Regency Capsule Wardrobe Tips

By Angela Grimes

Squeeeeee! You have just purchased your subscription to the Regency Week or Weekend you have always wanted to attend! Of course, like bees in a new hive, images of gowns, bonnets and the like buzz and hum in your head! The fabric stash is begging to be rifled through. Etsy and eBay need to be explored!  But wait! Your airline says, only two bags and one carry on, if that much! What to do? Unlike muggle clothing, you need accessories and other bits and pieces to complete your outfits. The questions begin to reach a crescendo and come to a head with one query: “How do I look fabulous, historically correct, and have what I need for each activity without a bulging suitcase that weighs a ton?”

This was definitely my dilemma in 2019 when I began to plan my trip to the Jane Austen Festival (JAF) in Bath followed by the Stamford Georgian Festival, both in September. This trip required that I pack a Regency wardrobe for nine days of activities in Bath and four days in Stamford. So, what were my options?

In hopes of not repeating what I did on a similar trip in 2014, where I took too many clothes and didn’t use half of what I brought and lugged around, I assessed the following:

• The airline I use only allows for two suitcases at 50 lbs. each. I am a pretty strong person and suitcases are a great deal easier to wheel around, but lifting heavy bags is a challenge for me as it is for many. So, how do I pack what I need without giving myself a hernia?!?
• What could I pack that is easy to maintain and I don’t have to feel like the country cousin wearing the same dress with the same accessories all the time (yes, that would be period but, let’s face it our modern sensibilities can’t be completely ignored! We like multiple looks!).
• Hats! Oh my God, how do I get my hat/bonnets safely to my destination? Regency bonnets take up room and can be easily crushed! As I found out in 2014.
• Weather – in 2014 the weather decided to be hot and humid, yes, in England! So, all my period wool items hung in the closet. I learned that monitoring the weather and climate of my destination was important in choosing fabrics that could be layered for warmth if needed, and/or withstand water and mud.
• Accessories and outerwear – for the 2014 trip I brought multiple accessories that only coordinated with a single gown…again, half of them didn’t get used because I began to rely on one spencer, a shawl and one hat (I brought FOUR) due to the weather.
• Keeping it all clean! During my 2014 trip, I took multiple self-contained outfits, which made sense as laundry facilities were going to be limited. But if I want a wardrobe that is minimal but fun to wear, I have to consider how to keep it all clean and fresh.

With all these questions and ideas in my mind, I reconciled that I would have to apply a “modern” concept to planning a Regency wardrobe to be worn over a total of 13 days. I have been intrigued by the current focus on minimalism, which includes the concept of the “capsule wardrobe.” Of course, this idea is not a revolutionary one, but it became a useful way to figure out how to bring less, get more bang from my choices and not have to manage more than one suitcase of clothing specific to the events.

In capsule-wardrobe planning, the basic idea is to have key pieces that can be easily interchange with each other. This means first having a color scheme you can coordinate with all clothing items. Seems pretty simple, right? And it is. It also reduces the number of pieces you need to bring because you can wear any gown with any coordinating spencer, chemisette, pelisse, pair of gloves, etc. I can best demonstrate this by sharing what choices I made for the 2019 trip, which turned out to be very successful.

First, I considered the activities I was planning to participate in at the festivals. This trip included four balls, two theatre evenings, day trips (every day) to historical sights and the occasional picnic. I had to consider the weather in autumn, and this time around, rain loomed large on the horizon. In addition, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable getting in and out of cars as well as with lots of walking, dancing and being outdoors. Then my color scheme: I wanted colors that I love to wear, are historically correct, flatter my complexion and could be interchangeable.

The outcome of my planning started with my color scheme: I love blue. So, I went with a French blue-themed wardrobe with analogous colors (deep blue, lavender and blue grey), complementary colors (terracotta and sienna) and neutral colors (black and white).

With these in mind, I designed and created a wardrobe that consisted of:

• Four day dresses – white; print with lavender, French blue and sienna; white Indian-print muslin; and a two-piece dress consisting of a short gown and petticoat in French blue voile
• Two evening dresses – an embroidered white muslin gown and a deep blue silk ball gown.

With the abovementioned six dresses I coordinated:

• One grey-blue twill pelisse
• One terracotta linen spencer
• Two sleeveless spencers – a French blue silk and a black velvet
• Two wool shawls – a navy paisley and a black Indian-style  
• Two bonnets – a navy blue silk and a terracotta silk
• Two scarfs to use as headwraps/turbans – a navy oblong and an embroidered silk/cotton

Other necessary items included:

• Three pairs of black shoes – a pair of closed toe flats, a pair of ankle boots and a pair of dance shoes (all chosen for lots of walking on uneven ground… England’s historic streets are mainly cobblestones!)
• Three pairs of gloves – black opera, dark blue and white
• Two fans that could be used day or night
• Two reticules – terracotta for day and French blue for evening
• Four white chemisettes – I made for different ones, which helped to make a different look for each day dress
• One non-descript umbrella

Jewelry was fairly easy in that I only took one set each for day and evening.

• Day – a coral necklace and matching earrings
• Evening – a set in gold and pearls and one tiara

I know you may be asking: “What about underwear!” My figure is such that I can wear a boned bodice petticoat and not have to pack a corset, a change in chemises and petticoats. Therefore, I made two and wore them for a few days and swapped out while I laundered one. One of my companions also did a capsule wardrobe and she brought a corset, two chemises and a single strap-petticoat. Having access to laundry facilities becomes key to make this work.

In 2014, I took twice as much for only a nine-day trip and didn’t use half of what I brought. From that experience, taking less that could be mixed and matched, my suitcases never reached 50 lbs. until, of course, I started shopping during the trip. I was able to get all my historical clothing in one suitcase. My bonnets both went into a wig box, which became my carry on.

I mentioned above that laundry was a key support of my capsule wardrobe idea. In making our accommodations, we made that a priority. Since 2014, the British have improved their washer/dryer combos so this worked out well for us. Another note to consider doing a capsule wardrobe is that closets in European accommodation are not always big enough for lots of clothing changes, so less items reduces the frustration, especially in Airbnbs.

For me the process and use of a capsule wardrobe really worked. From this experience I feel like I can reduce the items I pack even further, for example, in 2021, I will not take two bonnets and plan reduce day dresses to three. Why? I ended up wearing one bonnet most of the time and wrapping my head in turbans, and the fourth dress rarely got worn.

In conclusion, you can create a well-coordinated look with fewer items. Choose colors that can be coordinated easily, accessories that can be mixed and matched and fabrics that can be maintained depending on weather and laundry access. Give it a try!

Best of luck on your next “time travel” excursion!