The Kerry Taylor Auction House recently had an incredible collection of Regency era garments up for sale. The Barreto Lancaster Collection of Napoleonic and Regency Dress was auctioned on February 11, 2025. Many of us were already familiar with these gorgeous garments and accessories prior to the auction, thanks to a prior book by the collectors who owned the collection- “Napoleon & the Empire of Fashion: 1795-1815” by Cristina Barreto and Martin Lancaster (now out of print).
At this time, you can still access the amazing images, including some delicious close-up shots, of the garments here, with realized auction prices.
Since so many garments from the era were auctioned at one time, and in light of the global financial hardships of present, I didn’t expect the prices to go too crazy. Boy, was I wrong.
Lot 13 – A rare embroidered linon ‘Merveilleuse’ gown, Went for a shocking £297,600 plus buyer’s premium of 25%, plus vat. That makes it about $468,543 USD plus vat (if applicable). Image Source: Kerry Taylor Auctions.
What makes this dress extra special? It is an incredibly rare survivor of the just post-revolution fashion movement for Merveilleuse and Incroyables.
These gowns were *intentionally scandalous*, with breasts often exposed. They purposefully were trying to evoke classical sculpture, and the transparent cotton was sometimes even dampened to cling to the figure even more.
Luckily, the auction house included this painting in the listing, for reference. Though no provenance for the gown is given, you can see it has a similar styling.
Portrait of a Young Woman in White (c. 1798) by Jacques Louis David
The English, of course, loved to mock the style, as show this Cruikshank illustration:
Paris Ladies in their Winter dress (1799) by Isaac Cruikshank.
Other garments also caught higher prices, like this plaid (which is one of my particular favorites:
Lot 115: A tartan bombazine carriage dress, probably Scottish, circa 1817. Image Source: Kerry Taylor Auctions
Sold for £93,000, plus 25% buyers premium, plus vat.
Besides the realized prices, what is equally amazing is the fact that these gowns were from the private collection of two collectors. How incredible to have sourced so many gowns and accessories from such a specific period! I read somewhere that the collection was started by finding a gown at a flea market. Now, according to an Instagram comment, many will go into the hands of museums, where they can be studied and enjoyed as part of exhibitions and collections.
It will be interesting to see where these pieces pop up in the future.
Please do go check out the catalog of images while you still can. The close ups are Merveilleuse (pardon the play on words).
Side Note: Do go check out Cristina Barreto-Lancaster’s Instagram page. Christina is also a costumer and historical reenactor, so it’s lovely to see the work which was based on research through the collection.