The source of tremendous power and the focus of incredible devotion, throughout history notions of beauty have been integral to social life and culture. Each age has had its own standards: a gleaming white brow during the Renaissance, the black eyebrows considered charming in the early eighteenth century, and the thin lips thought desirable by Victorians. Beauty has ensured good marriages, enabled social mobility and offered fame and notoriety, and has led women - and some men - to remarkable lengths in cultivating it, from the dangerous quantities of lead applied by Elizabeth I, to the women of the 1940s and '50s, who employed face powder, lipstick and mascara to look their best during the privations of war and austerity, creating a chic appearance to which many still aspire.

The broader Regency period 1795-1820 stands alone as an incredible moment in fashion history unlike anything that went before or after. It was the most naked period since Ancient Greece and before the 1960s, and for the first time England became a fashion influence, especially for menswear, and became the toast of Paris. With the ancient regime deposed, court dress became secondary and the season by season flux of fashion as we know it came into being, aided and abetted by the proliferation of new ladies' magazines.
Such an age of revolution and innovation inspired a flood of fashions taking influence from everything including the newly discovered treasures of the ancient world, to radical new ideas like democracy. It was an era of contradiction immortalized by Jane Austen, who adeptly used the newfound diversity of fashion to enliven her characters, Wickham's military splendor, Mr. Darcy's understated elegance, and Miss Tilney's romantic fixation with white muslin.

Just as the fashions of Jane Austen’s era define it as a unique moment in history, so do the pleasures and pastimes. Each occasion and activity brought the pleasure of choosing a new outfit, and the choice on offer to young men and women was, at the time, unparalleled. Showcasing the styles and fashion of the period, Sarah Jane Downing touches on a variety of themes including pleasure destinations such as parks and zoos, cultural activities such as the theatre, romantic pastimes such as dances held in spectacular settings, and many more. We are familiar with many of the most popular places and activities from Jane Austen’s novels, but this book will put them into broader historical context, complimenting them with an abundance of contemporary fashion plates and images.