So far I think the newspaper articles on fashion in Bath are particularly interesting. With their focus on Indian muslin, they show how Bath’s growing consumer culture was tied to imports from other parts of the world. Moreover, these fashion columns also underscore the importance of female fashion in Regency England. The fact that The Bath Chronicle had a monthly column instructing women on what to wear suggests the presence of rigid dress standards for some classes of women. Jane Austen ambiguously addresses these standards in Northanger Abbey as well as the consumption of clothes and shopping.
- Henry Tilney and “True Indian Muslin,” Tilney as a “better shopper” than Mrs. Allen
- Catherine saying fashion is a “frivolous distinction”