So you’re part of a regency group, or you do Jane Austen-like activities, and you’re looking to buy a regency wardrobe.  Ebay has a number of sellers who make custom gowns , or offer them in ‘standard’ sizes.  Here is a guide to picking the right pieces, and creating a really versatile wardrobe where you can mix and match.

Underpinnings

First of all, I am going to mention the underpinnings.  The Regency silhouette requires that your waistline is very high; in fact, it closely matches the line your bra.  Your bosom should be raised up quite a bit.  Some sellers do sell gowns that can be worn with a standard bra, but if it’s authenticity you’re looking for, you should start by finding a good, utilitarian set of stays or a regency corset.  Regency corsets are not hourglass shaped like Victorian or modern corsets.  They have two gussets to shape your bosom appropriately, some minimal boning, and some have a busk to create proper separation.  There is a much simpler set of short stays made from Sense & Sensibility’s regency pattern, which is in essence, much like a bra.  However for the more well-endowed woman, we recommend you go with a transitional stays (longer – covers your ribcage) or a corset; because the short stays will simply angle out from your body if you have a D,DD, or larger sized cup.

A shift is also a good thing to have.  It acts as a dress and stays/corset shield.  It should be made of a very light cotton, for even in cool weather, the multiple layers can be very warm.  Most shifts are about mid-calf-length, or knee-length.

Petticoat:
Some gowns, if the fabric is fairly sheer (regency gowns were often made of very light muslins), require a petticoat to insure some measure of decency.  There are also ‘bodiced’ petticoats, which are simple sleeveless under-dresses with some boning that not only double as a shift, but also as a stays, because they do the job of the stays/corset to help you acquire the regency silhouette.  Some petticoats are mere skirts hanging from two ribbon straps.

Pantalettes:
A regency lady would wear pantalettes.  The difference between pantaloons/bloomers and pantalettes, is that in the regency period, the undergarments were open, and the leggings were simply two tubes that slipped over the legs, and tied with a tie around the waist leaving the crotch and buttox conveniently exposed (for practical purposes to be sure.)  For the sake of being comfortable and decent, you could find a knee-to mid-calf length pair of bloomers or pantaloons and have the look you desire. It’s not *entirely* accurate to have closed bloomers,  but nobody will notice.  We hope. ;)

Stockings:
Regency stockings for ladies can be found on ebay.  There are silk and cotton stockings that are calf; and in some cases thigh-length.

Gowns and Garments

The gowns
Depending on your events or activities, you will need to find a gown to cover all those trappings I listed above.
Regency wear is generally divided into daygowns, evening/ball gowns.  There’s a lot of discussion about what the differences are but here they are in a nutshell that is fairly accurate:

Regency daywear
Daygowns are usually soft cotton prints (very small prints, checks, tone-on-tone prints, stripes, roll-prints… never large Victorian flowers, etc) or solids.  The neckline is usually fairly modest, and the sleeves can be mid-length to long.  Only in the early regency did they have trains.  For practical purposes those soon disappeared from daywear.  For the purpose of picnics, teas, embroidery groups, reading groups and other less formal gatherings, a printed cotton/muslin/lawn gown is perfectly fine.  A solid white (or other light colour) or tone-on-tone printed gown could easily double as both day and evening with the right additional garment, such as a robe or net overdress.  These gowns can be enhanced or the look significantly changed by adding a chemisette, false sleeves (if short or mid-sleeved), an over-bodice, or a robe or half-robe.  Try to stay away from daygowns and evening gowns with long backs.  The whole regency silhouette relies on a high waistline; and some sellers sell gowns with backs that are far too long. Your gown’s back waistline should end about mid-back and sometimes higher.

Evening gowns/Ball gowns:
Some regency evening wear at least in the earlier part of the era had trains, however those trended away to an even hem that did not interfere with dancing.  Ball gowns range from fine sheer muslins to silk to velvet.  Some gowns were simple undergowns with elaborate robes over them.  They were generally short sleeved and sometimes even sleeveless and accompanied by opera gloves at balls and parties.

