Regency Undergarments

Most regency women wore a set of stays underneath their gowns. They were either short stays or a fuller body stay with cording for strength. They supported the body and lifted the bust but did not bring in the waist - that was to come during the Victorian period.

Stays were worn over a short-sleeved chemise made of either cotton or linen depending on the district/town/country you lived in, the crops that were grown or where your fabric was imported from. Over the stays was worn a bodiced petticoat, followed by a chemisette and day dress for daytime wear and by a gown for balls. Chemisettes were not worn with ballgowns and often a short or sleeveless chemise was used with short sleeved ballgowns. Regency women valued their fair skin and took particular care to keep their skin from burning.
Below are some examples of extant undergarments.

Chemisette, c.1800-25 Snowshill Collection, Gloucestershire UK
http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1349950

Chemisette, c.1800 Killerton House UK
http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1360127

Early 19C Linen Chemise
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/shift-118902

French, worn in America, about 1821
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/woman-s-shift-49989

Early 19C Stays
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/stays-50004

Early 19th Century Petticoat, sold several years ago on ebay by Time Travellers

Early 19C Bodiced Petticoat
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/woman-s-underdress-49958

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art 

Early 19C Pocket
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/woman-s-pocket-324224

Early 19C Drawers 1810-20, image courtesy http://regencysa.proboards.com/

If you want to make your own undergarments there is an excellent pattern for Regency Undergarments that you can purchase or download as an e-pattern from Sensibility Patterns that includes chemise, short stays and chemisettes. 

Country Wives have a chemise pattern.

Mantua Maker have an excellent long stays and pantalettes pattern.

Laughing Moon have just released a beautiful new regency long stays pattern.

Busk pocket on the inside of a set of regency stays owned by Aylwen Gardiner-Garden

EDHDA Italian Renaissance Costume Project (Part 3)

The costumes that we are making date from 1480s through to the 1510s. I have long admired the Ghirlandiao paintings that show a variety of these gowns.

The gown is made in three parts. The first is the camicia (chemise or shift), the second is the gamurra (under dress) and the third is the giornea (the over gown).

First Layer
We plan to use the camicia pattern that is shown and discussed at Festive Attyre. We will use either white cotton or linen.

Second Layer
The gamurra is shown in most portraits as a plain-ish or contrasting dress with detachable sleeves tied at the shoulders. It can be laced at the front or back, but has a tight bodice and fitted sleeves.

Third Layer
The giornea is a sleeveless overgown, and can be worn with front and back fitted to the underbust or just the front fitted and the back left like a train.

Even though we are making outfits from this era, we will be dancing dances from the whole Italian Reniassance period, so it is important that we do not have trains - I do not think it wise to dance the canario in a train!