Reading the Regency

Fashion - Women's Layers & Accessories

"A muslin dress, with long sleeves; an Algerine tunic of white satin, trimmed round with an embroidered border of silver, simply confined in the centre with a Regency broach. A Turkish cloak, or short coat, with arm-holes, composed of Indian muslin, and lined with cerulean blue sarsnet, trimmed with white lace, put on very full; the cloak to be open in front, to shew the front of the tunic."
[London Dresses for June, The Lady's Monthly Museum, pub June 1811]

Most women's outfits, or types of "Dress", were made up of one or more layers, worn over underwear. It always began with a base layer. Some examples I've seen mentioned as the lowest layer of an outfit included:

A plain round frock or robe
or
A plain train dress
or
An underdress, either white or coloured
or
A full-length petticoat
or
A full-length satin slip, either white or coloured (particularly used with evening gowns)

A petticoat wasn't necessarily underwear. Some of them were highly decorative, especially along the hem where it was intended to be seen. In 1811, one ball dress was described as having a petticoat trimmed with "twisted satin and beads". A satin slip would be similar to what we would think of as a lining today, and the colour would be visible through a semi-transparent upper layer, like lace, muslin, net or crape. Satin slips were very flexible because they were a simple item that could be changed for a new, more fashionable colour to update a wardrobe.

If you were staying indoors, particularly in the country, a plain, printed or embroidered muslin frock or robe could be the only layer, perhaps with a shawl for added warmth. In winter, or for evening dress, or half/full dress, you would then add another layer to the base layer and also a suitable accessory such as a scarf or shawl.

Some second layers added decoration over the plain layer, such as a transparent muslin or net layer decorated with embroidery over a more substantial robe. Or sometimes it added a train to a round base layer or added warmth instead of using a shawl. The material of the upper layer could be opaque or transparent, to show the colour of the satin slip beneath.

It made a lot of sense to have delicate beading, embroidery or lace on an upper layer, with washable fabrics underneath, as it was difficult to clean the more decorative articles.

There was a wide range of design variations, and an even wider list of names, as dressmakers would provide different names to the same item of clothing to make it sound new and different in that year. Some examples of second layers include:

Bodice - similar to the Swiss Corset, but without sleeves or straps. It was the equivalent of the modern strapless bustier or corset top. The bodice—sometimes called a Peasant's Bodice—was laced at the front, over the base layer, adding colour and decoration to a plain underdress. In Full Dress, a bodice could even be a highly decorated third layer, as in this example from a Ball Dress printed in Ackermann's Repository for June 1813:

"A Grecian round robe, of lilac or apple-blossom crape, worn over a white satin petticoat. A satin bodice, the colour of the robe, ornamented with white beads and drops, a la militaire."

Later in the Regency period, a bodice could also describe a coloured item with sleeves that covered everything from the waist upwards, similar to the Demi corset. It would normally be worn over a plain white layer for contrast.

Corsage - a bodice, often made in a contrasting colour from the layer beneath. This was the French word for bodice, which might have been used by dressmakers to make their creations sound more fashionable.

"Swiss corset worn over any dress, made of white or other coloured silk, trimmed with pink chenille, and finished on the shoulder with lace."
[London Dresses, Fashions of London & Paris, pub. November 1799]