Jane Austen might have been born 251 years ago, but her depictions of relationships, class, and the domestic minutiae of the human condition have never lost an ounce of appeal. Fans who toasted to last year’s re-release of the beloved 2005 cinematic adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, can now rejoice again with October’s official release of Sense and Sensibility, starring Daisy Edgar Jones. The author’s return to theaters sent me into the Vogue Runway archive to see how contemporary designers continue to return to the airy silhouettes of Austen’s Regency era. In her day, neo-classical forms of dress were distilled into light, straight-lined garments featuring empire (a reference to Napoleon) waists. These high-waisted dresses with open necklines emphasized the décolleté or “Regency” shelf—as seen in the Vogue x Dôen collaboration—and are a contrast to the structural, boxy silhouettes we see on the runways today, though fluid slim suiting that’s crept back in could make a case for the beautiful style’s return. What’s appealing about Regency style now is that it accommodates the natural body. Austen’s women might have worn corsets, but they weren’t tightly laced, and no crinolines or panniers prevented them from getting through doors or walking on heaths. The author’s interest was not body modification, but transformations of the mind and heart, especially ones that make them open to love.
