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  Lace caps were worn indoors and often by older women.

  Turbans were especially popular with older women and in

  The Foundling the Dowager Lady Ampleforth wore a magnificent turban of ‘rich violet silk, shot with orange’.

  The dramatic shifts in fashion between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries also extended to women’s underwear. Before the introduction of the more revealing lawn and muslin dresses, underwear had consisted mainly of the chemise, corset and the all-important full-length petticoat and, although most English women continued to wear these essential items, by 1811 drawers had also begun to be worn. A knee-length linen or cotton shift of plain design, with or without sleeves, the chemise was the undergarment worn next to the skin. It was wide and straight-edged and could be nearly oblong in shape; generally the only concession to fashion was a square neck with a lace or muslin edging. Introduced as early as 1804, drawers were originally thought to be immodest but they gradually increased in popularity and, by 1811, the Prince Regent’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, was known to wear them and the Duchess of Bedford had the bottoms of hers edged with Brussels lace. Drawers could be made of cotton, silk or muslin and consisted of two knee-length legs attached separately to a waistband. There was no gusset (which made access to the chamber-pot easy) and they could be buttoned or tied below the knee. Long drawers with feet attached for cold-weather wear were introduced during the Regency and several enterprising manufacturers offered ‘ladies hunting and Opera drawers in elastic India cotton’ or ‘patent elastic woollen drawers of stockinette’ to those wishing to ride in greater comfort. Soon referred to as ‘pantalettes’, to distinguish them from the close-fitting male trouser, women’s pantaloons were another form of ladies’ underwear. Longer than the knee-length drawers, they reached to just below the calf. Pantalettes were finished with a deep decorative border of lace and several rows of tucks which were meant to be seen. As a result they were mainly worn by the more daring in society and, in 1817, Lady Charlotte Lindsay shocked the sensibilities of her hostess, Lady Stanley, by wearing ‘a green silk spencer, green silk boots, and trowsers to the ankle much below the petticoats’.

  Also known as stays, corsets were worn over the chemise and under the petticoat. Corsets underwent several changes in design during the early nineteenth century. The decade before the Regency was the era of the long corset which pushed up the bosom and extended over the hips to flatten the stomach and create the long straight line needed for the light, clinging lawn and muslin dresses of the period. Made of buckram and jean, it was stiffened with whalebone and steel and laced at the back. In 1811, the short corset returned to favour—stiffer than ever and with shoulder straps and back lacing. It too was made of strong cotton such as jean but its shape was more curved and the aim was to emphasise the waist and bosom. The fashion for small hips encouraged tight lacing and was extremely uncomfortable for many female aspirants to fashion; when Miss Morville was knocked unconscious in The Quiet Gentleman Mr Leek was put in a quandary as to whether or not he should cut her laces. The petticoat was put on over the chemise and corset and worn directly under the dress. Mostly made of linen, cotton, cambric, or flannel for the winter, petticoats had a bodice (often high-cut at the back) which fastened at the front and was attached to the skirt, which the wearer secured around the waist with tapes. Petticoats were generally made to match the length of the dress under which they were worn and old or worn-out dresses were sometimes converted into petticoats. During the Regency decorative or ornamental petticoats or underskirts were worn under open dresses designed to show off a portion of the undergarment. Full-length under-dresses worn under ball gowns of gauze or lace were also known as petticoats.

  Stockings were worn to the knee and held up with knitted or ribbon garters. They were usually white or pink, although prior to the Regency black and coloured stockings had been popular. Those who could afford them wore silk stockings with cotton feet attached for which, in 1811, they paid about 12s. a pair. Tiffany Wield bought several pairs of silk stockings when shopping in Leeds in The Nonesuch and inspired her friend Patience Chartley to put aside enough money to buy just one pair to wear to the Colebatches’ ball. Stockings for evening wear were sometimes embroidered at the ankles (in order to cover the seams) with decorative patterns known as clocks. Cotton stockings were also fashionable and cost around 4s. a pair, while the cheapest and least liked were woollen or worsted stockings which were often made at home. Although warm and functional, worsted stockings were not thought to be modish and it was not uncommon to give them to the needy.

  The most important garment in a woman’s wardrobe, the dress had begun to change from the classical, semi-transparent gown of the previous decade as styles gradually turned towards a ‘pseudo-classical’ mode which allowed for shorter skirt lengths and the introduction of gores (triangular pieces of fabric) into the bodice and the skirt. Trains mostly disappeared after 1812 as the slightly wider skirt allowed for increased decoration and, as the period progressed, more and more elaborate trim, in the form of ruffs, tucks, frills, flounces, flowers and beads, was applied to the sleeves, bodices and hems of ladies’ dresses. Dress designs also became more elaborate, with both the cut and trim frequently styled to match a spencer or pelisse, while decorative underskirts, worn under partially open dresses, also began to appear. In Friday’s Child, Hero wore an elegant dress of worked French muslin with flounces and tucks which won the envious admiration of her aunt and cousins. Towards the end of the Regency, dresses with separate skirts and bodices began to be seen and, while waists remained high for much of the period, in the later years they began slowly to move lower until, by 1821, they were near their natural level. Dresses were made of a wide variety of fabrics, depending on the season, style and intended use, including muslin, cambric, lawn, jaconet, sarsnet, silk, merino, satin, crepe, gauze, kerseymere and velvet.

  The social life of an upper-class Regency woman demanded a large and versatile wardrobe with a dress for every occasion. Between rising and retiring, a fashionable lady with a busy round of social engagements might change her dress three or four times in a day. Even on the quietest day it was expected that all members of an upper-class household would change for dinner—or at least make some alteration to their appearance—something Lady Legerwood in Cotillion felt to be obligatory. Ladies’ magazines such as La Belle Assemblée or the Ladies’ Monthly Museum depicted a wide range of dresses, cloaks, hats and accessories for different activities and times of the day; the differences between a walking dress, promenade dress, afternoon dress or carriage dress were not always obvious, however, as the various lines of demarcation shifted with changing fashions. Certainly the amount of exposed flesh was regulated according to the time of day and custom dictated that a lady cover her arms, neck and bosom in the morning and unveil them only for afternoon or evening wear. There were also subtle distinctions between an evening dress and a ball dress, or between a walking dress and a day dress, and it is likely that knowing the differences was one of the marks of a well-bred woman.

  Mostly worn indoors, morning dresses were often as richly

  trimmed and elegant as those worn outside.

  Put on after rising, the morning dress was made to cover the chest, arms and neck, with a close-fitting bodice and flowing skirt short enough for walking but not to reveal the ankle. It was often worn with a close-fitting lace cap. Later in the period morning dresses became less casual and took on the appearance of a day dress which could be worn outside. Nell Cardross in April Lady bought a very elegant and expensive morning dress of twilled French silk which could have been worn both indoors and out. For general day wear a round dress or gown was worn, which had no train but consisted of a joined skirt and bodice with the hem sewn all the way around (hence a ‘round’ gown) so as not to reveal any kind of underskirt or petticoat. Either as an informal evening dress or ordinary day dress, a half-dress could be worn consisting of a thigh-length, short-sleeved tunic worn over a round gown and