Spotlight on Regency Fashion: the pelisse

By Donna Hatch

Ladies in Regency England had more reasons to change clothes than the modern-day woman would ever believe. They had special clothes for relaxing at home, walking, riding, going for a drive in a carriage, afternoon gowns, evening gowns, ball gowns, etc. And the number of accessories is even more mind-boggling.

But one of the Regency ladies' fashion accessories was practical as well as fashionable. It was the pelisse. Generally lightweight, Regency ladies wore this long over-garment to protect her clothes from dust and dirt. Since many roads were unpaved, walking and riding in a carriage produced dust and dirt that would sully a gown. And since fashionable ladies often wore white or light colors as a status symble, keeping clothing clean in a not-so-terribly clean environment must have proved challenging. Big cities such as London were even dirtier with all the soot polluting the air from burning coal.

Wearing a pelise became an indespensible part of fashion, as well as a necessary garment, outside one's home. Though pelisses didn't generally take the place of a warm coat or cloak, they also added a layer of warmth in the event the weather took a sudden turn.

I have additional pictures of pelisses and gowns on my Pinterest Regency and Jane Austen Page.


Donna Hatch is a noted Regency researcher, enthusiast, and historical romance author. You can visit her website at www.donnahatch.com
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Shoes in History

My current work in progress is set in Venice, and to stick with my subject, today I'm talking about shoes. And Oh what shoes! I saw a pair in a museum in Venice. Just looking made my feet hurt.
In early modern Venice, around the mid-fifteenth to mid-sixteenth centuries, the footwear of Venetian women drew the eyes of every visitor downward, and no wonder. Chopines, the impossibly high clogs considered the latest fashion, were worn by any woman who could afford them, usually courtesans or the wealthy, as they were hardly attire for a cleaning woman or baker's daughter.
The shoes were made of wood or cork, with leather or man-made material for the tops. The platforms were frequently decorated with jewels and extravagant designs, and sometimes tassels hung from the toes.
Women wearing chopines had to be supported either by men or servants so the wearer would not slip or fall as they strolled along the Grand Canal to see and be seen.
There is controversy over just where the style originated; some say it came from China, where the women prided themselves on small feet, an indication of wealth and helplessness. Others argue the fashion came from the Turkish baths, where women wore slightly elevated shoes.
No matter the origin, the fashion eventually died out, and I suppose today spike heels would be considered just as dangerous, especially if strolling on cobbled streets and crossing the Rialto Bridge. Here are directions to making your very own pair of chopines .

Hats in History

Today I'm blogging about hats. Men's hats were worn before it was a fashion for women. Veils were the preferred headcoverings in ancient times, but in the early Middle Ages women began using more substantial headcoverings, and when the Church decreed that a woman must cover her head when attending mass, hats became more popular, even though a veil sufficed as a proper head covering in church.
Although we think of straw hats as being a more modern invention, straw headcoverings were actually in use much earlier, especially by farmers and plowmen (see picture), most likely for the same reason we wear them today when gardening.
I'm fascinated, looking through books of artwork depicting women in hats that appear to be the result of a drunken milliner; some were half again the height of the wearer, wide-angled productions that must have been an impediment to eating, walking, or even standing still.
Later, around the fourteenth century, they became, to my mind, more glamorous. Built to roughly conform to the shape of a crown, stiffened with bone, and lavishly decorated with pearls and jewels, surely they would catch the eye of any nobleman.
During the Renaissance, hats became an essential part of the wardrobe. Milliners shop sprang up, and frequently the proprietor was a woman. Sometimes the shops were owned by more than one woman. Inside, women could try on hats in relative privacy.


Personal experience has taught me that men are fascinated by women in hats. Several years ago, my sisters and I were on a moving stair in an airport. I wore a hat, as I'd recently been told to do by my dermatologist. My sisters were bareheaded. A gentleman, passing the other way on the stairs, commented on the hat, and ended by saying, "Don't let her lose that hat." The next day both my sisters bought hats.
Another time, my husband and I were seated at a gathering. A man, who according to my husband, had been seated behind us, rose to leave. On the way out, he paused at our table, said how much he liked to see women in hats, and went on his way.
If that's not enough to convince you to go out and get yourself a flattering hat, I don't know what will!

Real Men Wear Lace

Can you imagine a modern-day hero wearing lace? It conjures images of Liberace and cross-dressers. But until the twentieth century, lace was a sign of wealth. And wealth meant money. Freedom. Power. Security. Lace was not feminine or foppish. Let’s face, it, until very recent times, women had few choices; marriage or abject poverty. And for a woman who couldn’t go get a job to take care of herself, finding a husband who could care for her – and her future children – in comfort, was vital. If a man wore lace, it announced his wealth, which was attractive to women, and to the fathers of maidens looking for a husband. A wealthy man could afford to feed, house, and clothe his wife in comfort. He owned vast lands, had tenants, and in later times he also had investments. Today we call those guys filthy rich.

Unlike today, no one trimmed their undergarments in lace because it would not be seen, which was pointless because lace was a way of announcing status and money. In the late Georgian era, shirts were trimmed in lace because the cuffs peeked out from under the coat sleeves. But before that, and then in the latter part of the Regency era, lace on shirt sleeves disappeared when they stopped showing underneath the coats.

Men’s coats were also ornate, trimmed in lace and made out of brocade and often with gold threads creating intricate designs. The buttons were another sign of wealth. Even shoe buckles revealed money; only the poor used shoe laces.

So if you wonder through a time gate and find yourself centuries in the past, run for the nearest lace-trimmed man and hope he feeds you!