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A Guide to Regency Dress: from Corsets and Breeches to Bonnets and Muslins
248 pages, Hardcover
Published November 11, 2025
About the author
Hilary Davidson
3 books50 followersHilary Davidson is a dress, textiles and fashion historian and curator. Her work encompasses making and knowing, things and theory, with an extraordinary understanding of how historic clothing objects come to be and how they function in culture.
After dropping out of high school to pursue her interests through global travel, Hilary trained as a bespoke shoemaker in her native Australia before completing a Masters in the History of Textiles and Dress at Winchester School of Art (University of Southampton) in 2004. Since graduating, Hilary’s practice has concerned the relationship between theoretical and highly material approaches
to dress history, especially in the early modern and medieval periods. As a skilled and meticulous handsewer, she has created replica clothing projects for a number of museums, including a ground-breaking replication of Jane Austen’s pelisse.At the same time she lectured extensively on fashion history, theory and culture, on semiotics, and cultural mythologies, especially red shoes.
In 2007 Hilary became curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London. She contributed to the £20 million permanent gallery redevelopment opening in 2010, and curated an exhibition on pirates, while continuing to publish, teach and lecture in the UK and internationally. In collaboration with Museum of London Archaeology, Hilary began analysing archaeological textiles and continues to cross disciplines by consulting for in this area in England and Australia. She also worked on the AHRC 5-star rated Early Modern Dress and Textiles Network (2007-2009) and from 2011 has appeared as an expert on a number of BBC historical television programmes.
Since 2012 Hilary has worked between Sydney and London as a freelance curator, historian, broadcaster, teacher, lecturer, consultant and designer. In addition to historical studies she has been a jewellery designer, graphic designer, photographer, gallerist, and worked in retail fashion and vintage clothing. Current projects include Dress in the Age of Jane Austen (Yale, 2019), and completing a PhD by publication at La Trobe University, Melbourne, on knowledge making and materiality in pre-modern dress (2020).
Hilary has taught and lectured extensively, including at the University of Southampton, Central St Martins, the University of Cambridge, the University of Glasgow, New York University London, The American University Paris, Fashion Design Studio TAFE Sydney and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney. She speaks regularly at academic conferences and to the public.
Hilary is an Honorary Associate, School of Arts, Letters and Media, at the University of Sydney, a consultant in historic textiles for the Oxford English Dictionary, a Freeman of the City of London and member of the Company of Arts Scholars, Dealers and Collectors. As Hilary Gilmore, she is a published poet.
After dropping out of high school to pursue her interests through global travel, Hilary trained as a bespoke shoemaker in her native Australia before completing a Masters in the History of Textiles and Dress at Winchester School of Art (University of Southampton) in 2004. Since graduating, Hilary’s practice has concerned the relationship between theoretical and highly material approaches
to dress history, especially in the early modern and medieval periods. As a skilled and meticulous handsewer, she has created replica clothing projects for a number of museums, including a ground-breaking replication of Jane Austen’s pelisse.At the same time she lectured extensively on fashion history, theory and culture, on semiotics, and cultural mythologies, especially red shoes.
In 2007 Hilary became curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London. She contributed to the £20 million permanent gallery redevelopment opening in 2010, and curated an exhibition on pirates, while continuing to publish, teach and lecture in the UK and internationally. In collaboration with Museum of London Archaeology, Hilary began analysing archaeological textiles and continues to cross disciplines by consulting for in this area in England and Australia. She also worked on the AHRC 5-star rated Early Modern Dress and Textiles Network (2007-2009) and from 2011 has appeared as an expert on a number of BBC historical television programmes.
Since 2012 Hilary has worked between Sydney and London as a freelance curator, historian, broadcaster, teacher, lecturer, consultant and designer. In addition to historical studies she has been a jewellery designer, graphic designer, photographer, gallerist, and worked in retail fashion and vintage clothing. Current projects include Dress in the Age of Jane Austen (Yale, 2019), and completing a PhD by publication at La Trobe University, Melbourne, on knowledge making and materiality in pre-modern dress (2020).
Hilary has taught and lectured extensively, including at the University of Southampton, Central St Martins, the University of Cambridge, the University of Glasgow, New York University London, The American University Paris, Fashion Design Studio TAFE Sydney and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney. She speaks regularly at academic conferences and to the public.
