Saturday, September 20, 2014

Dress Like Jane Austen! Part II And GIVEAWAY


In last month's post I shared pictures of Janeites, that is, Jane Austen devotees, dressed up in their Regency-era finest. I took the photos at a JASNA conference in Portland, OR, and shared those of women only. This month, as promised, I move on to pictures of men and couples. We'll see that women aren't the only ones who enjoy dressing up in the style of Jane's era. We'll also see that, in some cases, they are equally challenged in getting it right! But hey, it's all about fun. Authenticity to the period is appreciated by those of us who CAN appreciate it, but it isn't everything.  [JASNA, by the way, is the Jane Austen Society of North America.]

Don't forget to enter the drawing at the bottom of the page. In addition to possibly winning one of my books there are lots of other great prizes. 
 
 Click on a photo to see it enlarged.

There was a promenade before the dancing began. This was a great opportunity for me to get lots of shots, and people were more than happy to have their laboriously designed costumes captured for posterity!  This gentleman is smartly dressed for the occasion, with a fine pair of wintry breeches.   
The military were always present in any large assembly, as Britain was at war. The trousers are absolutely modern.   

Dignity itself on the left. (Bonnet on right: Bad, bad, bad!) 
I could see him conducting music. (Music conductors were not yet de rigeur during the Regency, however.)
"Mr. Darcy" Pillow.   Like Mr. Mornay (in, Before the Season Ends) Darcy is a model of male sartorial elegance.
























































Above: A jolly Georgian male ensemble.

A noble attempt. 

Masqued fun with a modern suit. Love the second couple approaching!

A well-heeled couple. 

A grand military outfit, including a bicorne hat. 



Lovely.
Comfort in costume!
What? What? The Phantom, at our ball? Why not. (So nicely done.)

And now, two examples of  well-dressed Regency gentlemen.  Lord Grantham, below, undoubtedly inspired many a female swoon. :)
Lord Grantham. He wears the popular Hessian boots, inspired by Russian military.

Can it get any better than the famous Beau Brummel? The man who popularized the wearing of pantaloons? They say his toilet took up to four hours before he was satisfied enough to leave his home and face the world. Nevertheless, he is not my idea of Regency manly perfection in dress.
For more costume fun, check out my "Illustrations of the Month" on my website. I have pictures that are just as rich and atmospheric as the above but which didn't make it into either of my posts here on the blog.
Go to this page and scroll down. Enjoy!

Next Month: Pictures of the dance in progress.  Also look for special emphasis on the exquisite care and workmanship given to the back of a ladies' gown, by the way, as I'll be featuring some close up shots of fabulous examples. 

What do you think? Aren't costume balls fun? (And, will they ever welcome me to another one now that I've taken to being the fashion police?) Leave a comment, below, and share your thoughts. And don't forget to enter the giveaway! The winner of my book gets to choose any of my regencies for themselves.
Before the Season Ends: A young woman of faith must navigate the treacherous waters of a London Regency season while fending off the efforts of her wealthy aunt to marry her off to the richest suitor.  
The House in Grosvenor Square: The continuing adventures of Ariana Forsythe in London as she comes up against evil intentions and those who want revenge--not necessarily on her, but through her. (To say more would be a spoiler!) 

The Country House Courtship: Follow Ariana and her new husband to their country estate in Middlesex, where younger sister Beatrice learns to grow up, finding her own perfect husband in the process.  








ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY!

Giveaway | Rafflecopter :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

44 comments:

  1. Great pics and such elegance! I have never been to a custom ball but it seems fun.

    The one who wins one of your regencies is in for a treat! I hope you publish more soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, thank you. I have a new novel out that is NOT a regency, but I have a couple of them in various stages of completion that I hope to get back to soon. :)

      Delete
  2. What great pictures, Makes the books come to life :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes,as do the screen adaptations. The current JA fad would never be this huge without them. (Not to detract from Jane's genious; but more people find the novels accessible since they were brought to the big screen so beautifully.)

      Delete
  3. It's like playing dress-up for grownups! What a blast!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What beautiful pictures for a beautiful post!

