Regency Food

Everyone loves food so it’s no surprise the Regency was brimming with lots of tasty and unique dishes. In this post, we look at a typical day’s menu in the Regency period and discuss all the delicious food Regency folk ate! Get ready to get hungry!

A typical day’s menu in the Regency

• Breakfast, served at about 9 am in the morning would include toast, rolls, cheese with hot chocolate, coffee or tea (Evans).
• Lunch didn’t really exist back then though refreshments were served in the middle of the day and included cold meats, sandwiches and fruits (Black & Le Faye, 1995).



Regency family at dinner

• Dinner was usually served at about 5 pm in the evening and in the upper classes was usually made up of at least two courses, not including dessert. A list of possible food you would find, adapted from The Jane Austen Cookbook (Black & Le Faye, 1995):

1.      First Course: Turtle Soup, Vegetables, Salmon, Fowls, Spinage, Bacon, Mutton, Beef, Lobster

2.      Second Course: Ragout (stew), Goose, Venison, Pastry, Celery, Macaroni, Peas

3.      Dessert: Nuts, Cakes, Sweetmeats, Fruits, Custard, Pudding, Syllabub (whipped cream lightly mixed with wine), Ice Cream

• Tea: Served one hour after dinner: includes pastries, cakes

• Supper: At 11pm at night and usually came with cold meats and wine

Regency Desserts

Different types of wine was normally served with every course no one drank water as it was considered unsafe and fresh milk was usually contaminated (Pool, 1993).

Real life regency menu!

How did people get their ingredients?

There was no such thing as refrigeration in the Regency which meant food spoiled fast. So housewives or kitchen maids would a lot of time in the summer salting and pickling food so it would last longer (Black & Le Faye, 1995).

Ingredients was either grown in one’s own garden, hunted as a sport by gaming gentlemen, imported (thought this was expensive) or more commonly bought at a food market (Olsen, 2005).

The British Butcher

Just For Fun:

Try making your own Regency ragout and syllabub dessert with these two simple recipes! Click on the pictures to get links!

Regency ragout

Lemon Syllabub

Sources:

(1995). Social and Domestic Life in Jane Austen's time. In M. Black, & D. Le Faye, The Jane Austen Cookbook (pp. 8-18). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.

(2005). ACQUISITION. In K. Olsen, Cooking with Jane Austen (pp. 1-6). Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Evans, D. L. (n.d.). Celtnet Georgian/Regency Period Recipes and Cookery, Home Page. Retrieved May 17, 2012, from Celtnet Recipes: http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/georgian-recipes.php

Pool, D. (1993). Sir, Can I Have Some More. In What Jane Austen Knew and Charles Dickens Ate. New York: Touchstone.

Create your own Regency Hairdo!

Ladies, you're going to have fun with this one! 

torrinpaige posted a great video introducing how to get that classic Regency look!

I love this style!

Here's a great picture from Joanna, blogger of To a Pretty Life blog (http://toaprettylife.blogspot.com) rocking those curly tendrils around her face.

Regency Hairstyles

As I mentioned in my very first post, Regency men and women's clothing was inspired by the Greek and Roman classical style. This also applied to hair.

Women's Hair:

Women’s hair was kept simple and natural during the Regency. During the day was worn up with ringlets framing the face and some women even had their hair cropped short (Sullivan, 2007).

Regency woman. Note the ringlets framing her face and the knot at the back of her head.

At night, hair was decorated with silk ribbons, diadems (a tiara-like crown), ornamental combs and beads (Sherrow, 2006). Bandeaux (similar to a cloth headband) were also popular and some women even wore turbans in the evening if they had short hair, making sure to curl the hair that was left out (Brown, 2008).

Regency woman with turban

Because curling irons weren’t invented yet, women used paper strips or pieces of cloth to curl their hair. They would wrap the cloth around sections of wet hair and leave it to set over night (MacDonald, 1971).

Men

Men’s hair, unlike the previous period, was kept short, layered, natural and free from hair power used in the previous period (Byrde, 2008). Still, older men continued to wear hair powder and would be ridiculed for their old-fashioned tastes.

One of the most popular styles was achieved by combing the hair forward to create a wild, windblown look (complete with sideburns!) popularised by romantic fiction, but some conservative men would comb their hair backwards and have it neat and tidy (Reeves-Brown & Reeves-Brown, 1997-2003). 

Classic Regency style

Men even curled their hair as curls were so much in fashion! This style of hair combed forward was meant to resemble the Roman Emperor Titus and was actually known as the Titus (Between a Gentleman and His Tailor, 2006).

