Women would have had their new gowns made to measure, as there was no ready-to-wear or sometimes they would make their own garments. For ladies, the ostentatious styles of the previous generation were abandoned in favour of more natural silhouettes with higher waists and lower necklines. This led to hairstyles called things like the afore-mentioned “Brutus” and another, longer one named “Titus”. As ancient cities were unearthed, so was interest in the fashions of the inhabitants. ‘A la Brutus’ was a style of the time.” In fact, much of the style at the time fell into the neo-classical category, an aesthetic based on imagery from Greek and Roman times, probably brought to popularity by the emergence of archaeology. They wouldn’t neglect their appearance, often even getting a fashionable haircut. Earlier, in the 18 th Century, they were quite foppish, but by this point it was rather understated.

By then they tried to appear less concerned, but would have been respectable and know the best tailor to go to. They did have fashion magazines, so even those who weren’t in London could discover the latest fashion within a few weeks, either through those or communication with friends.”īut was this just the obsession of slightly bored women who had nothing better to do? Or were men equally preoccupied with their appearance? “Oh yes, they were very concerned by it. Even in Pride and Prejudice, Mrs Bennet mentions the fashion for long sleeves which would have started in London. But they were just as obsessed by fashion as we are, and that shows through the numerous references to fashion and clothes in Jane Austen’s letters. I asked Louise West, curator of the museum how she thought fashion had changed since then: “I suppose the answer is: different, very different indeed. It is dedicated to her life and works, and amongst other artefacts, you can see objects which confirm that fashion was no less important in the Regency era than it is now: drawings depicting ladies in the latest fashions costumes from the period dramas based on Jane’s work and even two topaz crosses, bought for Jane and her sister Cassandra by one of their brothers. The former no longer stands, but the latter, where she wrote the bulk of her work and lived with her mother and sister, acts today as Jane Austen’s House Museum. The Authoress of six of the greatest novels in the English Language is particularly dear to us in Winchester, as she spent the last days of her relatively short life here, and is buried in the cathedral.īefore then, she also spent the majority of her life residing in Hampshire – in two houses in Steventon and Chawton. Jane Austen once said that “dress is at all times a frivolous distinction.” However, much as she was a woman who valued the mind and morals, she was not above being concerned with parasols and petticoats.

Jane austen fashion and sensibility