Reticules: Regency handbags

A Regency woman, her reticule tied around
her waist, imagined by Victorian artist
Charles Henry Turner
Lately, I’ve been thinking about “synchronicity” – the idea of meaningful coincidences, a concept explored by psychologist Carl Jung. 

It started a few weeks ago, when I came across a little treasure on the shelf in my local library, a book called Handbags, What Every Woman Should Know, by Stephanie Pedersen.

This book provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of purses, including information on the reticule, a type of purse that every well-dressed Regency woman had to have. 

And as the book traverses fashions in accessories through the centuries up to the modern era, it touches on New York fashion designer Kate Spade and her trend-setting handbags that became such a hit in the early 1990s and beyond. And then, just after I finished the book I heard about Spade’s untimely and very sad death, earlier this month

So I thought a post on handbags, especially Regency ones, might be a way to pay a tribute to her and her impact on modern fashion.

In her book, Pedersen quotes Spade as saying “I’ve never thought of style as something you invent, like trying to come up with the proverbial better mousetrap. I think style is part of the way we live . . .”
Silk knit reticule with glass beads,
metal chain and clasp, 1810-1820

And here’s where the Spade handbag and Regency reticule overlap. Her handbags were both stylish and useful, and an accessory coveted by fashionable women everywhere. And, in their time, so were reticules.

A reticule is simply a pouch-like handbag. Some are even drawstring bags, much like the little suede bag that I used for toting marbles around when I was a child. 

Reticules became a fashion necessity because of the new style of clothes women wore during the Regency.

During previous centuries women’s skirts were very full, sometimes ridiculously so, thanks to hoops and petticoats and other nifty undergarments that kept the skirts afloat. 

Dressmakers cut slits into the side seams of these gowns and petticoats to allow the wearer access to a hidden pocket tied around the waist. That way women could discreetly carry a few items with them when they went out.

French fashion plate, 1798
However, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries dress silhouettes slimmed down drastically as fashionable women tried to look like classical Greek statues. Women wore diaphanous, high-waisted gowns that revealed rather than obscured their figures, especially the lower half.

Suddenly there was no room for any kind of pocket in their gowns. So, out of necessity women carried their belongings in a pocket-like purse, and the reticule was born.  

Some of these reticules looked barely big enough to hold anything, though in my imagination I can see a Regency woman tucking a small mirror, an ivory comb, a tiny embroidered piece of linen to catch her delicate sneezes, and perhaps a few coins into her reticule. 

As a side note, according to Pedersen the current Queen Elizabeth, who’s never seen in public without a purse, carries a tube of lipstick, a comb, a small gold compact and a handkerchief in her bag. Other sources add mints, reading glasses and family photos to that list. I guess the Queen of England doesn't need to carry cash or credit cards.

Reticules remained popular in one form or another, and a fashion fixture, for decades. These little purses could be beaded, fringed or embroidered, made of steel mesh or tapestry, and closed with silken cords or silver clasps. 

Queen Elizabeth with her handbag, 2015

Flappers of the 1920s even had ingenious vanity cases and cylindrical "necessaires"- tiny purses that were just big enough to hold some makeup, "mad money" and a few cigarettes. 

These elegant accessories featured chain handles, wrist straps or even finger rings to make carrying them easier while dancing the Charleston. 

Since the Regency era reticules have been invoked by purse designers many times. 

Hippie chicks of the 1970s carried crocheted or patchwork drawstring bags, and echoes of the reticule can still be seen in the evening clutches and pocketbooks with wrist straps that women carry today.

As for me, I used to carry small, strappy beaded purses in my teens and early twenties. When my sons were born I started using diaper bags and I haven’t been able to downsize to a small purse since. Carrying everything from bandages to snacks around with you “just in case” is a hard habit to break.

I’ve yet to see an example of a Regency diaper bag, but who knows, perhaps one day I’ll come across one in another library book!



* * *
Sources used for this post include:

  • Handbags, What Every Woman Should Know, by Stephanie Pedersen, a David & Charles book, United Kingdom, 2006 
  • Fashions of the Roaring ‘20’s, by Ellie Laubner, Schiffer Publishing, LTD, Atglen, PA, 1996

Images and photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon's last stand

A "wounded eagle" -  French Imperial eagle
carried into battle and pierced by enemy fire

June 18 is the 203rd anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, an epic encounter that put an end once and for all to Napoleon’s dream of conquering Europe. 

The Emperor had made a glorious comeback to power a hundred days earlier, after escaping from exile on the island of Elba, just off the western coast of Italy. 

Napoleon seemed unstoppable as he made his way in triumph across Europe. It took the combined and well-coordinated military forces of Great Britain and its allies, along with the Prussians, to halt the Emperor's progress.

