The Gallery of Fashion: Nikolaus von Heideloff and Regency Style

Whilst we’re busy photographing and preparing new collections for ShopCurious, I thought you might be interested in something I discovered via the blog of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. If I had known there were fashion magazines in the college library, I would have spent more time there. I rather regret having only entered the building on a couple of occasions.

An article by Professor Barry Windeatt (Keeper of Rare Books at the college) explores The Gallery of Fashion, which he describes as “one of the most beautiful books on costume ever published.” Issued in monthly instalments between 1794 and 1802, this was one of the earliest English fashion magazines. Featuring some of the best examples of coloured aquatint applied to fashion plates, the volumes depict the elegance of the Regency period – and there are nine of them for each year of publication. I had no idea of this title or the presence of the magazines at my alma mater when I named my former boutique Fashion Gallery.

I’m adding a link to the blog post here, so you can read this fascinating article, which considers the links between clothing and art, the illustrious subscribers to the magazine, early fashion retail trends, the types of dress depicted, and occasions when worn.

I thought a selection of images from the magazine would appeal to fellow fashion historians, and anyone inspired by the Netflix series, Bridgerton. The post also includes a description of the plates shown here. 

By the way, we’ve got a fabulous Regency style black velvet jacket in our new Black collection, so do check that out too. Will you?