Notice the how the hair is combed forward

Sources

(2006). Adornment, Ornamental. In V. Sherrow, Encyclopedia of Hair (p. 3). Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Between a Gentleman and His Tailor. (2006). Retrieved May 4, 2012, from The Georgian Index: http://www.georgianindex.net/tailors/tailor.html

Brown, L. (2008). Lisa's Guide to Helping 21st Century Women Dress for a Regency Ball. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from Country Dances of Rochester: http://www.rochestercontra.com/WomensBallClothing.pdf

Byrde, P. (2008). Jane Austen Fashion. Ludlow: Moonrise Press.

MacDonald, S. S. (1971, November). Curling Hair the Old-Fashioned Way: Paper Curls. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from Mother Earth News: http://www.motherearthnews.com/do-it-yourself/curling-hair-zmaz71ndzgoe.aspx#ixzz1X7aKOK3U

Reeves-Brown, J., & Reeves-Brown, D. (1997-2003). A panalopy of HAIRSTYLES sported by gentlemen. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion: http://www.songsmyth.com/menhair.html

Sullivan, M. C. (2007). The Jane Austen Handbook. Philadelphia: Quirk Books.

Exhibition of Regency Fashion

Want to see more of the fashion I talked about in the past two posts? Check out this neat Fashion TV video from a special costume exhibition in Milan!

The Fashion of the Period: Men

For Regency gentlemen, clothes were also a complex matter with various items to be worn as well as outfits for different events. This new style (unlike the over the top colourful fashions of the period before) was modeled on the riding outfit and was meant to be natural and simple (Pool, 1993). There are also special uniforms for those gentlemen in the army or the navy. The standard suit is comprised of 5 elements: the shirt, pants, waistcoat, cravat and coat. Like the women, men had different outfits for different events. There is morning dress and evening dress.

Shirt

A simple white linen shirt worn under any outfit. It is loose fitting with long puffy sleeves and a collar that is stood up to touch the chin on both sides. 

Gentleman's white linen shirt: Note how high the collar is

 Waistcoat

A waistcoat during the day tended to be more colourful and decorative. A waistcoat worn during the evening or at a ball tended to be more sober in colour (black, grey and white as an example) and was made of silk, for the wealthy. (Foley, 2012). Waistcoats were sleeveless and some also had pockets. For a man to be seen without his waistcoat by a lady is considered extremely improper.

Different types of waistcoats

Cravat

This was a piece of linen tied around the upturned collar of the shirt made of started muslin and white in colour (Sullivan, 2007). Similar to the modern bow tie except there are several variations.

Actual 19th century guide to neckcloths

Pants

During the day, pantaloons or breeches were worn. Pantaloons are the predecessor of the modern day suit pant and breeches were tight fitting and were fastened at the grain area with a rectangular piece of cloth called ‘falls’ (Foley, 2012). Gradually through the Regency, breeches decreased in popularity, to be replaced by pantaloons.

During the evening, men would wear keen-length breeches with stockings as this picture shows.

Note knee length breeches and white stockings

Coat

Outer garment which came in two variations: a frock coat worn during the day and a dress coat which was worn at night (Pool, 1993). The difference was the frock coat tended to be more colourful where the dress coat was black in colour. The coat tended to have high lapels and was double tailed. A greatcoat was larger and would have up to sixteen capes and would be worn outdoors when riding to protect the gentleman from rain or the cold (Sullivan, 2007).

Morning/riding clothes: boots are worn during the day

Accessories

• Shoes: During the day, boots reaching to the knee were worn and at a ball shoes with buckles would be worn with gentlemen’s stockings and breeches.
• Hats: The typical top hat was worn outdoors and only during the day.
• Gloves: Black for day wear and white for evening wear.
• Jewellery: Rings, brooches (pinned to a gentleman’s cravat) and fob watches (put inside a man’s waistcoat or breeches pocket) were popular pieces (Byrde, 2008).
• Walking Stick: A must for any proper gentleman. Normally had a head of ivory or silver.

Walking Stick

Military outfits

Because England was fighting a war during this time, those men in the military would wear their costumes during formal events but NOT during the day. This is an honorable distinction for those who are serving their country.

The Duke of Wellington in his army outfit

Sources:

Byrde, P. (2008). Jane Austen Fashion. Ludlow: Moonrise Press.

Foley, G. (2012). History Article 2: THE GENTLEMAN'S WARDROBE. Retrieved April 28, 2012, from Gaelen Foley NYT Bestselling Author of Historical Romance: http://www.gaelenfoley.com/h-02-gentswardrobe.html

Pool, D. (1993). What Jane Austen Knew and Charles Dickens Ate. New York: Touchstone.

Sullivan, M. C. (2007). The Jane Austen Handbook. Philadelphia: Quirk Books.

The Fashion of the Period: Women

The Regency had its very own fashion, as I previously mentioned, which included light, simple, empire-waisted dresses and lack of any artificiality.

The clothes were 'filmy, gauzy and virtually transparent at the beginning of the century,' Daniel Pool commented in his book (Pool, 1993).