Napoleon's army and his plans for the future of Europe were crushed at Waterloo, a village just south of Brussels. 

On that summer day over 200 years ago, the peaceful Belgium countryside was engulfed by the sights and sounds of a deadly battle: the thunder of drumbeats and hoofbeats; frantic shouts; booming guns; the thick, pervasive smog of musket and artillery fire; and the smell of death. 

Engaged in fierce fighting against Napoleon’s Armée du Nord was a multi-national army of British, Dutch and German troops under the command of the Duke of Wellington

Joining Wellington was the Prussian army led by Prince Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. This wasn't the 72-year-old von Blücher's first encounter with Napoleon; five years earlier he'd defeated the French general at the Battle of Leipzig. 

One of Wellington's men wresting an Imperial eagle 
standard away from a French soldier during the battle.
For such a short conflict Waterloo was extremely bloody, with approximately 50,000 casualties combined on both sides and thousands more wounded, captured or missing. And that carnage doesn’t account for the hordes of dead horses strewn over the battlefield, a gruesome contribution to the hellish scene.

Even worse, because of inadequate medical resources many of the wounded lingered on the open field for days, with no doctors to treat their injuries and prevent unnecessary and excruciating deaths.

So what did the battle achieve? Here are few reasons why the Battle of Waterloo merits attention:  

  • First and foremost, Waterloo firmly squashed Napoleon's hopes of ever dominating Europe. Following his defeat, he was forced into exile once again, this time on the distant South Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he died. If Napoleon had won the battle the map of Europe would have been redrawn and the course of history changed. The Battle of Waterloo also marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars, which spanned more than 15 years and caused the deaths of an estimated 3-6 million soldiers and civilians. 
  • The aftermath of Waterloo ushered in a period of relatively long-lasting peace with no further armed conflict between the major powers in Europe for almost 40 years, until the Crimean War of the mid-1850s. The British army didn’t fight again on Western European soil for almost a hundred years, up to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
  • A smaller but enduring effect of the battle was the introduction of the word “Waterloo” into the English vernacular, as in the expression “meeting my Waterloo” or facing an ultimate defeat, just as Napoleon did that day.

To better understand what transpired on June 18, 1815, here’s an animated look at the battle, which explains in just over 12 minutes how Napoleon was outflanked and outwitted by Wellington and von Blücher.

Equally compelling are the photographs of French veterans 40 years after Waterloo, posing in their uniformsSeeing these faces makes the battle real, lifting it out of the dusty pages of history and breathing life into what was one of the most significant conflicts in European history.




Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Trooping the Colour



The 2013 ceremony, which hasn't changed much over the last 200 years.
The two-rank formation of soldiers shown here is a tribute to
 Wellington's successful tactics at the Battle of Waterloo.

Today is the second Saturday in June, which in Great Britain means it's time for Trooping the Colour. It's a centuries-old tradition full of pomp and pageantry that officially honors not only the sovereign's birthday but also the infantry regiments of the British Army.  

"Colours" are another name for the brightly-colored battalion flags associated with the Five Foot Guard regiments (the Scots, Irish, Welsh, Grenadier and Coldstream guards). These flags not only showcase the individual spirit of each regiment and but also commemorate its fallen soldiers.

In times past, there was a very practical reason to publicly display the “colours” like this – so that the soldiers would be able to recognize the flags of their comrades in the heat of battle.

Every year one of the Foot Guard regiments is chosen to display its flag, and this year the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards get to troop their colour through the ranks of the assembled regiments. The honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards is Prince William.
  
Kate and Prince William, who is in his Irish Guards uniform,
 enjoying their post-wedding  Buckingham Palace "balcony moment." 

Royal watchers will also be eager to glimpse the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex, back from their honeymoon and sure to be in attendance to honor the Queen. During this event, Harry and Meghan will also get their "balcony moment," appearing together as husband and wife on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. It's a royal wedding tradition they missed out on because their wedding ceremony took place outside of London at Windsor Castle.  


King Charles II

The tradition of Trooping the Colour traces its origins back to the reign of Charles II in the 17th century. It was originally known as “Lodging the Colours,” but it’s always been an occasion to publicly celebrate the king or queen's birthday, no matter what month or day the reigning monarch was actually born. (Queen Elizabeth was born on April 21.) It’s also been an annual event since the mid-18th century, with a few notable exceptions.

One exception was during the nine years of the Regency, from 1811 to 1820, when the King’s birthday parade was suspended due to King George III’s seclusion and illness. And the military parades were halted again during World War I and World War II.

King George III, sick and unkempt in his final years

There have also been a few colorful incidents, too, during this yearly celebration, especially in the 20th century. For example, in 1970 a guardsman rather spectacularly fainted while the Queen was reviewing the troops.