Hilary is an Honorary Associate, School of Arts, Letters and Media, at the University of Sydney, a consultant in historic textiles for the Oxford English Dictionary, a Freeman of the City of London and member of the Company of Arts Scholars, Dealers and Collectors. As Hilary Gilmore, she is a published poet.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 22, 2025
Hot on the heels of her last stunning book, Jane Austen's Wardrobe, Dr. Davidson proves that no one does this kind of gorgeous, informative, meticulously researched, beautifully organized fashion history book better.
I oohed and aahed over the color illustrations and photos, inhaled the detailed descriptions of men's and women's fashion, marveled at how incredibly useful this glorious book will be for all kinds of readers, and then stood and gave Dr. Davidson a standing ovation.
A must-have for any Janeite and a perfect holiday gift for anyone entranced by Regency fashion and history. Huzzah!
Also, be sure to check out the amazing videos of Dr. Davidson describing her book and showing examples of various Regency dress on Yale University Press's insta page, https://www.instagram.com/yalebooks?i... .
Thanks to Dr. Davidson and Yale University Press for the great privilege of doing this review. Opinions are mine.
I oohed and aahed over the color illustrations and photos, inhaled the detailed descriptions of men's and women's fashion, marveled at how incredibly useful this glorious book will be for all kinds of readers, and then stood and gave Dr. Davidson a standing ovation.
A must-have for any Janeite and a perfect holiday gift for anyone entranced by Regency fashion and history. Huzzah!
Also, be sure to check out the amazing videos of Dr. Davidson describing her book and showing examples of various Regency dress on Yale University Press's insta page, https://www.instagram.com/yalebooks?i... .
Thanks to Dr. Davidson and Yale University Press for the great privilege of doing this review. Opinions are mine.
January 18, 2026
A really wonderful reference, more of like an illustrated glossary than a book that is meant to be read from front to back (which I did). I can see this being a really useful book to come back to as a reference when reading other works. I learned more about fabric than I ever thought I wanted, but I took a star off because I wish there was more explanation of some of the textile stuff. There is a lot of jargon in that section. But the pictures are awesome, I wish there were more!
April 27, 2026
I first found out about Hilary Davidson on a podcast: Dressed: The History of Fashion. She was promoting this book and also mentioned her other Regency dress books. It sounded fascinating. Especially learning about list shoes. They were made from the selvages of woolen textiles and woven together. The shoes were worn indoors and didn't make any noise. (I thought there would be more about the process of making the shoes, but I was happy to see a photo on page 210.)
After listening to the podcast I went to the NY Public Library to borrow this book. They didn't have it but could order it from an outside library system. I was told it would take 6 months or more. It took less than a month! It kind of threw off my reading plans, but that's ok because I was glad I read this.
It's a great guide for fashion and history enthusiasts, especially those who are creating costumes for film or Jane Austen reenactments. If I were involved in such a project I would add this book to my must have collection.
It really goes through everything. Womenswear , menswear, hygiene, cosmetics, hair accessories, jewelry, textiles, and trims. Each section has descriptions and then a glossary. It's more glossary than anything and would be used more as a reference book than something to read cover to cover, but I did anyway.
The photos and illustrations are fantastic. My favorite section was the jewelry section because it was gorgeous. And the textiles section is informative. Hilary did an incredible amount of research.
5 out of 5 Haberdasheries.
Page 31 - Female woollen tailored garments such as riding-habits were made by male tailors, while women generally sewed their own line undergarments and accessories, employed a seamstress ( who sewed linens only, distinct from dressmakers who worked with silks, wools, muslins and other fashion fabrics to make gowns), or bought smaller accessories ready-made from milliners and a wide range of retailers.
One of the most enduring Regency fashion myths is that women dampened muslin gowns to make them cling to their bodies. The wholly untrue idea comes from misconstruing contemporary descriptions commenting that women looked as if they had dampened their gowns, not that they had.
Page 94 - Another point to remember is that, while men's clothing was less varied than women's in style and fabric, each element of Regency male dress cost roughly double its female equivalent. Men shopped less often but spent more money when they did-a fact that is not highlighted in critiques of fashionability at the time, which are usually centered on supposedly frivolous female consumption.
