During the Regency era, men wore elegantly cut single- or double-breasted tail-coats and long trousers known as pantaloons with either hessian boots or buckled shoes. For more casual wear or for riding, they wore breeches with top-boots. Men’s shirts were white, their waistcoats colourful and elegant, and their neckcloths – which had been brought into fashion by the Prince Regent when he was Prince of Wales – were considered de rigueur and could be tied in a variety of styles.
The best-dressed men followed the great arbiter of fashion Beau Brummell’s example and wore elegantly-cut coats, fresh linen and only a minimum of jewellery. A fob, a signet ring, perhaps a quizzing-glass on a neat black ribbon around one’s neck and a perfectly tied neckcloth – these were the signs of a true man of fashion.
Jennifer Kloester, March 2024