"You had better explore to Donwell," replied Mr. Knightley. "That may be done without horses. Come, and eat my strawberries. They are ripening fast."
And so we did, this Sunday last, gather a lovely party to explore the nearby strawberry fields and excellent shade trees for picnicking. We spread out upon the lawn and utilized the provided tables while basking in the glory of a truly fine Portland day. Strangely enough, no images were captured of us actually picking strawberries.
On 15 June we were delighted to go in support of one of our members as she read a few chapters from her book ‘Shades of Milk and Honey’. Ms. Robinette Kowal entertained an audience mixed of some of our local time traveling Regency folk, and those of a more modern persuasion. All in all, a lovely evening.
And way back on 20 May, a couple of us travelled to Astoria, OR, where the town was beginning the celebration of its bicentennial. We sailed the high seas (otherwise known as the bay and river area) on The Lady Washington, in a replica ship appropriate to 1811, while being regaled with nautical stories and songs and awed by the nimble dance of the crew as they dashed about manning such a vessel. If you have the chance, I highly recommend setting sail with this crew who, along with The Hawaiian Chieftain, sail up and down the West Coast.
And so, dear friends, I close with a desire for your good health and to see you all soon as we continue our travels together in a quest for a touch of Regency.
How can you not love the family chaos going on in this portrait?
One of my favourite things is to see period family portraits. And not just formal sitting portraits, but ones where there are people unposed, doing ordinary things, the room in disarray or chaotic, children are running about. It’s so intimate to see a glimpse of Regency family life, and even better, to see the things children wore.
The Regency child on the most part (at least from toddlerhood on) was generally dressed in a miniature version of the adult. They were expected to behave like adults in many ways, so it’s not much of a stretch that they would be outfitted like one. In babyhood boys and girls were dressed similarly in little regency frocks. Girls would graduate into their little high-waisted gowns and the boys got their skeleton suits sometime during toddlerhood.
A few garments have survived the tests of time, and are now on display in a variety of museums around the world. Using those garments as examples, a number of people have been able to draft patterns from them or create new ones based on the extant garments.
One of my favourite sets of children’s extant garments (with a pattern made from the garment itself) are the girl’s and boy’s outfits at the Danish Museum collection ‘Tidens Tøj'.
‘Tidens Tøj' girl's gown.
‘Tidens Tøj' boy's skeleton suit.
Some wonderful, enterprising person drafted patterns from a number of the pieces and posted them on the website. One of the RSA Forum’s Danish members was kind enough to translate them. The translated patterns can be found here:
With the little regency gowns, there are lots of options, just as many as there are with adult gowns, style wise, and now there are several patterns to choose from.
Some of the most popularly available patterns for girls are through Sense & Sensibility:
This website sells a wonderful array of period goods, and their regency selection is absolutely wonderful because it includes patterns that are not readily sold in the US. There are several children’s options on this site (the adult options also offer patterns I’ve never seen sold in the US). They include more than one little girl’s dresses but also includes patterns for boys’ wear (skeleton suits & such).
(click on the Regency button on the left and scroll down on the right).
The Skeleton suit was the mainstay for many years during Georgian, Regency and even into the Victorian era for the little boys. I guess boys need romper wear no matter what age they grow up in. I personally think skeleton suits are ADORABLE. They were appropriate until about 10 or 12 (this is my estimation looking at portraits) and then the boys were put into littler versions of their father’s clothing. The trousers were either long to the ankle, or breech-length, just at the knees or slightly below them.
Here is a picture of an RSA member’s child in his little skeleton suit made by his father. The proud dad’s photo essay on making this item can be viewed here:
One of the most famous period images of a young regency girl is 'Pinkie'.
Another portrait has been paired with it--the portrait of Blue Boy.
If you'll notice, the boy’s clothing fashions are more antiquated than the girl’s and there’s a good reason for that. Here’s an interesting history written about these portraits. The girl in the portrait was only 11 years old.
Yes, you heard it, we're having our retreat! It's SO exciting to watch it come together and to start finalizing workshops and the registration packet. I put a preliminary notice on Facebook the day before yesterday and we already have a bit of interest. Stephanie Robertson has been the primary driving force behind this event, and has helped us acquire a venue to hold it for a price that makes it affordable for everyone. For less than $200, participants get nine meals, three nights lodging, a compendium of workshops and they get to play dress-up all the while! How can you beat that?
We are happy to welcome not only Oregonians and local folks, but also people from out of state as well. We are willing to help with airport transportation and assisting in making sure you have the stuff you need for a comfortable stay. All you have to do is contact us.
For a preview of what's in store for the retreat, click here. We will be adding more details as we finish wrapping up the odds and ends. Some things may be subject to change; to minor menu changes to some workshop modifications. In spite of that, we foresee a wonderful event with lots of great workshops to hone your skills in sewing, dancing, millinery, even baking!
Click through and check it out. There are *ONLY* 30 available spots, so if you want to participate, you should contact the ORS for a registration packet.
