I am increasingly being asked to review books on the Georgian period and I'm very happy to do so.  Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen is written by Sarah Jane Downing and published by Shire Books.

The fashions and conventions of the Regency period hold a special place in the hearts of many as a time of femininity and delicate entertainments.  Downing's book is a slim volume, running to 63 pages and lavishly illustrated with a fine cross-section of illustrations from the period.  She has chosen well, and her examples are apposite and appealing in the context of her writing.  She ties the life of Austen into the events happening in Britain and abroad, and how they affected the fashions and social lives of Regency men and women.

This is definitely a book for Austen fans, and devotees of the Regency period.  It is written with a light touch and an eye to the realities of dressing in fine and costly fabrics.  The attention to menswear is particularly interesting.  I was also taken with the reference to Rousseau's theories about childhood freedom and how it affected clothes for children.

Whilst clearly passionate about her subject, Downing is not above bringing in the voice of the satirists who mocked the fashionable.  This is a valuable little volume for anyone interested in Regency costume, and very handy for anyone writing about the period: both distracting and informative.

Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen is available from Shire Books, and Amazon, RRP £5.99