Stay away from evening gowns made with big clunky fabric designs, made with really polyestery, shiny fabrics, stark-white laces and trims, much-repeated prints, lace overlays made with large-flowered Victorian-style flowers, huge bows on the back, and so on.  In the early regency, simple, elegant lines were favoured.  An undergown in a fine colour, and a sheer overlay (fine muslin, net or voile) over that, simple lines, minimal trim, sheer elegance.  A velvet robe with gold trim.  Bodice fronts were sometimes highly decorated.

As for colours, the rule of thumb when you’re buying your gown is to think: What persona am I creating?  Am I a married woman? An older woman? A young lady?  In general (but not universally) younger unmarried girls and ladies wore white to balls and parties.  Older daughters, spinsters, married women wore softer ivories, golds and jewel-tones.  This is not the rule, but somewhat of a guide to go by.  Patrician ladies probably wore whatever nicest thing they could afford to show off, I’ll wager… like Miss Bingley and her magnificent gowns.

Outerwear
* Spencers ~ like a tiny bolero jacket, a spencer is a ‘coat’ of sorts that covers the bodice of your gown, has long sleeves, and sometimes a cute little peplum.  Sometimes, these had ‘skirts’ attached to them to make them long coats.  Any daytime outdoors event would call for a pretty spencer over your day dress.
* Capes ~ hooded capes were not unusual; they were typically worn when dressing formally in evening wear and going out, and also over daywear.

Regency Accessories:
* Chemisettes & false sleeves ~ believe it or not, adding a chemisette (a false undershirt) and some false attachable sleeves can change a gown’s look entirely. 
* Shawls ~ Day and evening, ladies wore shawls.  Indian saris make wonderful evening shawls. Cashmere is expensive but beautiful too; however you can get 4 yards of any nice fabric to act as a nice, long shawl.
* Fans ~ No large Victorian prints, solids, subdued prints, even ‘oil painting’ like design on it will do.
* A Parasol
* Bonnets, hats, turbans ~ A stovepipe poke bonnet, or a soft poke bonnet, a capote, a beret, a turban, a lace and voile cap, regency women wore lots of headwear.  Married women wore caps fairly consistently during the day, and simply put their bonnets over them when they went out.
* Reticule ~ Don’t know where to hide your cell-phone, camera or where to put your fan?  A reticule is a simple drawstring purse that ladies used during that period for lack of pockets in their gowns.  They are indispensible accessories and every regency wardrobe should have at least one.
* Jewelry ~ Regency ladies wore very subtle jewelry during the day; simple chains with a pennant, cross or other charm.  A small string of pearls is acceptable.  Evening would call for cartouches, cameos, and pearls, but remember, no choker necklaces, no elaborate neckline filling Victorian clap-trappery.  Simple is elegant should be the rule of thumb in all regency wardrobe items.  Earrings were usually simple drop earrings with little muss or fuss.
* Shoes ~ Regency women wore flats.  Depending on where in the regency period, they were either pointy-toed or round-toed.  They did not wear heels.  I recommend Indian Khussa shoes for evening, ballet slippers for day, or jazz-dance boots for outdoors.
* Gloves ~ Short kidskin for daytime walking, long for evenings (not shiny!)

What should I have in my wardrobe?
A good regency wardrobe that will serve you for many events is as follows:
* 1 set Stays/Shift/Stockings
* 1 short-sleeved solid or tone-on-tone print gown with a wider neck-line to double as day and evening.
* 1 pretty print gown for day activities.
* 2 chemisettes (different collar styles for variety)
* 1 set of false sleeves
* 1 robe (cotton daywear) or half-robe
* 1 net overlay (or voile or sheer muslin)
* 1 evening robe in finer fabric
* A spencer
* A formal stovepipe bonnet, and a soft-poke bonnet
* 1 pair of off-white opera gloves
* 1 pair of daytime gloves
* A fan
* A shawl
* A pair of short boots
* A pair of neutral-toned slippers
* A nice reticule.

That wardrobe can offer you a wide variety of looks with minimum purchasing ~ and you can find pretty much any of these times here on ebay.