Fashioning Regulation Regulating Fashion The Uniforms and Dress of the British Army 1800-1815 Volume II

The second part of an investigation into the clothing orders of the late-Georgian British Army, combined and contrasted with an analysis of fashion in the same army - comparing the regulated dress with the 'modes of the army' as revealed by contemporary writing and illustrations. The first quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed a refinement of fashionable masculine dress that has not since been surpassed. Military tailoring inspired a flowering of uniform splendour that continued into the 1830s and sparked an enduring fascination with military costume that still rages today. The army that operated in these cumbersome uniforms managed to achieve fame as one of the most effective British fighting forces ever recognised, and is still remembered and honoured for its achievements. These three strands: the flowering of late Georgian civilian tailoring; of its martial equivalent; and of military excellence on campaign, have gripped the interest and the imagination of the public, and are endlessly revived and recycled through popular culture, on television, film, through books and all of the other new media. The reader then might properly ask why another book on uniforms of this period is necessary. Quite simply, it is because the amount of material available to the researcher has increased exponentially since the advent of the internet, especially in regard to the now widely available digital archive files of institutional collections. The huge amount of accessible material makes the task of assembling accurate information much longer and much harder, but the results are consequentially more satisfying and accurate than hitherto. This, the second of two books on the topic, pays particular attention to the ’Prince’s Regulations,’ of 1812, which exhibit the full extent of the Prince Regent’s excursions into military taste.

"....Fashioning Regulation, Regulating Fashion will become the standard reference on its subject and it belongs on or near the desk of any person with a professional interest in the British army of the Napoleonic period. Highly recommended." The Napoleon Series

"...this two volume study is without a doubt the best, most substantial antiquarian contribution to this field by far in unearthing so much obscure information, especially its rich, archival trove, and could only be superseded by a Herculean effort of many decades of research for rare titbits of information from a monumentally diverse range of sources. This work is essential for connoisseurs, collectors, antiquarians, reenactors, sophisticated costumers, and scholars." The Journal of Dress History

"Townsend’s work fulfills the role of a comprehensive reference splendidly, and I think Fashioning
Regulation, Regulating Fashion will become the standard reference on its subject. It belongs on or near the desk of anyone with a professional interest in the British army of the Napoleonic period. Highly recommended." The Fife & Drum Journal