Due to some issues out of the ORS control, we don't have any events set in stone and have not been able to update the ORS events list on the ORS site.
Here is a list of upcoming events and event ideas we have been planning.
May 20th-Astoria bicentennial celebration. Charlotte Cunningham and Nora Azevedo will be attending the opening of the Celebration at the Museum and later on the Lady Washington. If anyone would like to go with us, we are available for carpool.
July 30th-Not Just a Memory Horse race July 31st-Picnic at Pittock Mansion!
This is a double header for all of you Ladies and Gentlemen who travel any sort of distance to our events.
August 13th-tentative date for the summer ball. We have thought of an Out Door Park event with a live orchestra to keep down costs and get more public exposure.
OctoberSAVE THE DATE for the 2nd Annual Fall Assembly. More on that once we have a secure date, time and location.
December 1st through 4th-Regency Retreat...most fantastic and will have more information soon
This is what we have so far as plans for a fantastic summer of events.
Other ideas have been put forth such as Tea at the Lavender Tea room in Sherwood, Summer Picnic or Ball, Picnic at Multnomah Falls, Trip to the Shakespeare Festival.
Feedback is most appreciated as to ideas, dates, places etc.
A Regency lady might have worn very light fabrics (old-fashioned muslin was more like voile or batiste is today) but she did wear a few layers to compensate. It was said that a regency lady’s gown should be of such light fabric, she should be able to fold it up and have it fit into her reticule. It is no surprise that in wintertime, the mode of the period caused many a Regency lady to succumb to pneumonia.
Because of their penchant for light, airy fabrics, they had to make up for the opacity needed to make them presentable (except for those shocking merveilleuses; ladies known to wear very little beneath their very sheer gowns; thin muslin shift at best) with the undergarments.
Les incroyables et les merveilleuses This period image is of an outlandish early-regency dandy offering money for ‘services’, mistaking this merveilleuse for a prostitute. She wards off his payment (with crossed fingers); she is dressed in the most daring of period fashions. Oh those French! Shocking!
Here is another images that shows less of transparent fabrics and more of the widening of the neckline. The stays were meant to present the lady’s assets on the proverbial platter. The gowns in this image surely support this idea to its best adavtage.
Of course, on the most part ladies wore decent clothing. And here is a breakdown of what you might see if you stripped away the muslin gown.
The Shift:
This shift is the simplest of garments. It also acts as a dress-shield, keeping (on the most part) you from sweating on your outer layers. Shifts are about knee length to mid-calf-length.
The trickiest part of this garment is the gusseted sleeve. This youtube tutorial explains it wonderfully. This is a great garment for beginners to try.
The neck should be adjustable with a drawstring.
You see, the shift acts like the top half of the 'bra'. The regency stays will lift and cup the lady's assets, but the stays are shallow and they risk spillage if they are not contained. The shift's drawstring neck should gather an inch or two above the edge of the gussetted cups on the stays and rein-in those wild bosoms. The shift is very important and when dressing, one must spend some time making proper adjustments so that they are doing their job and not so tight that they risk closing in the neckline so much that they peep out from under the gown. See below.
"When pantaloons or pantalettes first began to be worn by adult women they were worn long enough to be seen. That was the whole point.
C. Willett Cunnington writes in the “History of Underclothes” that they commonly extended down the leg to just below the calf, where rows of tucks and lace and pretty detail would be applied.
Also from “History of Underclothes”: “From Lady Stanley’s letter of 1817 – ‘We were insulted by the presence of (Lady) Charlotte (Lindsay) in a green silk Spencer, green silk boots, and trowsers to the ankle much below the petticoat.’”
As I mentioned before, pantalettes were generally just a couple of tubes of fine fabric (not usually wide legged – just straight tubes) fastened about the waist with a ribbon. They were not without their problems:
And this funny little story written by a young lady comes from 1820.
“ They are the ugliest things I ever saw: I will never put them on again. I dragged my dress in the dirt for fear someone might spy them. My first dimity pair with real Swiss lace is quite useless to me for I lost one leg and did not deem it proper to pick it up, and so walked off leaving it in the street behind me, and the lace had cost six shillings a yard. I saw that mean Mrs. Spring wearing it last week as a tucker….I hope there will be a short wearing of these horrid pantalets, they are too trying. Of course I must wear them for I cannot hold up my dress and show my stockings. No one does.”
A footnote to this story indicates it comes from Mrs. Earle: 'Two Centuries of Costume in America'."
These are an interesting set of garments, and I personally am not brave enough to go commando by any means, so I tend to make myself full bloomers rather than these interesting garments. However, there are die-hards out there who are determined to be accurate (in spite of the prospect of a chilly bottom). They do make for a nice aesthetic, when a lady lifts up her layers of petticoats to reveal the cuffs of a nice pair of corded pantalettes. Very cute.
The Stays:
Once the lady has her undergarments on, she’ll put on her stays. Now I’ve depicted a set of full stays with a busk, but there were many styles and varieties of stays during that period, ranging from the tiny short stays to the one pictured above. Here is a detailed post on the regency stays and corsets that could help you decide which set is best suited for you. It also includes pattern links.
