Planning a visit to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath this September?
Here's how to create your own Regency-inspired look, from dresses and bonnets to feathers, hair accessories and those all-important finishing touches.
Every September, Bath takes a step back in time as Jane Austen enthusiasts from around the world gather in the city for the annual Jane Austen Festival.
The 2026 festival takes place from 11th–20th September, with ten days of Regency-themed events, talks, workshops, balls, excursions and activities throughout Bath and the surrounding area.
One of the highlights for many visitors is the famous Grand Regency Costumed Promenade, when hundreds of Regency-clad participants make their way through the city.
If you're attending for the first time, you may be wondering exactly what you should wear.
The good news is that you don't necessarily need to create an elaborate historical costume from head to toe.
Whether you're looking for a historically inspired ensemble or simply want to add a touch of Regency elegance to a modern outfit, the accessories can make all the difference.
Start with the Regency silhouette
The instantly recognisable Regency silhouette is characterised by a high waistline, with the waist sitting just beneath the bust and a long, flowing skirt falling towards the ankle.
For daytime, dresses generally had longer sleeves, while evening dresses could have shorter sleeves and more open necklines.
Fichus, shawls and chemisettes could also be used to complete an outfit and provide additional coverage.
You don't necessarily have to reproduce a dress exactly as it would have appeared in 1810, however.
A simple empire-line or Regency-inspired dress can provide the perfect foundation, particularly when combined with carefully chosen accessories.
And that is where the fun really begins.
Don't forget the headwear
If you're creating a Regency look, what you wear on your head is one of the most important finishing touches.
Bonnets were an important part of women's fashion during the Regency period, but they weren't the only option.
Fashion plates from the period show a variety of hats, caps and elaborate headwear, often decorated with ribbons, flowers, lace and feathers.
Ostrich feathers were also used to decorate fashionable headwear during the period, making feathers a particularly lovely way to bring a little Regency drama to your outfit.
For a traditional Regency impression, a bonnet is an obvious choice.
But if a full bonnet isn't quite your style, a Regency-inspired feathered headpiece or hair accessory can create a wonderfully dramatic alternative.
Bonnets, turbans or a statement headpiece?
The Jane Austen Festival itself recognises just how important headwear is to completing a Regency outfit.
The 2026 programme even includes a dedicated Bonnet and Turban Workshop, giving visitors the opportunity to explore Regency-inspired headwear for themselves.
A bonnet gives you that instantly recognisable Regency silhouette, while a turban-inspired style can create a softer and more exotic look.
For something a little more theatrical, try a feathered headpiece worn high on the side or towards the back of the head.
This works particularly well with an updo, allowing the feathers to create height and movement without requiring you to wear a full bonnet.
It's also a lovely option if you're attending the festival but don't want to dress in a complete historical costume.
Feathers, ribbons, pearls and flowers
Regency fashion was all about the details.
Ribbons, flowers, lace, feathers, pearls and decorative jewellery can transform a relatively simple outfit into something much more elaborate.
A pale blue feather, for example, can pick up the colour of a sash or ribbon, while pearls provide a timeless finishing touch. Soft pinks, ivory, blues, greens and deeper jewel shades can all work beautifully with Regency-inspired clothing.
You don't have to match everything perfectly.
In fact, choosing one or two colours and repeating them through your dress, hair accessories, jewellery or reticule can often create a more convincing overall look.
What about the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade?
If you're taking part in the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade, it's worth paying particular attention to the dress requirements.
The 2026 promenade takes place on Saturday 12th September, beginning at the Royal Crescent. Regency costume is mandatory for participants, so this is the perfect opportunity to embrace the full Regency look.
The promenade takes place outdoors, so practical considerations matter too. Comfortable shoes, weather-appropriate clothing and a few practical extras can make the difference between enjoying the experience and spending the day worrying about your outfit.
And remember — Regency fashion can be beautiful and practical.
Regency style doesn't have to mean historical accuracy
One of the things I love about the Jane Austen Festival is seeing how differently people interpret Regency fashion.
Some visitors recreate historical clothing with incredible attention to detail. Others take inspiration from the period and create something that is much more wearable today.
Both approaches can be beautiful.
You might choose a historically inspired empire-line gown with a bonnet and reticule, or simply wear a flowing dress with Regency-style accessories and a dramatic feathered headpiece.
There is no need to feel intimidated if you're new to Regency dressing.
Start with one element that you love and build from there.
A little Regency drama
For me, this is where a statement headpiece really comes into its own.
A beautifully placed feather can completely change an outfit, adding height, movement and a little theatricality without requiring a complicated costume.
My Austen Regency-inspired headpieces were created with this in mind.
The design is a dramatic feathered hair clip inspired by the elegant plume-style headwear of the Regency era, combining feathers, lace, ribbon, pearls and decorative details into a wearable accessory.
Each headpiece is handmade in Somerset and designed to sit high on the side or back of the head, creating that wonderfully dramatic Regency silhouette.
The Austen is now being made in a growing range of colours, from soft romantic shades through to deeper blues and dramatic black.
They are particularly suited to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, but can also be worn for Regency balls, historical events, afternoon teas, period-inspired weddings, garden parties and other occasions where you want to add a little Regency glamour.
A Bath connection
For me, creating Regency-inspired headpieces for the Jane Austen Festival has an especially personal connection.
I was born and raised in Bath, and have a lifelong connection with the city and its history.
Bath has such an important place in the world of Jane Austen, and the city's beautiful Georgian architecture provides the perfect setting for stepping back into the Regency era.
I'm also a Somerset-based milliner and have been making hats and headpieces for many years, so creating a collection inspired by Regency fashion feels like a very natural meeting of my love of Bath, historical fashion and millinery.
My interest in Bath's fashion history has also led me to research the city's historic milliners and dressmakers.
In fact, while researching the fascinating story of the Silk Ladies, women who worked as milliners and dressmakers in Bath, I found myself drawn even further into the history of the women who made and sold fashionable clothing and accessories in the city.
It's one of the things I particularly love about historical research — discovering those connections between the women who worked with fashion in Bath two hundred years ago and the people still creating beautiful things here today.
Creating your Regency look
If you're planning your outfit for Bath this September, my advice is simple:
Choose the elements you love.
Start with your dress or skirt, add your accessories, think about your hairstyle and then choose your headwear to bring everything together.
Whether that's a traditional bonnet, an elegant turban, a scattering of ribbons and flowers or a dramatic plume of feathers, your headwear can be the finishing touch that makes the whole outfit come alive.
And if you're heading to Bath for the Jane Austen Festival this year, don't be afraid to embrace a little Regency drama.
After all, when else do you get the chance to dress up and promenade through Bath as though you've stepped straight into the pages of a Regency novel?
Planning your Regency outfit for Bath?
Explore my Austen Regency Headpiece Collection, handmade in Somerset and inspired by the elegant fashions of Jane Austen's era.
Please note: the Austen headpieces are Regency-inspired contemporary accessories rather than historical reproductions, created for modern wear and historical events.
Regency Vintage Inspired Hairpieces Feathers Headpieces Handmade uk – Indigo Daisy Designs
The Silk Ladies of the Ballastrade - London Road Bath - Haunting
Image Sources - Fashion Plate (Evening or Full Dress), Rudolph Ackermann, 1810. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, public domain.
Costumes Parisiens, 1812. Palais Galliera, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris. CC0.
Royal Crescent - Rare Old Prints/ Bath History & Mystery