Dressing Elizabeth Bennet|Regency Undergarments

A New Exhibit at the Jane Austen Centre

 

  All these garments are based on research of fashion plates and garments C.1813 in museum collections. This amount of underclothing would have been typical for a young Englishwoman like Elizabeth Bennet. Although the dresses themselves were diaphanous, the undergarments were decorous and only the most daring style leaders (mainly in Paris) took the fashion to extremes and wore the ‘semi-naked’ look so beloved by cartoonists of the time. "Elizabeth Bennet" (Doll and costume) was researched, designed and hand-made by Susie Ralph. Susie does do commissions - ask at Centre's shop or email us: curator@www.janeausten.co.uk. *Often mistakenly called a reticule. While `reticule' was the proper name for a lady's purse in later times, duing the Regency it is consistently referred to as a riducule. Enjoyed this article? Visit our giftshop and escape into the world of Jane Austen.