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Bliss Bennet writes smart, edgy novels for readers who love history as much as they love romance.

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Archives for January 2016

Ackermanns Fashion Plates July 1811

January 27, 2016 By BlissBennet 1 Comment

 

Time is of the essence to July 1811’s fashionable ladies: both include among their accessories a watch. The opera-bound lady will not be late if she keeps her “French repeating watch, with elastic gold chain and seals” wound. What is a “repeating watch”? A quick check of Wikipedia reveals that a “repeater,” which can refer to either a watch or a clock, chime the hours (and often the minutes) at the press of a button. Invented in the late 18th century, repeaters proved helpful for telling the time when one was in the dark, a handy feature when one lived in a time before electricity and/or gas brought artificial illumination to households. Because of their intricate, and tiny, mechanisms, repeater watches were much hard to craft than repeater clocks. Owning and displaying a repeater watch, then, clearly demonstrate that our opera-bound lady is not only fashionable, but well-to-do. The promenading lady’s timepiece is only listed as a “French watch.” Perhaps a repeater was too dear to take on a casual walk?

Vol. VI, no. XXXI, plate 4, page 52
Vol. VI, no. XXXI, plate 5, page 52

Beside our opera-loving lady stands a “youth,” the first time a fashion plate features a child whose gender is obvious. I don’t think one would bring a youth of this age to the opera, though, do you? Perhaps his “jacket and trowsers, à la Militaire” simply suggest that the opera mama is attending has a martial theme?


 

This month’s fabric samples feature a striking upholstery chintz, a floral printed on a background of “bright Sardinian blue.” And two evening dress fabrics, the latter, a “silver regency tissue,” worn by an unnamed beauty with “so much effect at the ground fête at Carleton-House.” I wonder who she was?

 

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Filed Under: Regency History Tagged With: Ackermanns, Ackermmann's, clothing, dress, fashion, watches

Guest Posting at Madame Gilflurt’s

January 21, 2016 By BlissBennet Leave a Comment

Talking today about the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on A Covent Garden Madame Gilflurt’s Guide to Life:

http://www.madamegilflurt.com/2016/01/the-irish-rebellion.html

 

Eire1791United Irishmen

Filed Under: Guest Post lins

Ackermanns Fashion Plates June 1811

January 20, 2016 By BlissBennet Leave a Comment

 

Regency ladies are out and about in this month’s edition of the fashion plates: two promenade dresses, as well as five different fashionable headdresses. I’m especially taken by headdress #3, “composed in the antique or old English fly-cap, of crimson shot silk, finished at the edge with two rows of pearls or beads, and a star or small rosette in front.” It almost might be worth wearing a simple white gown, as Arbiter Elegantiarum advises, if you could top it all off with such a splendid creation.

Ackermanns XXX, vol. iv, plate 36
Ackermanns XXX, vol. iv, plate 36


And this month, Arbiter Elegantiarum outs his gender. Yes, his—he refers to himself as “Mr.” Arbiter Elegantiarum throughout this post. And he continues his long-running rant against long stays, this time using a class-based argument:

“Yes; however alarming it may be, it is, nevertheless, true, neither the long stay, corset, nor divorce, can any more become a distinction of rank, nor a mark for the boundary of the empire of fashion. The shopkeeper’s wife, the haberdasher’s apprentice, nay, even the common household drudge, the servant of all-work, is now become as fashionably habited, in regard to this article of dress, as the lady of the first distinction, and is equally proud of her stiff back, and her inability to move.” His joking solution to this problem? “wear the corset over, instead of under, their other dress.” Don’t think many readers took his advice…

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Would you wear a print named “The Regent’s Plume” (#3)? Or perhaps it is mean as a upholstery print; the brief description doesn’t specify. Nice that you can pay homage to the ruler-in-waiting with a fabric that is “reasonable in price.”


 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Regency History Tagged With: Ackermanns, Ackermmann's, clothing, dress, fashion

Ackermanns Fashion Plates May 1811

January 13, 2016 By BlissBennet 1 Comment

 

When I think of Regency dresses, I always think (inspired, no doubt, by the costumes in recent films of Jane Austen novels) of one piece gowns. But blogging about the Ackermanns Fashion Plates for the last year has made me realize that tunics featured more often in Regency dresses than I had previously imagined, even in fairly formal outfits. Take for example plate 31, which features an Opera Dress of white muslin, overlaid with an “Algerian tunic of white satin, trimmed round the bottom and bosom with net or silver fringe.” The length of the “Turkish coat,” too, seems unusual; not the short pelisse, nor the calf or full-length coat or cloak, but a “short” coat, one that reaches only to the knees. If you saw such an outfit in a Regency-period film, or on a Regency-set romance, would you think it looks out of place? (And do you think that child is accompanying his/her mother to the opera??)

Ackermanns XXIX, vo. 5, plate 30
Ackermanns XXIX, vo. 5, plate 31


It looks as though the Philadelphia Museum of Art library’s copy of this issue had some water or other damage on the fabric sample page. I’m including a photo here, but you might want to check out this Pinterest image for a better look. Haven’t been able to find a definition of “pomerette” or “rainbow imperial net”; any takers?

 

Screen Shot 2016-01-06 at 3.04.49 PM Screen Shot 2016-01-06 at 3.04.57 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Regency History Tagged With: Ackermanns, Ackermmann's, clothing, dress, fashion

Ackermanns Fashion Plates April 1811

January 6, 2016 By BlissBennet Leave a Comment

 

No commentary this month from Arbiter Elegantiarum, only brief descriptions of the two fashion prints, one for a dress to wear to a ball, the other for a gown suitable to walking, all in colors that suggest that official mourning for the King’s dead sister has ceased.

May I have a pair of half-boots of violet kid??

Ackermanns XXVIII, vol. 3, plate 24
Ackermanns XXVIII, vol. 3, plate 25

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This month’s fabric samples also highlight the return to color, particularly the regency spotted muslin on “beautiful bottilla grounds” (#3). Does anyone know if “bottilla” refers to the color? Can’t find the word in my Fairchild’s Dictionary of Textiles, or in a Google search…


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Regency History Tagged With: Ackermanns, Ackermmann's, clothing, dress, fashion

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  • Ackermann’s Fashion Plates January 1817
  • Ackermann’s Fashion Plates December 1816
  • Ackermann’s Fashion Plates November 1816
  • Ackermann’s Fashion Plates October 1816
  • Ackermann’s September 1816 Fashion Plates
  • Ackermann’s August 1816 Fashion Plates
  • Ackermann’s Fashion Plates July 1816
  • Ackermann’s Fashion Plates June 1816
  • Ackermann’s Fashion Plates May 1816
  • Ackermann’s Fashion Plates April 1816

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