Ladies' Useful Regency Accessories

From Mamma-- A Mariner's compass

From Aunt-- A silver Vinagrette

From Augusta-- A gold twisted ring

From Miss Ramsey-- A leather purse

Emma Austen Leigh, 1815

During the Regency, friends would exchange small gifts at Christmas or Twelfth Night. These tended to be useful items or homemade tokens of remembrance. They might be accompanied by a riddle or short poem, like a needle bag, a Regency accessory, that Jane gave to a friend in 1792:

This little bag, I hope, will prove To be not vainly made; For should you thread and needles want, It will afford you aid. And, as we are about to part, 'Twill serve another end: For, when you look upon this bag, You'll recollect your friend.

Chatelaine, 1765-1775 Victoria and Albert Museum no. C.492:1 to 7-1914, Wikimedia Commons

Emma Austen Leigh's Regency Accessories

Jane's neice, Emma Austen Leigh, kept a diary list of all the Regency accessories she was given over a period of years. It included jewelry, purses, knitting boxes and workbags along with a selection of fashionable accessories and mending tools. The chatelaine is a device which clips to the waist band or belt of a dress for holding such items as the mistress of the house would need with her throughout the day. It might include her seal, watch, scissors, thimble, a vinaigrette, and a key holder.Chatelaines were worn by men and women and might be made of silver or steel. They could be as plain or as decorated as the owner wished.

Chatelaines: A Fancy Regency Accessory

The term originally meant the mistress of a large estate or Castle and literally means "the keeper of the keys." A vinaigrette is a little tightly sealing box with a second pierced lid inside to contain a bit of gauze soaked in vinegar, lavender water, or other scent. Sniffing the contents were meant to revive someone feeling faint or give relief from unpleasant odors.

It might be kept inside a reticule or be equipped with a loop and hung about the wearer's wrist or from a chatelaine. Vinaigrettes were made by silversmiths specializing in boxes so they usually also made snuffboxes. There were smiths in London who did this type of work, but most boxes were made in Birmingham.

If you don't want to miss a beat when it comes to Jane Austen, make sure you are signed up to the Jane Austen newsletter for exclusive updates and discounts from our Online Gift Shop.

Reprinted with persmission Sharon Wagoner, Curator of The Georgian Index. Visit this site for a historical tour through Regency London!