Did you know that if it was 1823 rather than 2023 many of us would be right in the middle of the “social season”? From Jane Austen novels to Bridgerton, it is commonly referred to in stories set in the 19th century, and as I start to make my own plans for what is sure [...]
About a month ago I covered the cute history of the tie-on pocket. Part of my research involved reading articles documenting the various items that 18th and 19th-century women would carry with them day-to-day. Items of a predictable nature included keys, money, and gloves. Not-so-predictable items on my list were pincushions and nutmeg graters. "Why [...]
Have you ever ridden in a hot air balloon? Today they are novelties that many of us enjoy but also take for granted seeing on the horizon, especially on weekend mornings. It is easy to forget that when they were first invented they created a sensation around the world and led to what is now [...]
Have you gotten started on your Valentine’s yet? If not, will you know what to say when you do? Last week we explored the Regency Valentine’s manual for men, Richardson's New London fashionable gentleman's valentine writer, or, The lover's own book for this year : containing a very choice selection of original and popular valentines [...]
Do you hang mistletoe in your home over the holiday season? Do you know that of all the holiday traditions that have both ancient and pagan roots that this is one is among the oldest? Or that it was ever-so-saucy Victorians that turned it into the kissing ritual as we know it today? The history [...]
What is your favorite Regency fashion? I think mine might be the Spencer jacket, though it took some paper dolls from the period to show me... Last weekend I wrote a fun piece about early printed paper dolls, Little Fanny and her cohorts Little Henry and Naughty Ellen. The dolls were accompanied by charming storybooks [...]
I have been looking forward to doing a post on the history of paper dolls for a while. And wow - talk about biting off more than I could chew! As soon as I started prepping a couple of weeks back I realized it was WAY too huge of a topic to tackle in one [...]
Last week we started to unveil our new Regency fashion pieces. I started to explore the basics of what constitutes “Regency dress” and why we love it. This conversation very easily gives way to the hot topic in costuming and historical fashion right now: the Netflix series Bridgerton and how it got the clothing right [...]
We love Regency fashions and are so excited about releasing an entirely new line of styles from the early 1800s for you this week. This, and the fact that we know how much our fans love Bridgerton helped me to decide to do a short series on Regency fashion fun. In today’s first post, I [...]