The Jane Austen Festival’s Grand Regency Costumed Promenade is not only the centrepiece and official opening of a varied programme of events which entices Jane Austen-loving attendees (fondly known as ‘Janites’) to travel from far and wide, it’s the single most unique event in Bath’s annual calendar of events celebrating food, literature and music, and this year I was determined to find out what it actually feels like to walk through the streets in period dress alongside hundreds of others.
It’s extraordinary to think that the first Jane Austen Festival in 2001 began as a low-key weekend of events at the Jane Austen Centre on Gay Street and has since blossomed into a 10-day programme attracting over 3500 visitors from around the world. But it was the first Regency Costumed Promenade in 2004 that put the Festival firmly on the map, offering devoted Austen readers a glimpse into the pomp and circumstance of the Regency society she portrayed with such wit in her novels. Holder of the Guinness World Record for the ‘largest gathering of people dressed in Regency costume’, the spectacle of over 500 people strolling through the historic streets in period dress is a glorious one, bringing the city to a very merry standstill.
Having lived in Bath for eight years, I was no longer satisfied to be merely one of the crowd of onlookers admiring the flamboyant procession of men, women and children which commences from the handsome Holburne Museum, led by the city’s own Town Crier and a military band whose drum beats, far from being a war-cry, offer a welcome antidote to our busy lives and remind us of an England before technology and the fast-paced way of living we’ve come to know. Although most of the participants are strangers to one another and will probably remain so, there is an atmosphere of community, with a series of guided walks and costumed balls emulating an Austen-inspired social whirl when young ladies used such occasions to seek out a suitor.
I longed to be amongst the ladies resplendent in Empire line dresses and prettily-trimmed bonnets, styles Miss Austen herself would have worn during her time living in Bath, when the elegant rows of honey-coloured Georgian terraces the city is now famed for were still relatively new. Fortunately a good friend, who has lived in the area her whole life, agreed that even if we only ever experienced the Promenade once as costumed participants, it’s something we would remember forever. The slight issue was that, although we’d purchased our Promenade wristbands (paper not plastic I was relieved to find) there was no time to have anything made and we certainly didn’t want to let the side down by wearing something not strictly in keeping.
Getting in touch with the family-run Bath Theatrical Costume Hire about their ‘Regency Experience’ made everything possible. All we needed to do was to email them our measurements to enable them to find suitable styles ahead of our visit to their incredible wardrobe. Although Bath Theatrical can and do mail costumes, the fitting turned out to be an event in itself! Originally based in Bath but now located just outside Frome, stepping into their extraordinary warehouse, filled to the rafters with costumes of all imaginable eras, along with props and accessories, was sheer fantasy. I can well understand why groups hire their Studio for one of their dressing-up packages. You can even bring a picnic along and book professional photography by way of a souvenir.
Owner Rusette explained (not only how I needed to hitch up my bosoms in order to create the right Regency shape) but how addictive people find dressing up. I was already converted and hadn’t had so much fun preparing for an event since I was getting married. Those hiring costumes from Bath Theatrical for the Jane Austen Festival can either have them delivered to their hotel or collect and return costumes to their pop-up shop in the centre of Bath (from 11-21st September). They even have a pop-up hair salon at the same venue to ensure locks are Regency-perfect.
Bath Theatrical Costume Hire also host their own series of events including bonnet, parasol and reticule workshops, afternoon tea canal cruises and a ‘Let’s Talk About Love’ workshop hosted by their very own Queen of all Hearts. Whilst the Jane Austen Festival is one of Bath Theatrical’s busiest fortnights, they host Regency-themed events year-round, along with bespoke group tours, the popularity of which has boomed since the Netflix series Bridgerton (sigh).
Although I’ve been wearing ‘modern’ clothing for some years now, the appeal of Merchant Ivory films such as A Room with a View and Howard’s End established my love of historical costume to such a degree that I dressed as an Edwardian day in, day out during my late teens and early twenties and I wonder if this is what helped me through those difficult years when we all tend to lack confidence in our own skin.
If you’ve ever wanted to spend the day (or week) as someone else and envelope yourself in the sights and senses of another time and place, I can’t imagine a better way to do it than employing the services of the accommodating team at Bath Theatrical Costume Hire. But I warn you, once you have stepped inside their mesmerising costume store, let alone strolled through the streets of Bath in the imaginary footsteps of Elizabeth Bennett or Mr Darcy you will want to do it again. What a ball we had attending our first Grand Regency Costumed Promenade and the joy of no longer being a Jane Austen Festival virgin! What next?
The Jane Austen Festival runs until Sunday 22nd September 2022. For more information on this and next year’s 250th anniversary programme please visit www.janeausten.co.uk. For details of services offered by Bath Theatrical Costume Hire please visit www.baththeatrical.com.
Photography by Ash Lipkin.
