Laid Bare: The Historical Context of the Change in Women’s Fashion in England, France, and America Leading up to the Wider Regency Era (1795-1825)

The history of fashion is no different than any other area of historical study; the foundation of an event or movement is always laid in the years preceding it. Any historical period always must be seen in context in the years that surround it. When looking at women’s fashion trends in the West from the 1400s to about the 1910s, there is a single era that sticks out from the rest because of its striking simplicity: the Regency era. In the years following the colorful, grand extravagance that was the Rococo period (1730-1770), women’s fashion suddenly became dainty, flowing, draped and inspired by Greek and Roman antiquity, especially in the earlier years. Afterwards, around the 1840s, Western women’s fashion returned to grandiosity with the large hoop skirts, crinolines, and bustles of the Victorian period.

But, in the time between these extravagant styles, women’s fashion became slimmer, less structured, and relatively subtle in the West, and the inception of this period of fashion reflects the rapidly changing society that these women were living in.

Previously, in the Baroque (early 1600s-1750s) and Rococo (1730-1770) eras, the fashion trends were “characterized by embellishment and ostentatious design,” but this became unfashionable by the mid-1790s for a number of reasons (Bruley). One of which was the Neoclassicism movement that began in the mid-1700s as a reaction to the excesses of the Baroque and Rococo periods. Though it took longer for this to appear in fashion, by 1795, if a woman in English high society was not dressed inspired by Greco-Roman statues, she would likely be considered unfashionable.

The French Revolution was also a catalyst for this transition of ostentation to simplicity in fashion, because it changed attitudes around clothing and self-expression as a whole in France. At the same time, America was grappling with the political implications of adopting fashion trends from the English they just fought so hard to be free from.

Though its popularity started to grow most notably in the early 1790s, fashions like this had been emerging as early as the 1780s with Marie Antoinette who, surprisingly, helped popularize it by wearing the robe en chemise or the chemise à la reine (Ashelford 174-175). By the turn of the century, in a span of only 30 years, fashion had made a full 180 from heavily decorated, large, layered Rococo dresses, to slim, white, sheer gowns being considered most fashionable.

1775 to 1805

Neoclassicism, Emma Hamiton, and Charlotte Campbell

The growing popularity of these simple fashions coincided with a growing interest in classical antiquity in academia and the Neoclassicism movement in the late 18th century, which is one of many contributing factors to the popularization of neoclassical dress. Fashion historian Rosie Harte describes two women who helped bring this increased interest in classical antiquity from academia to fashion.

During this time, The Grand Tour was a custom among upper-class European men of a trip through Europe, and served as a sort of rite of passage. Naples, Italy was a key location in this Grand Tour, in which these European men would likely want to see the recently unearthed cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Rosie Harte details how Emma Hamilton, wife of British ambassador Sir William Hamilton, would perform her “Attitudes” which were tableaux vivants (lit. “living picture”) mimicking figures from Greco-Roman art for British visitors. She would wear the draping robes that are closely associated with the ancient world, and eventually even started purposefully wearing them in her daily life, and not just in her performances.

Charlotte Campell, daughter of Elizabeth Campell, Duchess of Argyll, accompanied her mother to view one of Emma Hamilton’s performances, and was incredibly inspired. When Charlotte turned eighteen in 1793, she and 11 other women attended a society ball in London “dressed as a statue” wearing muslin gowns with very high waistlines—which would become a defining characteristic of fashionable dress less than 10 years later—and their chests exposed, and, most strangely, padded stomachs. These padded stomachs were a product of Charlotte attempting to mimic the way Grecian robes seemed to cling to and accentuate the abdomen, and were ridiculed ruthlessly by artists at the time. Though the padded stomachs did not catch on, the style of classical antiquity definitely did, and she is heavily credited as being the one to bring this fashion to England (Rosie Harte).

French Revolution on the Perception of Clothing

Meanwhile, in France, the French Revolution was having a noticeable impact on the fashion trends of the time. While it itself did not create these trends, it radically changed how clothing as a whole was perceived. Along with this, the simple and informal antiquity-inspired style that had been emerging in Europe coincided with this change, and was quickly brought to the forefront of what was considered fashionable dress because of the Revolution (Majer).

