When most people think of the Regency period (1797-1837), they think of diaphanous white gowns.
All fashion plates from the collection at LACMA - walking dress, evening dress, morning dress.
And white was very popular, but it was by no means the only color worn by the fashionable set.
Again all fashion plates from the collection at LACMA - ball dress, walking dress, evening dress.
Even prints show up from time to time.
Left to right: 1790s silk dress at the Met, 1820s dinner dress at the Met, 1800s round gown at the NGV.
I'm not a big fan of all white, so when I got the chance to attend a Regency-themed event I went for color. My first Regency outfit was actually a bit of disaster and the only pieces that remain are a shift and short stays. It was the perfect storm of not giving myself enough time and using the wrong patterns and fabrics.
When more opportunities arose to dress in Regency era costume, I made new outfits - and have a couple go-to solid color day dresses made from Laughing Moon 126.
The green isn't based on anything in particular (except that I love green!), but the blue is based on this extant gown in the National Museum of Australia.
Early in 2020, when I was still planning to attend the Jane Austen Festival in Louisville I knew I wanted something new to wear. And I thought of this fashion plate:
It is so wild, I can't not love it. And as luck would have it, the perfect fabric popped up at Mood Fabrics.
You can't see the front of the dress in the fashion plate, but there is no obvious back closure - so it is probably what is known as a bib-front gown. This is what the Laughing Moon pattern is for, so this dress went together very quickly. (Once you've made a pattern 3 or 4 times, you can do it in your sleep!)
You can see the bib-front closure here - the underbodice pins shut, then the bib is pulled up and fastened into place (my shiny buttons are extremely anachronistic, but cute), and often a belt which runs along the front is tied in the back.
For extra color, I paired the dress with my seafoam green and peach bonnet. Even though I made the bonnet several years ago, it pairs surprisingly well!
