Muff’s the Word!   by Regina Scott

As we move inexorably toward the winter months, choosing just the right accessories to keep our hands warm, snug and fashionable as we prepare for our outdoor activities is an important part of our toilet. But what about our Regency ancestors? What kinds of accessories did those ladies choose as they prepared for a walk or a drive in the frosty winter air?

In today’s article, award-winning romance author and past Beau Monde President, Regina Scott tells us about a lady’s accessory which might well have multiple purposes. How will you answer the questions she poses at the end of her article?


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Here it’s turned unseasonably warm (nearly 60 degrees F!), and our rivers runneth over. I’ve been able to don my sweater coat instead of my usual ski parka (I don’t ski, I just parka). But about this time in nineteenth century England, young ladies of fashion would be sporting that essential fashion accessory, the muff.

Period print with two ladies standing, one holding a muff in one hand, the other has both hands in her muff.

They certainly look warm enough! Muffs might be made of fur such as fox, mink, or ermine; feathers like swan’s down; or shirred silk, lined with satin or flannel and liberally padded. The idea was that you slipped your hands inside to keep them toasty. And not just when you were outside. Muffs could be carried anywhere—from the family sitting room to the opera.

Print of two ladies chatting, with one holding a large muff

Mind you, we’re not talking the little bunny fur purse-size muffs some of us remember from childhood. From 1800 to about 1812, they were huge! You can get an idea of size from the pictures. The only specific dimensions I’ve seen so far indicate that the minimum size would have been about 3 feet wide and 4 feet long. Try lugging that around with you!

Print of a lady wearing a three-quarter length coat and holding a large fur muff

Now, immediately my devious mind starts dishing up delightful ways in which one might use a muff. Marissa’s first-ever post on this blog talked about how young ladies could whap annoying gentlemen with their fans. I think you’d get better umph from a muff. And where else could you stash those love letters from the handsome young lordling where no one else would find them? Need to scream in vexation that your brother gambled away your dowry but don’t want anyone to hear you? Shout in a muff! Need to hide a pistol? Need to hide a body?

How would you use a muff?

© 2009 – 2013 Regina Scott
Originally posted at Nineteen Teen
Posted at The Beau Monde by permission of the author.