Regency Headdress: Hats Caps Bonnets Bandeaux!

No doubt we are all familiar with the bonnet, the quintessential 19th Century head-covering for women. In Pride and Prejudice (the older BBC production) we often find Lydia or one of her sisters at work, endeavouring to dress up a plain bonnet. This was undoubtedly the least expensive way to imitate the latest modes. But a bonnet was only the beginning of what a Fashionable belle might sport upon her head.

During the Regency, a lady did well to wear some sort of hat, usually a bonnet, upon leaving her house for any reason whatsoever. To go bare-headed would have been seen as a sign of ill breeding. Understandable, then, that the Bennet girls--and all gentlewomen--were appropriately concerned with the state of their headwear.

Yet--if Bonnets were just the beginning, what followed?

First, ornamentation and beribboning, which could include almost anything that was considered attractive--from jewels to feathers to beads, faux flowers, brooches , veils, (not full-face, unless in mourning, usually), lace, silk, scarves, ruched fabric (gathered), and so on. As the variety is nearly endless, it's impossible to describe them all.

After the bonnet ( which itself came in many forms, from the poke bonnet--a high but narrow-brimmed affair which shadowed the face, and which grew in popularity over the course of the century--to those resembling a cap), there were:

Bandeaux--stretchy fabric bands worn around the head, not far above the forehead, which could be thin or wide, depending upon one's taste or inclination, and again could be ornamented heavily or not, according to taste and expenditure.

Veils (freestanding) and not necessarily covering the face, but simply draped over the head. There were also veiled Bonnets, particularly for mourning.

Tiaras (A favourite for my heroine in, Before the Season Ends!) Slim, elegant, and crown-like, these were for full-dress affairs, being usually of true silver or gold, expensive and bejewelled (though, like most other items, had their less expensive counterparts.)

Caps Different from a cap-like bonnet, a genuine cap for a lady was soft, even if lined, and probably only the lightest muslins and laces were used. A cap used for night-wear, however, (sleeping) might have been heavier, and puffy, like the mob-caps worn mostly by the older generation in the Regency. (In a time that lacked central heating, the mob-cap was eminently practical.) In earlier times, the style of mob-cap crossed the channel from France, where the Parisian mob was all the rage. Light muslin caps were the usual indoor wear, (day or night) while a bonnet was an absolute necessity for venturing forth from one's abode in daylight.

Turbans Another form of draping the head which became popular, especially in the later Regency. This style did not, like the Empire dress, have its roots in classicism, but in the ever-wid ening expanse of the British Empire. As men returned to England with more and more trinkets and delicacies from the Far East and India, certain accessories (not to mention furniture and decoration--one has only to think of the Regent's Pavilion at Brighton as evidence!) became the Fashion, the turban being among the most popular. It was often draped around the head, with ample fabric left to hang down gracefully in back, or to the side. This headpiece, too, could be, and often was, ornamented. Large fringed, tassels were often sported. And the color, print, and quality of the fabric, as well as the choice of ornament or tassels went far in completing an elegant outfit.

Tocques These were stiffer than a turban, but unlike a bonnet were brimless, and always close-fitting to the head. Again the variety of style, color and decoration were as individual as the women who wore them--or, should we say, the milliners who made them!

Finally, women could, on ev ening occasions, forego an actual hat entirely, in favor of mere ribbons, pins and other artful ways of adorning the hair (such as the aforementioned tiara). And, never forget, that Headdresses were worn over hair that had most often already been done up in some style, probably an elaborate one, particularly for full-dress occasions.

To be accepted at Court, a lady was actually required to include feathers at the back of the lady's head.
The Regency? You've got to love it!

Linore Rose Burkard writes Inspirational Regency Romance as well as articles on Regency Life, Homeschooling, and Self-Improvement. She publishes a monthly eZine Upon My Word! which you can receive for FREE by signing up at her website quickly and easily. For her latest short story check Here Ms. Burkard graduated from the City University of New York with a Magna Cum Laude degree in English Literature, and now lives in Ohio with her husband and five children.

Author:: Linore Rose Burkard
Keywords:: the Regency, Bonnets, Fashion, Headdress, Pride and Prejudice, Fashionable, 19th century, Costume
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