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From: Russell <>
Subject: Re: [PJ] A fashionable challenge
Date: Sat, 06 Nov 2004 18:49:58 +1000
References: <LGENKCEDELHGKDEDDKJGGEBODJAA.peterburke@fishinternet.com.au> <418C141E.9090402@bigpond.net.au> <002b01c4c367$baa156c0$03000004@default>
In-Reply-To: <002b01c4c367$baa156c0$03000004@default>


Thanks respondents,

Below are a few scraps concerning colonial NSW Regency period fashion:

Hats were made from cabbage tree palm leaves and manufactured throughout
the 19th century, I guess just the design altered according to fashion,
from what I have seen they were sensibly broad-brimmed with a shallow crown.
Many male convicts were issued with military garb taken from prisoners
captured in the various conflicts Britain was waging around that time (I
can't remember the source for that snippet - must follow it up).
Convicts, particularly the women, took advantage of the trade with Asia
and wore silk and fashionable finery that outraged the free and upper
classes. Which raises the question - did convicts who were assigned or
held a Ticket of Leave wear convict slops or dressed as they pleased
(and could afford)? Did only gaol gangs wear the 'big arrow'?
There was certainly a lag time in NSW by the time Regency fashion trends
arrived. Roughly, I would suggest that Regency fashion trends in
Australia would have spanned 1790-1830.

And yes, I followed both the series 'Regency House Party' and 'Pride and
Prejudice', shown recently.

The things we do, the obsessions that grow ...

Russell Kelly,
Brisbane

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