Page 212 - mohair (1) A soft yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat, and the fabric made from it with a silk, wool or cotton warp. (2) Slang for a non-military civilian man, a bourgeois, tradesman or other worker who wore mohair buttons, used as a term of contempt by army men, who wore metal buttons on their uniforms.
After listening to the podcast I went to the NY Public Library to borrow this book. They didn't have it but could order it from an outside library system. I was told it would take 6 months or more. It took less than a month! It kind of threw off my reading plans, but that's ok because I was glad I read this.
It's a great guide for fashion and history enthusiasts, especially those who are creating costumes for film or Jane Austen reenactments. If I were involved in such a project I would add this book to my must have collection.
It really goes through everything. Womenswear , menswear, hygiene, cosmetics, hair accessories, jewelry, textiles, and trims. Each section has descriptions and then a glossary. It's more glossary than anything and would be used more as a reference book than something to read cover to cover, but I did anyway.
The photos and illustrations are fantastic. My favorite section was the jewelry section because it was gorgeous. And the textiles section is informative. Hilary did an incredible amount of research.
5 out of 5 Haberdasheries.
Page 31 - Female woollen tailored garments such as riding-habits were made by male tailors, while women generally sewed their own line undergarments and accessories, employed a seamstress ( who sewed linens only, distinct from dressmakers who worked with silks, wools, muslins and other fashion fabrics to make gowns), or bought smaller accessories ready-made from milliners and a wide range of retailers.
One of the most enduring Regency fashion myths is that women dampened muslin gowns to make them cling to their bodies. The wholly untrue idea comes from misconstruing contemporary descriptions commenting that women looked as if they had dampened their gowns, not that they had.
Page 94 - Another point to remember is that, while men's clothing was less varied than women's in style and fabric, each element of Regency male dress cost roughly double its female equivalent. Men shopped less often but spent more money when they did-a fact that is not highlighted in critiques of fashionability at the time, which are usually centered on supposedly frivolous female consumption.
Page 212 - mohair (1) A soft yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat, and the fabric made from it with a silk, wool or cotton warp. (2) Slang for a non-military civilian man, a bourgeois, tradesman or other worker who wore mohair buttons, used as a term of contempt by army men, who wore metal buttons on their uniforms.
May 20, 2026
This book is part history, part glossary of all things Regency fashion. Did you ever wonder what certain articles of clothing or types of fabric mentioned in novels or letters was? Historian Hilary Davidson tries to explain how people dressed, accessorized, wore their hair, what shoes they wore AND provide as much description of the types of fabrics and trimmings mentioned in period sources as she can. The only thing this book is missing is the tactile experience of touching but unfortunately many of these have changed meaning or are not available anymore. (If you want to know how cotton thread was machine made, I can write an article describing the process).
There are color photos, fashion prints, scans of fabric samples in magazines and satirical prints. Whatever she could find. Unfortunately there are no images of EVERYTHING or museum curators don't know what the period name for the fabric is. There are notes and a bibliography if you want to look things up. She also suggests Candice Hern's fashion plate collection.
This book is a must-have for historical costumers for stage and screen, reenactors, Janeites and Regency romance fans who enjoy dressing up in costume. I borrowed the book from the public library but will certainly be adding a copy to my bookshelf soon.
There are color photos, fashion prints, scans of fabric samples in magazines and satirical prints. Whatever she could find. Unfortunately there are no images of EVERYTHING or museum curators don't know what the period name for the fabric is. There are notes and a bibliography if you want to look things up. She also suggests Candice Hern's fashion plate collection.
This book is a must-have for historical costumers for stage and screen, reenactors, Janeites and Regency romance fans who enjoy dressing up in costume. I borrowed the book from the public library but will certainly be adding a copy to my bookshelf soon.
December 21, 2025
A detailed reference book defining a lot of the dress elements of the regency period.
Best read if you know a bit about regency clothing already, as going into this without any other knowledge might be a bit heavy.
I especially like the sections on jewellery, hair and trimmings, as these aren’t covered well in other books.
Best read if you know a bit about regency clothing already, as going into this without any other knowledge might be a bit heavy.
I especially like the sections on jewellery, hair and trimmings, as these aren’t covered well in other books.
February 11, 2026
A brilliant overview of the relevant terms, fashion styles, and so many details one can consider when looking at Regency dress. This is a fantastic reference book, and a gorgeous piece to have on one's coffee table!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews