One of my favorite eras in history is the Regency. I love the clothing styles--the delicate slipper shoes, the elegant bonnets, the silk stockings. Even the hair ribbons and small purses called reticules. While I found clothing styles to be easy to research, I had to dig deeper to learn about colors. Below is a list of colors used during the Regency.
PINKS
Pink
Rose
Blush - pale pink
Laylock - warm pink
PURPLES
Amaranth - purple‐red with a pink tint
Amethyst - light purple
Deep Violet
Lilac
Purple
Violet - parma violet
BLUES
Azure - bright, sky blue
Bishop's Blue - blue/purple
Cerulean Blue - a bluish green color during the Regency (not the sky blue we think of today)
Spanish Blue - dark blue, used for men's coats
GREENS
American Green - bright green
Bottle Green - dark green with a hint of blue
Emerald Green - a bluish green color made from a copper arsenic compound. Yes, it was poisonous, but not known to be at the time
Green
Pea-green
Pistache/Pistachio - light green
Pomona - Apple green
YELLOWS
Bois de Citron - a yellow green
Canary yellow - bright yellow
Evening Primrose - deeper yellow than Primrose
Fawn - a light yellow‐tan
Jonquil - daffodil yellow
Primrose - soft yellow
Yellow
REDS / ORANGES / BROWNS
Brown
Capucine - dark orange
Coquelicot - named after the Poppy flower
Devonshire Brown - rich reddish brown
Garnet - same as today
Hazelnut - reddish‐brown
Pompeian Red - the deep red color
Poussiere de Paris - light brown
Puce - brownish-purple/purplish-pink
Sorrel - cinnamon color
Scarlet
Egytian Earth-Brown
MISC.
Black
Manilla - light, hemp brown
Nakara - pearl color
Slate - a dark gray/stone gray
Steel‐grey - a metallic blackish gray
Straw - the golden beige hue
White
Resources: A Lady of Fashion - Barbara Johnson's Album of Styles and Fabrics; Sandra Brands Regency Clothing Workshop; The Regency Companion by Laudermilk and Hamlin
Their clothes might not be so eye popping but they still had nice clothes during those days.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Savannah! I love the simplicity of the Greek-style gowns of the Regency. Plus, I think the gowns of this time-period were very feminine. But I do agree, they were not as eye popping as, say, Tudor gowns or Victorian.
ReplyDeleteI think the Regency 'togas' were the most fashionable thing EVER! If only we could recreate that beauty nowadays! I remember seeing that baggy popsocks are in fashion- what is the world coming to! :O
DeleteI love the names they have for the different colors. I need a list like this for the 18th century. :)
ReplyDeleteShelley, there are colors in my research books I didn't put on this list because they were 18th century. Email me through my website on the contact section of the bio page and I'll put together a list of colors from my research files.
DeleteI agree w/Shelley. The names of the colors are beautiful. Great resource:-)
ReplyDeleteSweet! I bookmarked this for future reference! ;o) Thanks for providing it!
ReplyDeleteVery fun post. I like the names of the colors.
ReplyDeleteI just found this. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCan I use the blues picture for a book cover please?
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. womens distressed joggers
ReplyDelete