Regency?

[Jeanne Burton]

I recently met a guy who does war of 1812 reenactment, and we were
discussing doing an event or two together. I know NOTHING about this
era...I do 1500's Spain, and by then I've been dead for a couple
hundred years. <G> I also know nothing about how European fabrics and
styles migrated to the Ohio Valley - should I be looking at 1808-1809
and figuring that it took 4 or 5 years to get styles that far into the
"wilderness", or were people more in touch with Europe than that?
I also really have no idea on how picky reenactors of this era are - I
belong to the SCA, where a "reasonable attempt" is good enough for
many...though not for me. I'm a bit of a snob for myself when it comes
to costuming - anything worth doing is worth doing well, and as
correctly as possible, isn't it?

There's been no mention of class at this point..I think that's up to
me. He very kindly gave me 4 yards of a beautiful lightweight
jacquarded silk and a regency pattern by Sense and Sensibility...so I
have that to start out with, though if there's something better,
please let me know!
(Silk and patterns are MUCH better gifts than flowers, IMO, as well!)

Thanks in advance -

Jeanne

[Kate Dicey]

Post by Jeanne Burton
I recently met a guy who does war of 1812 reenactment, and we were
discussing doing an event or two together. I know NOTHING about this
era...I do 1500's Spain, and by then I've been dead for a couple
hundred years. <G> I also know nothing about how European fabrics and
styles migrated to the Ohio Valley - should I be looking at 1808-1809
and figuring that it took 4 or 5 years to get styles that far into the
"wilderness", or were people more in touch with Europe than that?
I also really have no idea on how picky reenactors of this era are - I
belong to the SCA, where a "reasonable attempt" is good enough for
many...though not for me. I'm a bit of a snob for myself when it comes
to costuming - anything worth doing is worth doing well, and as
correctly as possible, isn't it?
There's been no mention of class at this point..I think that's up to
me. He very kindly gave me 4 yards of a beautiful lightweight
jacquarded silk and a regency pattern by Sense and Sensibility...so I
have that to start out with, though if there's something better,
please let me know!
(Silk and patterns are MUCH better gifts than flowers, IMO, as well!)
Thanks in advance -
Jeanne

Oh, he sounds fun! :)

Yes, a few years lag would be fine. Fashion didn't move as quickly as
now, and an inch or two up or down in the waistline was often ignored
outside the Haute Monde of London/Paris/Vienna. In Europe at the time
there was a great vogue for all things military, and ladies jackets and
riding clothes were often made in mock uniform styles. Sense and
Sensibility patterns will do fine: just make sure you use something
round about 1810-12 and you'll be OK. After all, some cousin in England
could easily have sent you a picture of a new sleeve or ruffle, war
between us notwithstanding.

As for the jacquard silk... be careful! Silks were often a plain
weave, but stripes were very fashionable, and Paisley shawls were just
coming in. Most people did NOT wear diaphanous floaty thing a la
Caroline Lamb, nor did they dampen their petticoats to make them cling
and show their figures!

For a real flavour of the period, and some good fashion drawings, dig
out a copy of Mrs Hurst Dancing - a lovely collection of drawings and
notes by a young lady in England at the time. For another, look at the
BBC Pride and Prejudice TV series with Jenifer Ehle and Colin Firth:
very well done, and the costumes are fantastic. Another good period
piece is Georgette Hayer's The Spanish Bride: she took lots of it from
Harry Smith's diary, John Kincaid's, and those of other real people who
appear in the novel, including from notes and dispatches from Wellington
himself. Read Harry Smith himself for details of the disastrous
American expedition.

[Jennifer Juniper]

Hello Jeanne,

A little advice from my experience.

A good place to start to get ideas for the Regency era is:
http://www.songsmyth.com/costumerscompanion.html

The US equivalent for the "Regency period" of costume is called the "Federal
period" and it can be difficult to find ideas about this costume period.
Most of the pictures I've seen have been similar in style but not as fancy
in fabric.

I would try to find out what the event entails. If it involves being out on
a battlefield then you probably don't want to wear a silk dress. If there is
a ball, then you'd definitely want to wear something more formal. Once you
know what kind of event it is, I'd start getting ideas by peeking at some
1812 reenactment websites.

example:
http://www.mississinewa1812.com/photos.htm

It looks to me like they tend towards a more colonial look in the women's
clothing, but I only peeked.

The Greater San Francisco Bay Area Costumer's Guild has lots of reviews of
different patterns both for authenticity and ease of constructing.
http://www.gbacg.org/Patterns/index.html

I hope some of this babble helps.

Good Luck and have fun with it!
Jennifer Juniper

Post by Jeanne Burton
I recently met a guy who does war of 1812 reenactment, and we were
discussing doing an event or two together. I know NOTHING about this
era...I do 1500's Spain, and by then I've been dead for a couple
hundred years. <G> I also know nothing about how European fabrics and
styles migrated to the Ohio Valley - should I be looking at 1808-1809
and figuring that it took 4 or 5 years to get styles that far into the
"wilderness", or were people more in touch with Europe than that?
I also really have no idea on how picky reenactors of this era are - I
belong to the SCA, where a "reasonable attempt" is good enough for
many...though not for me. I'm a bit of a snob for myself when it comes
to costuming - anything worth doing is worth doing well, and as
correctly as possible, isn't it?
There's been no mention of class at this point..I think that's up to
me. He very kindly gave me 4 yards of a beautiful lightweight
jacquarded silk and a regency pattern by Sense and Sensibility...so I
have that to start out with, though if there's something better,
please let me know!
(Silk and patterns are MUCH better gifts than flowers, IMO, as well!)
Thanks in advance -
Jeanne