Clothing was once a signifier of wealth and status, and the French who were rebelling against the corrupt aristocracy saw the clothing associated with it as evil (Fashion During the French Revolution). The simpler fashion style on the horizon corresponded to the politics of the time, where fashion was also beginning to be seen as facilitating individual expression.

One woman who is a prime example of this is Theresa Tallien, who was imprisoned during the French Revolution, wore her Greek inspired gowns (similar to the chemise she would have been wearing in prison) with no underwear underneath and cut her hair short in preparation for the guillotine. This chemise á la grecque was also a reference to the values of Greece which were inspiring to the French revolutionaries (Cage).

Clearly, unlike England where this style was largely derived from the arts and academia, this fashion was very closely tied to politics in France. Nonetheless, a new fashionable style was emerging for women which had not been seen for centuries in Europe.

Should America's Independence Extend to Fashion?

When the French started revolting, the Americans were on the tail-end of their own revolution. After this revolution, America was faced with a unique decision – should they continue following the fashion trends that are created by the aristocracy? The very aristocracy they just fought so hard against? Or should independence be not only political, but cultural as well?

“An Agreeable Tyrant,” a website from the DAR museum on their exhibition of American fashion from 1780 to 1825 details how Americans went about answering this question. Despite a hard push for American independence to extend to fashion, American women’s fashion in the 1790s closely followed the trends arising in Europe at the time, specifically the rising waistlines and slimming silhouettes. This, just like in Europe, also coincided with the Neoclassicism movement, especially because American democracy was based on Greek democracy and Roman republicanism.

Something unique to America, though, was that fashion was quite democratic. Europeans visiting America “noticed that people of almost every social level could, and did, follow fashion to some degree” (“1790s”). Despite this, even the most privileged Americans wore watered down versions of the European fashions. The sheer muslin gowns that were the most fashionable around 1795-1805 were especially shocking to Americans: an excerpt from the 1802 New York Morning Chronicle asserts that “the extremes practiced in Europe do not exist in this country.” Though some American women definitely did practice this “extreme,” most modified the style by wearing cottons, silks, and woolens that were less suggestive of the state of undress that more French and English women were open to embracing (“1800–1810”).

The Age of Undress Laid Bare

These early years of the emerging neoclassical styles that marked the beginning of the Regency/Empire fashion movements are referred to by art historian Amelia Rauser as “The Age of Undress.” Certainly, the height of neoclassical inspired dress, with robe à la grecque and sheer muslin gowns with minimal undergarments (compared to the many layers required for the extreme Rococo styles that were in fashion only 20 years before) was a radical change in the West. This change is a manifestation of the world riddled with revolutions that these women were living in, and clearly shows that fashion history is a mirror that reflects the shifting of cultural values, ideas, and ways of life.

---

References

“1790s | an Agreeable Tyrant.” An Agreeable Tyrant, 20 Mar. 2017, agreeabletyrant.dar.org/timeline/1790s.

“1800–1810 | an Agreeable Tyrant.” An Agreeable Tyrant, 20 Mar. 2017, agreeabletyrant.dar.org/timeline/1800-1810.

The Art of Dress | WorldCat.org. 1996, www.worldcat.org/oclc/243850605.

Ashelford, Jane. Art of Dress. Harry N Abrams Incorporated, 1996.

Bruley, Katherine. “Fashion in the Regency Era.” The Boller Review, vol. 6, Texas Christian University, Aug. 2022, https://doi.org/10.18776/tcu/br/6/152.

Cage, E. Claire. “The Sartorial Self: Neoclassical Fashion and Gender Identity in France, 1797–1804.” Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 42, no. 2, Johns Hopkins UP, Jan. 2008, pp. 193–215. https://doi.org/10.1353/ecs.0.0039.

Fashion During the French Revolution | Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/culture-magazines/fashion-during-french-revolution. Rosie Harte.

“How Did Regency Fashion Start? || a Guide to Women’s Fashion From 1770-1800.” YouTube, 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2GNyvNJS14.