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. How fun! I look forward to next month's pictures of the dance.

    texaggs2000 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. This was a fun post! I love reading about this time period.
    Brittany McEuen
    kbmceuen at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So do I, Brittany! Good luck to everyone in the rafflecopter!

      Delete
  7. It looks like a lot of hard work went into those costumes. I bet it was a lot of fun to be there! I'm a Jane Austen fan but enjoy regency-era anything.

    lindajhutchins@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes, some of the gowns were amazing. Next month you'll see some close-ups of workmanship. Events like that make me wish I were a seamstress (my mom is, but I did not, alas, inherit the talent). :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I just love seeing people all dressed up - it looks like so much fun! truckredford(at)gmail(dot)Com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Linore! Thanks for sharing all of these great photos. I found my perfect wedding dress in the beautiful bright blue w/ chiffon overlay - I'll have to change the blue to a pretty creamy candlelight color.
    kam110476 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How awesome! Thanks for sharing with us and congratulations on your upcoming wedding! I'd love to see a picture of your dress after the big day if you want to share it. Email me at Linore@LinoreBurkard.com. :)

      Delete
    2. Oh gosh! I found my dream dress, Linore, not husband or wedding!! I haven't even been on a date in over five yrs! Perhaps you have a good looking, single son or nephew?!?

      Delete
  11. What a great post! Everyone was so creative with their costumes. Even if they weren't always perfect representations of the era, they sure get an "A" for admirable! (The military fellow is sporting a bicorn, I believe, rather than a tricorn.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Forgot to mention that I attended a Jane Austen Gala a few years back and your post brought back so many wonderful memories. Thanks so much for sharing!!

      Delete
  12. Carla, I continue to confuse bicornes and tricornes because the bicorne looks more like it has THREE points (and therefore ought to be the TRIcorne. But you're right--it's a bicorne. Glad you caught that. (Thank you.) Where was the gala you attended? And, did you go in costume? :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. And I forgot to say that I agree with you: Everyone gets an A for effort! If I hadn't been so impressed I wouldn't have taken so many, many photos (only a sprinkling of which I have space to share on a blog).

    ReplyDelete
  14. The costume ball looks like such fun indeed! Thanks for sharing!
    psalm103and138"at"gmail"dot"com

    ReplyDelete
  15. This looks like such a great time! I took a Jane Austen class last semester and loved every minute of it! :)
    potosrose(@)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wish the offered JA classes when I got my degree! I would've loved that. Lucky you! ( And now, maybe you'll win a prize.). :)

      Delete
  16. I love the dresses from this period. So beautiful! jenannhayden at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  17. This looks like great fun. Thanks for sharing all those amazing pictures.
    betta_grl(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am sure this is such fun. Dressing up in Jane Austen attire!!! I have always loved that era of clothing.
    Thanks for sharing all the wonderful ladies and gents in their great garb!!

    Judy
    magnolias_1(at)msn(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  19. For more Regency era fun, ladies, get on my email newsletter list. I us usually load it up with great illustrations.
    Sign up at http:// www.LinoreBurkard.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hallo, Hallo Ms. Burkard!

    :) It has been half an age since I was able to drop by the Society & how wickedly delightful I came back just in the knick of time to help *celebrate!* the new digs!? :) I am LOVING the new name by the way! :) I am on your reader's newsletter list & of course, I've been subscribed by email for the Society since last Spring (2013), but ooh boy! New banner on top of the blog, new name, new motiff, new beginning! I've missed dropping by & chatting with everyone on this blog -- time & life have swept me away -- plus, as I'm a book blogger myself now, the hours just flew straight out the window! I'm thankful Autumn is about to come into view as its been a long & hard Spring & Summer!

    I quickly entered the contest -- I wanted to show my support & my joyful surprise in finding everything has been updated & set to the nines! I didn't get to fully read this post, so I'll swing by a bit lateron & add a proper reply! Until then, I hope everyone on here knows I've thought of each of you in my absence & have even started to see some of your books out in the 'wild'! :)

    IF your on Twitter and I've missed finding you, please find me: @JLovesAStory

    *big hugs & a wicked smile to celebrate!*

    Seriously this is wicked sweet! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. postscript:

      Ooh, my dear stars -- someone fixed it so I can add comments!!! Ooh boy! I've been trying to sort this out for *hours!* and I simply couldn't make heads nor tails of it! :( I am so very thankful I could sign with the Name/URL option! It is the silliest thing really - when you self-host your book blog yet still maintain your WP account, wouldn't it be a given you could use your OpenID when you list this blog as a 'safe site'? Woe is surely me!

