens usually did not have pockets. But in the 1820s, this separate tie-on pocket became fashionable again because the dress's waistlines dropped enough to make it useful. And because I'm dressing for daytime for the 18-teens, I'm adding a chemiset. Chemisets are worn throughout the Regency era, but they were at their peak in popularity in the 18-teens, where nearly every fashion plate not featuring an evening gown has one. Chemisets are essentially the upper portion of a shirt. They provide some sun coverage and some interest to the very low necklines of this era, and typically feature a collar. In the 1810s, the biggest trend was for ruffles, which are basically a remake of the Renaissance ruff. Though back-closing gowns were popular throughout the Regency era, in the 1800s there was a common fashion for bib front gowns like the one I'm wearing. These could sometimes have fabric-covered buttons at the sides to hold that bib in place, but just as often they were just pinned. Pinning with just straight sewing pins allows for a lot of adjustability. I was actually several inches smaller when I made this gown, but it's still very wearable because I can pin it to the right position. And yes, these gowns have a very low neckline. That's why the center front is usually pinned too, to provide that ample neckline without a view straight to your navel. Sleeves of the 1800s are usually tight like mine, or have a small puff in the upper arm area. During the 1810s, necklines continue to be generous, but widening towards the shoulders rather than closer to the apex of the bust. Though very low necklines are also seen, especially for evening wear. Sleeves gain fullness throughout the sleeve and often become oversized in length, covering the upper portion of the hand. In the 1820s, while necklines remain wide, you typically don't see much cleavage. And throughout the 1820s, the upper portion of the sleeve gains even more volume towards the gigot sleeve of the 1830s. In the 1800s, the skirts are fairly wide, though the front remains flat, and especially in French fashion, could even have trains during the day. During the 1810s, the skirts become more narrow, and the hems shorter, often revealing the ankles. In the 1820s, skirts become more A-lined, with padding and trim at the hem to keep it circular. Shoes are most often flat, with the toes starting out rounded and gradually becoming squared by the 1820s. Men often complained about the slipper-like quality of women's shoes in this era, complaining that women's frivolous fashion would lead to sickness. For the 1800s, I chose to add a spencer to add a pop of color and provide some sun protection. Throughout the Regency era, fashionable women would try to avoid a tan, because it was seen as a sign of physical labor. Hats and bonnets were worn pretty interchangeably throughout the Regency era, but the top hat style really peaked in the 1820s. Bonnets especially tied usually under the chin, but hats could tie on too, and both styles were often decorated with flowers, feathers, and bows. Whereas 1810s and 20s hats are often lavishly decorated, the 1800s saw a lot of close turban styles, and due to the lack of pockets in the 1800s and 1810s, reticules were hugely fashionable. So we can roughly say that the main fashion inspiration for the 1800s was ancient Roman Greek. For the 1810s, ancient world means Renaissance, and Renaissance means 17th century for 1820s. So although these eras have a lot in common, they also have a lot of nuance that separates the decades from each other. I hope you enjoyed this video, and if you did, please give it a thumbs up, because it really does help out in this world, and if you haven't subscribed already and you would want to do that, go ahead and do that, and I'll see you again next time. Bye!