Girls Have More Fun, Sometimes

You've read the books: the plucky young heroine has to escape the house or sneak around town and so she dresses up as a boy. Would this work in Regency England? None of the young ladies in La Petite Four has tried it (yet!), but I'm pleased to say I've tried it, for research purposes of course!

You see, every year, writers of romantic books converge on the national conference of Romance Writers of America. One of the highlights for me is the soiree hosted by the Beau Monde, the Regency chapter. Something about dancing makes the Regency come alive for me. Even when everyone is wearing modern clothing, I fancy I can still see the glitter of jewels, hear the whisper of fine silk. When so many of our members dress up Regency style, it's even easier to pretend I've been transported to my favorite time period. The sole problem has been the singular lack of gentlemen. It's deucedly hard to flirt when your partner is prettier than you are!

So, I resolved to do something about that problem by coming to the dance as a girl dressed as a man. Would this work for anyone? You be the judge.
   

Anatomically Correct

To start off with, the young lady had better be built for the part. Tiny curvy girls don't make very convincing young men. They don't even make semi-convincing boys. I am tall (5 feet, 9 inches) and slender. I had to use three sets of shoulder pads to give myself a manly appearance, and dressing as Sir Reginald was one of the few times when I considered being poorly endowed a blessing. I've read stories where the busty heroine wraps her bosom flat with bandages of some sort. Ow! Plus it completely destroys the line of the tight-fitting clothes worn in the Regency. It's also a deuced nuisance to put on and take off.

Then there's the issue of hair. It was not unknown, though a bit scandalous, for a girl to have short hair during the Regency. Certainly tousled waves were in style for gentlemen. When I first started dressing as Sir Reginald, I could slick back my Audrey Hepburn bob and push my bangs off my face. A little pomade goes a long way. Now my hair is getting long enough that I may have to get a wig. Forget the part about stuffing long hair up under a hat. You'd have to tip your hat every time you saw a lady. It's just not going to work.
   

Weston Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Even if the young lady is a strapping lass with a small chest, it might not be all that easy to find gentlemanly clothing, particularly in the Regency. Let's face it: she'd have a difficult time waltzing into a men's tailor and asking to be measured. Can you imagine the famous London tailor Weston agreeing to help her? He'd probably call the constables! She also isn't likely to find pre-made outfits. Even if she borrowed the clothes from a friend or relative, she'd probably have to do some sewing to make everything fit properly.

Besides the coat, there's the issue of footwear. One does not wear boots to a ball. It's unlikely that gentlemanly pumps were available in a lady's size. I was lucky that the current style allowed my black leather loafers to approximate Regency pumps. Some stories have the heroine stuffing paper into longer shoes. I bet she was limping at the end of the evening!

Where's that Blasted Valet?

Once the young lady had the clothing, there was the problem of getting into it. The stockings, pants, shirt, and vest would probably be self-explanatory. The cravat is another story. I studied various period pictures of neck cloths as well as descriptions on how to tie them before coming to the conference. Still, as my roommates will attest, Reginald had the devil's own time trying to get the thing to tie properly. He had only one cravat as well, meaning that each time he tried to tie it, the poor cloth grew more wrinkled and limp. Trying to insert a pin into the cravat isn't all that simple either. You have to poke through several layers of cloth that are snug to your neck, without puncturing your throat.
   

Poetry in Motion

Once the young lady was dressed, there was the issue of moving like a gentleman. A young man takes up more space than a demure young lady. His arms hang looser, and his strides are longer. He tends to look people in the eyes, so his chin is raised. He also tends to throw out his chest.

In addition, a man generally has a deeper voice than a woman. My voice is deeper than most women (I sing somewhere between an alto and a baritone), so I only had to drop it a bit to be convincing. A soprano heroine is going to have to work at it. In addition, as women become tenser, they tend to raise the pitch of their voices. That's also going to be a dead giveaway, although I suppose she could always claim she was going through puberty!

All this manly posturing, however, has a decided drawback. By the end of three hours as Reginald, I am generally in pain. My lower back aches, my knees are tender, my neck is tired, and I'm getting hoarse.
   

The Fairer Sex

All in all, I've learned that being a young lady in any period has its benefits. I would much prefer to have a handsome gentleman flirt with me than to be the one to flirt with the ladies. I would rather feel the swirl of satin against my legs than to stride around in pumps or boots. However, Sir Reginald has been such a hit that I haven't been able to leave him home in years. And I must admit, it's kind of fun being the "man" of the house.