The Queen and her horse appear nonplussed by the fallen soldier,
who, though unconscious, has kept admirable form rather than
collapsing into a crumpled heap



And in 1981, a fame-hungry and delusional teenager fired six blank shots, point-blank range, at the Queen as she rode by with her procession from Buckingham Palace, on her way down the Mall to the Horse Guards Parade grounds.

Queen Elizabeth won a lot of praise that day as she kept her composure and her startled horse firmly under control. The young man was wrestled to the ground, charged with treason and served a five-year prison sentence. When he got out of jail at age 20, he changed his name and made a new life for himself. I think he got off easy, considering how convicted traitors have been treated in the past.


Princess Elizabeth filling in for her father
in 1951 (King George VI was too ill to attend
 the parade and he died the following year.)


The Queen herself has attended every parade since her coronation in 1953, with yet another exception, when a National Rail strike caused the cancellation of the 1955 parade.

Though she’ll be in a carriage this year and not on horseback as in years past, the Queen will still review and inspect the foot and horse guard troops that comprise her household Division and also the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, all of which will give her a royal salute as she goes by (except perhaps the horses). 

Hundreds of musicians including the Band of the Household Cavalry (on horseback) and a Corps of Drums, will perform. And just in case there isn’t enough clamor from the bands, gun salutes, and artillery cannonade, the parade will also have the roar of the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, performing a patriotic “Fly Past” over Buckingham Palace.  

The Red Arrows in a spectacular and deafening tribute

It looks like a rousing good time. I just hope the Queen also gets a birthday cake as well, delicious and big enough to hold all 92 of her well-earned candles!


Images and photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Regency Toys and Peppa Pig

The object of many a 3-year-old's affection

I recently discovered that the mothers of the adorable bridesmaids and page boys at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding (a group that included 3-year-old Princess Charlotte) bribed their kids to behave with candy (Smarties) and promises to watch the Peppa Pig show after the wedding.

I’m proud to say that I know what, or rather who, Peppa Pig is, though I had to look up the difference between American and British Smarties

British Smarties are filled with chocolate, like American M&M's.
They're not the fruit-flavored candy tablets we know as Smarties in the U.S. 


But my Peppa knowledge is fairly new, due to the influence of the 3-year-old in my life, my granddaughter.

Peppa Pig is currently her favorite thing in the world. She watches episodes of the British animated television series on the Nickelodeon channel and video clips of it on YouTube. She also has Peppa Pig storybooks, Peppa Pig t-shirts, and two Peppa Pig dolls.  

And I know for a fact that my son and daughter-in-law, like Prince William and Kate, have found Peppa Pig useful as a bribe. 

I won’t argue with my granddaughter or Princess Charlotte, but I’m not sure I trust Peppa Pig and her porcine family. They snort when they talk and pronounce “zebra” as if it rhymes with “Debra” and not “Libra.” 

That’s the difference between British and American pronunciation right there, and also why I’ll never pass for a Brit, no matter how much I learn about British history and culture. As George Bernard Shaw is supposed to have observed, the United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language.


 
We're zee-bras, dammit

Children have been drawn to toys and dolls and candy since the beginning of time. I’m not exaggerating all that much; thousands of years ago Egyptian kids had dolls with moveable arms and legs and wigs. In 2004 archaeologists digging on an island off the coast of Italy unearthed the head of a stone doll, along with a set of tiny kitchenware, believed to be 4,000 years old.

Here’s a photo of an ancient Greek child’s toy that was made almost a thousand years before the birth of Christ:



In Regency times children played with dolls and toys, too. Rolling hoops was a popular pastime, so much so that by the end of the 18th century children rolling hoops through the streets of London were considered a nuisance.  

Girl with a Hoop by Pierre Auguste Renoir


Dolls were in demand as well. Here’s little Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s daughter, with her doll when she was almost the same age as Princess Charlotte. That doll must have been important to her to be included in her portrait. In fact, I can imagine the little princess refusing to cooperate with the painter unless she could hold her doll. 


Princess Beatrice, age 2, painted by
Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1859

And here’s an 1820 drawing showing upper-class Regency kids in their family schoolroom, clearly playing with toys instead of doing their schoolwork. All, that is, except for the poor girl on the right who's doing her best to do her lessons while her brother tries to distract her by putting the family cat on her back.




If only their parents or governess had Smarties or a Peppa Pig show to bribe them with! But alas, chocolate candy wouldn't be invented for another couple of decades, and they'd have to wait almost two centuries for Peppa. (For more on the development of the chocolate candy we know and love today, see this post.)

Anyway, it's nice to know that Peppa Pig, had a role, however minor, in Harry and Meghan's royal wedding.


Photo by Londisland, CC By 3.0





Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Pixabay

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