      To whomever gave me this ability -- THANK YOU! I will drop by tomorrow & write more comments!!! :) :)

      Delete
    2. Wow, Jorie, you are a soldier! (As I know from the tweets we've exchanged about all the work you did trying to post a comment!) Bravo for hanging in there. And yes, isn't the new look fabulous? All thanks go to Debbie Lynne Costello and Vickie McDonough for that. They are the "webmasters" here at HHH--the rest of us authors are just the peons. ;) We're glad to have you back and I wish you all the best with the giveaway! Thanks for being a loyal reader again.

      Delete
  21. Hey Jorie! I changed the settings to 'anyone'. As long as I don't get swamped with spam I'll leave it at that setting so you can post. Sorry you've been having so much trouble posting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay, Debbie Lynne! I knew you could spin your magic and make it work. ;)

      Delete
    2. *waves!*

      Ms. Debbie Lynne - I had a sneaking feeling you were the one who sorted out how I could put comments back on this blog! :) Don't worry - if you have to block Name/URL again I'll sort something out somehow! You took the stress of me last night, and let's hope only those who want to converse will post! :) I have my blog set on moderation for comments, so I do understand why your careful! :) For now, I am *loving!* being back!

      Ms. Burkard -- I love a good challenge, but oh dear does technology vex me at times! I simply do not always understand the intricacies! :( You're quite welcome - I've been chatting up the Society ever since I first found you guys -- before I self-hosted my blog the RSS feeds were in my sidebar & I was linked to you guys in my blogroll! I am sorting out how to re-categorise all my links (over 500) to get them back up on my sidebar! I am always a work in progress on my blog! lol I love seeing what you guys are up too, but to be able to come back regularly is a blessing! :) And, there are a few new faces too! Lovely!

      Delete
  22. Thank you for sharing all the wonderful pictures. It would be so much fun to dress up.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary! Good to "see" you here. Yes, it looks like enormous fun. Thanks for coming by!

      Delete
  23. Ms. Burkard,

    What I had wanted to say earlier is how much I *adore!* Jane Austen! I was supposed to participate in the Austen in August readings this year, but once again for the second time I found myself without the proper hours to read anything except an after canon (a Clean Romance): Sense & Sensibility: A Latter Day Tale by Rebecca H. Jamison! I originally wanted to read the original prior to the re-telling, but I was simply thankful I could read a novel inspired by Jane Austen even if I couldn't get to my projected readings this year! I'm going to take time in November to read: Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, & Persuasion . One of the best parts of being into Jane Austen nowadays is being caught up in all the lovely events where other Janeites and Austenites come together to celebrate her creative works!

    Ooh, wait -- I had forgotten, a week or so after I was attempting Austen in August, I had the chance to interview the author of "A Jane Austen Daydream", which was quite delightful as he is passionate for Austen as much as anyone I have ever run into online! I love how I spent the interview asking him cross-comparisons between Jane Austen (the woman & writer) and the style of literary voice she gave by which he was inspired to create his own work of fiction!

    Seeing everyone at the ball enjoying themselves & getting caught up in the magic of dressing in Regency inspired outfits was a smashing treat for the eyes! I appreciated your notes, and I appreciated all the creative effort the participants had put into what they did for the ball itself! I even smiled and giggled a bit where you said 'nice effort' or 'quite modern' -- to me, it was simply lovely that they were enjoying 'going to a ball' in the first place! :) One day, I look forward to going myself! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Well, Jorie, you seem like the perfect person to enjoy a Jane Austen ball for sure! Are you a member of JASNA? Maybe we'll meet at a future event. I hope you get to do all your planned November reading! Thanks again for your participation and comments. I wish you all the best with your own blog. :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wat fun that looks like...to dress like characters from an era gone by. Enjoyed the photos.
    JFWisherd(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete