About this Event
How did Jane Austen, her contemporaries, and their fashion media describe clothing, and what did they mean when they did? The language of Regency dress is not necessarily straightforward to understand now. Drawing on new research underpinning her 2025 book, A Guide to Regency Dress: From Corsets and Breeches to Bonnets and Muslin, this presentation looks at the words of fashion in use during Austen’s adult life and their slippery associations with actual garments worn during the Regency.
Dr. Hilary Davidson is a dress, textiles and fashion historian and curator, associate professor, and chair of the MA Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice in the School of Graduate Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. In 2007, Hilary became curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London. She presented on the BBC documentary, Pride & Prejudice: Having a Ball, reconstructed Jane Austen's pelisse for this summer's A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250 at the Morgan Library and Museum and spoke at the Jane Austen Society of North America's Annual General Meetings in both 2024 and 2025. Research sparked by Professor Davidson's reconstruction of Jane Austen’s pelisse led to her most recent book, A Guide to Regency Dress: From Corsets and Breeches to Bonnets and Muslin.
Dr. Davidson’s book will be available for sale and signing.
Registration
If you are a Grolier Club member, please register yourself and your guests via the Club website. Do not register via Eventbrite.
Support
We appreciate your interest in the Grolier Club’s programming on the art and history of the book. For over 130 years we have offered our exhibitions and lectures to the public, free of charge. If you have enjoyed these offerings, and would like to support that tradition, and help ensure that it continues, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Grolier Club.
Accessibility
An ADA-compliant lift from street level to the lobby is available to anyone with mobility issues. All desk staff should be ready and able to assist you in operating the lift, with or without advance notice.
A “T-Coil” assisted listening system is available to anyone attending a lecture in the Exhibition Hall. Visitors with hearing aids should turn their devices to the “T” setting in order to access the system; visitors without hearing aids may request a “loop receiver” with earphones.
Environment
The temperature and humidity in the exhibition hall are tightly controlled for the sake of the valuable items on display, and this may cause the room to feel chilly, particularly in warmer weather, to those coming in from outside. Members and visitors are advised to bring a light wrap when visiting an exhibition, or attending an event in the hall.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Grolier Club, 47 East 60th Street, New York, United States
USD 0.00