Update: 8/26/2011: Here is a lovely little video stolen from 'Undressing the Historical Lady, performed by Miss Maggie Waterman. This is a perfect demonstration of what regency undergarments look like in person. You can learn more about Miss Waterman by clicking here: Undressing the Historical Lady. (Note, Miss Waterman's shift appears sleeveless, which is perfectly correct).
The Bodiced Petticoat
Though rarer than just plain stays, there was such thing as a petticoat undergown that had some boning in it that would provide support in place of a set of stays. This works best for ladies that are a B-cup or lower. I think with a C-cup or more, you should probably think about getting a set of stays. However, bodiced petticoats also served another purpose when not boned. They also could serve as a means to smooth out all the lumps and bumps of your undergarments and stays. There are lots of ways to make one of these. The Ravenrook’s Mode Bagatelle pattern provides a pattern for it—however you can easily take the pattern of your gown bodice and modify it to create a bodiced petticoat. Widen the neckline, of course, and make it sleeveless, add some soft (minmal) boning for structure, and you’re good to go.
In the movie below you see Katherine wearing this. It is a regency skirt on a waistband with two arm straps.
The pattern for which you can either take from a commercial pattern or you can 'McGuyver' one using some creative thinking.
You can follow the basic directions for a round-gown (see my personal post on Regency Drop-front/bib-front gowns) and sew it onto a waist-band you’ve sized to your empire waist. Add straps and voila. It will add volume and shape to your gowns, in addition to some lovely layers. I suggest 3.5 - 4 yards of fabric if not less. It should come to the line just above your ankles.
Dressing:
Katherine, costuming maven extraordinaire has made a delightful movie of how to put on a drop-front gown. What makes this video relevant here is that you can see her in her regency undergarments, including the high-waisted petticoat.
There you have it. Your regency underthings explained (for ladies, of course). Next post by me will be the men’s underthings explained. :)
The Oregon Regency Society web page is undergoing a server migration--so the website (and the RSA Regency Society of America website) will be out of commission for a day or two while the new folks who will be updating it get their ducks in a row. You can email the ORS at orregency@msn.com with queries, and it will be answered.
The ORS is also going through a leadership transition. I will be stepping down as President so I can get my insane life back together, and Thea Peck of ORS Central Valley Chapter will be taking my place. The ORS Northwest Chapter now has 5 chapter leaders; Stephanie Robertson, Charlotte Cunningham, Nora Azevedo, Guy Holady and myself in a limited capacity. I have decided now I want to just show up and have fun, and try to find my sewing love again! :)
Either way, we are here, despite the ORS web page being down, and we will be up and running business as usual very soon. Thanks!
Stephanie Johanesen
UPDATE - Due to a series of professional differences, the above described situation did not resolve itself as we had hoped. Because of uncommunicated intentions coming to light before the transition, the ORS has been restructured to move forward without a seated President. The organization is now structured to be run by the chapter leaders as a collective. The ORS is a volunteer-run, not for profit organization and will continue to remain so.
Also as a result of the differences between the chapters, the current leadership of the Oregon Regency Society made the difficult decision to withdraw support for the leadership of the ORS Central Valley Chapter. As a result this ORS chapter was dissolved. We apologize sincerely to the Eugene-area ORS members for this inconvenience, however we hope to re-establish a chapter in that region as soon as new, fair and dedicated leadership steps forward, willing to do the hard work necessary with the right, selfless motivations--without generating unnecessary negativity towards other leaders. This group's leadership has decided that they must all seek equal footing if they are going to work together.
The ORS is and always has been an organization of volunteers. The people who have dedicated great quantities of their personal time to build the group, organize the broad array of events, negotiate deals for venues, market the group, interact with members and listen to the needs of the membership are the very foundation of what this group stands for. None of us are doing this for the sake of personal gain (except for the fun of dressing up, of course), a hope for a career, or a means to elevate ourselves above others. It isn't about how much enjoyment we derive from our events, it's about how much enjoyment the membership derives from the events. We, as leaders, understand that being a leader means working, taking lumps, putting out fires and doing sometimes less than fun things for the sake of making brilliant fun events. So in essence, it's not about us. And we have resolved that this will always be part of the mission as we move forward from now on.
As a result of all this, my participating in leadership in a 'limited capacity' has been postponed; I am much engaged as I always have been in making sure we have lots of events going on for our NW Chapter members, and also striving to find leadership to expand our chapters around the state. However now, I share equal grounds with a tremendous group of leaders who put in the time and effort needed to keep this group growing. And I foresee many lovely things happening.
As we enter our fifth full year of operation we are looking forward to all the new and lovely things our leadership will bring, and we welcome the ideas, suggestions and assistance of any members who wish to take part in the leadership role. Let us know. :)
And so, dear friends, I close with a desire for your good health and to see you all soon as we continue our travels together in a quest for a touch of Regency.
