The Beau Monde Soiree

I’m going to stray a bit from the typical Tuesday Regency Primer post, today. Last week, I attended the annual National Conference for the Romance Writers of America. The day before the official conference started, my online chapter The Beau Monde held its annual mini-conference which included breakfast, a general meeting, a variety of workshops. But the best part of the day was the Beau Monde soiree that evening, complete with refreshments, period dancing and card tables.

I managed to miss the breakfast and general meeting but made it for Candice Hern‘s workshop on Accessories in Regency Era fashion prints for everything from bonnets and caps to ridicules to muffs and shawls. I loved how it was organized by year and we got to see how the styles changed over the years. Everyone was laughing over the bonnet brims that looked like mail boxes around 1807.

After that, came lunch and Delilah Marvelle (she of the A Bit o’ Muslin blog fame) was our keynote speaker. Her story was amazing and emotional, but while I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room, she also inspired and encouraged each of us to work through our struggles and convinced us that they can only make us stronger, as people, as writers.

After lunch, Isobel Carr’s presentation was on How Clothes Worked, and included a bit of show and tell. She passed around a pair of stays, which really were nothing more than a long bra/foundation and were much softer in construction than I had originally imagined, except for the busk (the ivory, bone, or metal insert that insisted on correct posture at all times). When we got to gowns, the static photo of an apron-front or drop-front gown with its multiple layers and numerous ties proved too much for pictures and a simple verbal explanation.

Delilah volunteered to be dressed in one that Isobel had brought along. Her white dress caused a few to remark how she already had her chemise on and would be perfect for the part. The inner bodice pieces tied in the front in a double-breasted fashion. Then, the front of the gown has two long ties that go around the back and tie in the front, but get tucked inside the front of the gown.

Finally, the part hanging down like a bib at that point, would be pulled up over those ties and the inner bodice pieces and pinned into place. This, Isobel explained, was most likely the type of gown worn by ladies who needed to dress themselves and the most easily lent type as it was very forgiving in matters of size, although length was more of an issue for Delilah than anything else. If you see the dress in pictures from the soiree, another member, Suzy Kue, is wearing the dress. She’s much taller than Delilah and said she was taking notes on what all she could and couldn’t do while wearing the stays with the busk under the dress.

That evening, we regathered for a soiree. As all good ton events must be, this was quite the crush. A dance mistress was brought in to teach and lead several country dances while a string ensemble played in the corner. Several tables were set up around the room and multiple games of cards ensued. A table of refreshments was also provided, and thankfully not a drop of weak lemonade was in sight.

Actually playing whist against three other humans instead of computer AI’s was exciting. Next time, I definitely need to be able to describe the why’s and how’s of strategy while playing, otherwise it’s a bit much like a modern game of SlapJack to see who had the highest card and take the trick. But all in all, it was a fantastic experience to be surrounded not only by over 2000 romance writers, but to mingle, rub elbows and socialize with that many Regency Romance writers who all had similar knowledge and appreciation for the genre.