The Clothing of a Regency Poet, Lord Byron (1788–1824)

Abstract

Byron was a best-selling poet and a celebrity with a notorious reputation. This article seeks to examine how his public image and private person were related, the part clothing played in the projection of his public image, and the degree of control he exerted over his body and his self-image. The article examines a number of sources relating to Lord Byron — his journals and letters, his poetry and public output, biographies, bills and accounts, paintings and illustrations, and the surviving clothing associated with the poet. From these a clothing narrative of the poet's early life, up until the time of his departure for Europe in 1816, can be constructed and examined in relation to the fashions of his era and the idiosyncrasies of the poet. Some of the surviving clothes are examined for their cut and construction and discussed in relation to others of the period. A companion article, dealing with his life abroad until the time of his death in 1824, will follow at a later date.