Gentlemen’s Fashions
of the Regency Era
Compiled by Mark Millman
The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers

This is a very basic guide to men’s fashion of the early nineteenth century meant primarily to help gentlemen attending balls set in this era dress themselves in reasonable approximations of contemporary styles. As such it makes broad generalizations and neglects many details and exceptions. A very useful source to which the author owes a great debt is “Faking Regency Fashion for Men” by Antonia Pugliese, on her blog Experiments in Elegance. Much of the information here is from her post, as are all of the images except for those of the boots.
For Ladies’ Dress visit our Ladies’ Regency Dress page.

Gentlemen’s Fashions

The gentleman’s Regency silhouette has three chief features: very high standing collars; close-fitting coats with high waistlines (men’s waistlines as well as women’s are high at this time); and tailed rather than skirted coats. The cut of trousers varies during the period, and can be very tight or quite full. Breeches also continue in fashion, particularly early in the era and as formal evening wear. Other details are influenced by the reigning classicism, which demands an elegant—sometimes almost negligent—simplicity, until the Romantic movement comes to the fore around 1820. This is also a period dominated by warfare in Europe, and military uniforms are widely worn.
 
The variety of colors available to gentlemen is much greater than it would be later in the nineteenth century. Even evening wear can feature bright hues. In general, dark coats with light waistcoats and trousers, or colored coats with neutral waistcoats and trousers, seem to be most popular. Suits in a single color exist but are uncommon. Dark blue and black coats are very common; about half of all contemporary images seem to show them. Other shades of blue, including some very bright, almost electric, blues; browns; and greens, especially bottle-green, are popular coat colors. Trousers and breeches are tan, fawn, or pale yellow; pale to medium gray; or other light neutral colors. Breeches in particular are often white, but trousers rarely if ever are. Waistcoats can be of any color, and are more often chosen to complement the coat and trousers than to contrast with them. They tend to be brighter early in the period and become more subdued over time.

Shirt:
Shirts are of white linen or cotton and blousy, with buttons at the neck and wrists. The collars are high and worn turned up to cover the neck, and often the jaw-line as well. The neck openings are frequently decorated with ruffles, but these become less common later in the period. Cuffs are plain and do not show beyond the sleeves of the coat.

Coat:
Coats can be single or double-breasted, although double-breasted coats predominate by about four or five to one. They descend in front only to the natural waistline (i.e., about to the navel). They are uniformly cut so that the tails descend directly from the back panels; that is, there is no waist seam at the back, unlike modern tailcoats. Collars and lapels can be of moderate width or very wide. Especially early in the Regency, they are often arranged to stand up around the face and neck, but tend to lie flatter as time goes on. Sleeves are long, and the cuffs cover the base of the hand nearly as far as the thumb-joint. Earlier coats have scooped waistlines, in which the tails curve downward from a horizontal or slightly curved front edge. Later ones develop perfectly straight waistlines from which the tails descend at an angle. Coat fabrics are most often fine wool broadcloths, but can be silks or linens. If there is a pattern, it is small-scale and uniform—small windowpane patterns and strongly ribbed silks survive—but most coats are plain. Collars are occasionally faced with velvet. Buttons are flat and may match the coat’s fabric or be made of smooth metal.

Breeches or Trousers:
Breeches are prescribed for evening wear. They are close-fitting, with much less fullness in the seat than earlier eighteenth-century examples (although, especially early, the crotch can be just as tight), and with higher waistlines, which should come to the natural waist or just above it. The waistband and top of the fall should be hidden by the waistcoat. The back of the waistband may have laces for a precise fit. The legs descend to just below the knees and are buttoned. There may be supplemental ribbon ties or straps with knee-buckles. The front is closed with a flap called a fall, rather than a fly as in modern trousers, which is not fashionable at this time. Falls are commonly narrow (as opposed to the broad-fall fronts of the late eighteenth century), with the fall covering about half the breeches’ front width. The fall may be set quite high, so that only the bottom corners of the opening appear below the waistcoat. Falls get narrower over time.
 
Trousers initially resemble breeches, being tight through the thighs and knees, and continuing into close-fitting lower legs, almost as if the idea were to make breeches with attached stockings. Stirrup-straps are common on narrow trousers meant to be worn inside boots. Later in the Regency, trousers get wider, and can be quite full by the end of the period. Trousers worn with shoes commonly fall only to the ankles, rather than resting on the shoe-tops as modern examples do. Cuffs are not worn. Breeches and trousers can be made of fine wool broadcloths or linens. Leather, particularly doeskin, breeches are also seen, and are especially prized by fashionable young men because they can be soaked and shrunken on to the body, making them skin-tight. Buttons, like those on coats and waistcoats, may be covered in fabric matching that of the breeches or trousers or may be of smooth metal. Breeches seem to have metal buttons somewhat more often than other garments, as do the breeches belonging to the three-piece suit in the image above right.

top-boot photograph courtesy of
S.B. Juniper Handsewn Boots and Shoes

It is very fashionable to wear equestrian or military boots with daytime clothing. Two of the most widespread styles are cuffed riding boots, called top boots—almost exactly like today’s jockey boots—and Hessian boots, which feature a high, notched front, a dip in back, and colored trim along the upper edge. Boots rarely reach as high as the knees; they most often come just above mid-calf, or slightly higher. They are usually worn with close-fitting trousers, but may be worn with breeches. When they are, the stockings show between the knees of the breeches and the tops of the boots. While not in fact appropriate for evening wear, and potentially difficult to dance in, boots will give an iconically Regency appearance. (The author plans to wear his to the upcoming ball.)

Hessian-boot photograph courtesy of
S.B. Juniper Handsewn Boots and Shoes

Stockings, especially when worn with breeches, are usually white silk, cotton, or very fine wool, and are always opaque. The stockings’ tops are held in place by the knee-fastenings of the breeches or, perhaps, by tied garters under the breeches or trousers. Garters do not clearly appear in contemporary illustrations. Some images show bands or ribbons that appear to be ties at the knees of breeches, but may actually be the ends of garters projecting from beneath the breeches; in any case these bands match the breeches. When not white the stockings will occasionally match the breeches in color.
 
For gloves, white kid leather is most popular; other pale, neutral colors, such as taupe, pale gray, and pale yellow are also worn.

Hats and Overcoats:
These are not worn indoors at a ball. For traveling to the ball, a very popular style of hat is an early top-hat, with a narrow to moderate brim and a tapered crown. A caped overcoat called a garrick, named for the Shakespearean actor, is fashionable. It can have up to five layered capes on the shoulders and a long, wide body, cut straight from armpits to just above the ankles, almost in an A-line pattern—though it is belted just under the armpits to give the typical Regency high-waisted silhouette.