There were five layers of clothing Regency women had to wear: They are the chemise, corset, petticoat, dress and outer clothing. The reason for so many layers was because of the thinness of the actual dress layer, which would not be much protection against the coldness of the weather.

Accessories included a bonnet, gloves, and reticule among others. Of course, the dress layer was then further divided into three sections for morning, afternoon and evening. Of course then there were other gowns for special occasions like a ball gown, walking dress, riding habit, mourning gown, wedding gown and a court dress.

The Chemise
The first layer of clothing was the chemise and it was usually made of linen and was short, going down only to a lady’s knees. This piece of clothing was designed to keep a barrier between the skin and the rest of the clothing so as to keep them cleaner and it also acted as a barrier between skin and corset so to protect a lady’s delicate skin from chafing (Sullivan, 2007).

Credit to Sue's Old Fashions

The Corset
Probably the most well known article of clothing associated with this time period. This was different from a Victorian corset as it was not meant to create a tiny waist, but instead provide support to the breasts. A corset could be laced up from the front or back during this time and could be as short as a regular bra today. They also had sleeves at this time.

Corset over chemise

The Petticoat
This went over the chemise and corset and looked like a gown but simpler without sleeves. Sometimes they could be part of a lady’s outfit shown through a gauzy top dress or as part of an open robe dress as the picture below shows (Sullivan, 2007). A lady could wear up to five petticoats under one dress and the daring ladies would wet their petticoats so that they would cling to their body!

Credit to Museum of Fine Arts Boston (Note the embroidered hem)

Open Robe Dress

The Dress

• Morning Dress: This was a very simple, usually white dress that would only be worn in the house and was usually recycled from old gowns as this gown was not meant to be seen by outsiders.
• Afternoon Dress: This was a more colourful dress usually with a decorative hemline and was meant to be seen. During the day, showing one’s breasts was forbidden, so ladies usually wore a little chemisette (a little half shirt) under the dress or used a fichu (a bit of lace or netting) to cover up (Sullivan, 2007).
• Evening dress: This was when a lady’s best dresses were worn and were usually elaborate and had bolder colours. At night, a lady could show off her breasts and add other accessories, like a headdress or some pretty jewellery.

Fashion Plate Ackermann's 1812 Ball Dress

Outer Clothing
This was usually worn when outside to keep a lady warm.

• Pelisse: A long coat that can be as long as a lady’s dress (Sullivan, 2007).
• Spencer: A cropped jacket with long sleeves
• Shawl: This could be worn indoors and out and was made of light wool or silk. Traditional Indian shawls were extremely popular with the traditional paisley design. (Byrde, 2008)
• Cloaks

Woman on right is wearing a green military inspired spencer

 Accessories

• Gloves: Worn outside for protection. White elbow length gloves are worn for balls and functions. (Sullivan, 2007)
• Bonnets: Worn outside only and could be trimmed with colourful ribbons, as well as fruit and flowers. This was a popular woman’s hobby; to spend time decorating a bonnet. (Byrde, 2008)
• Caps: White and lacy; worn only by married ladies or spinsters (Sullivan, 2007).
• Stockings: Worn up to the knee and tied with a garter or ribbon
• Footwear: Indoor shoes were resembled the modern flat, while half boots were worn for walking and riding and pattens (wooden shoes with a fram that rasied the wearer off the ground and went over regular shoes) were worn during muddy and wet weather (Byrde, 2008).
• Reticule: Small circular bag to carry handkerchief, perfume bottle, money (Byrde, 2008).  

La Belle Asembelee 1817 Fashion Plate: Lady is in full outdoor dress with pelisse, bonnet, shawl and reticule

 
Other special dresses

• Riding habit: Worn for riding horses and included a special jacket worn over a simple white dress with a chemisette to cover up (Sullivan, 2007).
• Mourning dresses: Black and made of rough cloth called bombazine. Usually worn for one year for a widow, six months for children and three months for siblings (Sullivan, 2007).
• Wedding dresses: White is not mandatory and a bonnet with a veil is worn to complete the look (Sullivan, 2007).
• Court dress: Only worn ONCE when a young lady is making her debut into society and is being presented to the Queen. Usually consisted of a large embroidered, elaborate dress in the style of the period previous, with hoops and a towering head dress (Hern).

Ackermann Plate 1817 Riding Habit (Note jacket and riding hat)

Sources:
 

Byrde, P. (2008). Jane Austen Fashion. Ludlow: Moonrise Press.

Hern, C. (n.d.). FASHION PRINTS: Court Dresses. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from Candice Hern Romance Novelist: http://www.candicehern.com/collections/06/court_dresses.htm

Pool, D. (1993). What Jane Austen Knew and Charles Dickens Ate. New York: Touchstone.

Sullivan, M. C. (2007). The Jane Austen Handbook. Philadelphia: Quirk Books.