Regency Era Fashions - Ackermann's Repository 1816

Hey all.  I'm back with more Regency Fashions from Ackermann's Repository!

I know these ladies look so prim and proper in their lovely Regency attire;
but I can't help but wonder how many of Regency ladies were a bit wicked and wild
beneath all the ruffles and lace. At least they are in most of the romances I like to read (wink).

I had the opportunity to read a new author this week that put me in mind of the Ackermann's writing style and these oh so properly attired genteel ladies of the Regency era; and how they just might go astray if presented with the right temptation.

Larissa Lyons was gracious enough to send me a copy of a few of her books and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them; especially, her racy Regency romance titled "Lady Scandal".   I could almost imagine this frisky romance had been written in Regency times and would have been one of "those" naughty novels that ladies of the time were not suppose to read. The type of scandalous novel that would cause young ladies to remove it from their roguish brother's rooms; to read and share with a close friend - just so they could see what all the fuss was about and in hopes of gaining a bit of information that no one else would give them regarding men and their "goods".
(Guilty - I would have been one of those girls, I'm just too curious for my own good some times).
  Thanks Larissa, this was a fun read!!!

If Historical Romance is not your thing, I can vouch for her contemporary Good Girl gets reformed Bad Boy short story "No Guts - No 'Gasms" - It's a Hot and Spicy "Quickie" for those who like their super sexy reads to be modern and edgy.  As they say different strokes for different folks;
personally if it's hot, racy and romance - I love it. 

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Now for the real Regency ladies of Ackermann's

1816 kicked off Ackermann's 2nd series of the popular Regency magazine that lasted from 

January of 1816 till December of 1822 with a total of 14 volumes.

There were some structural changes in the magazine as it evolved between the 1st and the 2nd series; but the Fashion plates were a staple of Ackermann's Repository through out the entire 20 years of publication.

This is my top pick of the 1816 Fashions

A bit about Ackermann's

Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, 

Manufacturers, Fashion and Politics.

Yes, that was its full title; but it was commonly known as 

Ackermann's or Ackermann's Repository when spoken about to keep thing simple.

Ackermann's was a popular monthly magazine in England from 1809 - 1829
(The 1829 issues were printed as "Ackermann's Repository of Fashion".) 
that listed a wide variety of current subject matters to entertain the masses of Regency England. 
 There were political commentaries, poetry, short stories, current events, special exhibit information, stock and commerce reports and other interesting tidbits in its pages.  Each issue also contained wonderful color illustrations showing fashions, home decor, public places of interest, architecture and a variety of items that would be of interest to their readers.

My favorites are the Fashion Plates and there were usually 2 in each monthly issue.
During the twenty year run of this monthly publication, Ackermann's
made specially bound volumes available for those who were collecting the issues.
These "bound" book versions consisted of a 2 volume set for each year it was published.

There were a total of 3 series in that 20 year period.
Series 1 began in Jan 1809 and ended with the Dec issue in 1815.
Series 2 began in Jan 1816 and ended with the Dec issue in 1822.
Series 3 began in Jan 1823 and ended with the final issue in Dec 1828

I've already posted all the Fashion plates from Series 1 in previous posts
(they were all posted in July 2011)
 
Ackermann's Series 2

Series 2 - Vol 1 & 2 - 1816

Series 2 - Vol 3 & 4 - 1817

Series 2 - Vol 5 & 6 - 1818

Series 2 - Vol 7 & 8 - 1819

Series 2 - Vol 9 & 10 - 1820

Series 2 - Vol 11 & 12 - 1821

Series 2 - Vol 13 & 14 - 1822

Today I am starting Series 2

by posting the fashion plates for the year 1816.

Series 2 Vol 1 was Jan - June 1816
Series 2 Vol 2 was July - Dec 1816

Enjoy!

 Ackermann's Repository 1816 Fashion Plates

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - January Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - January Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - February Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - February Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - March Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - March Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - April Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - April Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - May Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - May Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - June Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 1 - June Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - July Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - July Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - August Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - August Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - September Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - September Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - October Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - October Issue

1816 - Ackermann's

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - November Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - December Issue

1816 - Ackermann's Repository Series2 Vol 2 - December Issue

Ackermann's had so much success with the fashion plates in Series 1 that with series two they launched a much larger section devoted to fashion in the writings for the publication.  Instead of giving just descriptions for each fashion plate listed they then gave current fashion trends for England and with the end of the Napoleonic wars with France on occasion French fashion trends were given as well.  I thought it would be fun to include a bit of what it was like to read about what the fashion trends so you can see those below.

This was the Fashion Section from the January Issue - 1816

It starts toward the bottom of page 57 with London Fashion then

continues on with French Fashions; till it ends mid way on page 62 where the 

poetry section for the month begins.

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I was most curious as to why all the fashion plates in Ackermann's referenced each as a "dress" rather than as a "gown".  Some of my research showed that during this time period the word "gown" was a more intimate piece of apparel such as a dressing gown and would not have been widely used to refer to an elaborate evening dress until later in the Victorian age.  So I accepted this as a viable possibility for why these plates were titled the way they were; especially since in the description of each plate, the dresses were also called dresses or frocks and very, very rarely listed as a gown.

Then In Jan 2012, I received an informative comment from a viewer of my posts (see below in the comments section) stating that the naming on the plates such as Evening Dress or Ball Dress most likely referred to the entire ensemble rather than the main article of clothing being displayed.  

I have to concur that this seems the most appropriate explanation for the titles on each fashion plate. The Regency period had a fairly strict code of dress for each and every occasion therefore each plate would have depicted the correct form of "dress" for each occasion being represented such as how one would "dress" to attend the Opera or a Ball. 

Going forward whenever I see an antique fashion print I will mentally associate the word "dress" with the entire ensemble and for which occasion it would have been worn, just as a Regency lady would have done during that time period.  It's so easy to think bluntly as we do in modern times and forget to read between the lines as they would have done in anther time.

Thanks Adela for the bringing this to my attention.  

It puts a whole new spin on these plates for me now.

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I hope you have enjoyed this bit of time-travel back into 1816 Regency England.

Till next time

Thanks for visiting me here at EKDuncan.blogspot.com

If you have enjoyed seeing these images from Ackermann's Repository 

and would like the opportunity to see and read an original for yourself 

they are are available on line at www.archive.org

Click HERE then choose the volume you are interested in.

You can then see and read them online or download 

them to your computer for future reference.

Enjoy!