Dressing Case Contents

French Nécessaire de Voyage Contents

The Nécessaire de Voyage was an earlier French equivalent of the English dressing case, often more comprehensively equipped for travel. Larger sets could include kettles with heating burners, tea caddies, tea and coffee pots, cream jugs, sugar bowls, porcelain cups and saucers, sets of cutlery, drinking glasses, as well as sizeable items like silver wash basins, ewers, serving trays and removable candlesticks. READ MORE

Dressing Case Tools and Accessories

Vanity and travelling tools were essential components of most dressing cases. Tools such as scissors, tweezers, nail files, retractable pencils etc, were often present in both ladies and gentlemen’s versions. Gentlemen’s dressing cases might also include cut throat razors, shaving brushes and boot jacks, whereas the ladies equivalents tended to incorporate sewing related tools such as needle cases, crochet hooks, bodkins and thimbles etc. READ MORE

Dressing Case Bottles and Jars

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, dressing case bottles and jars tended to be plainer in appearance, with more emphasis on functionality and practicality. It was really around the Regency period that more attention began to be given to the glassware, as well as their lids and tops. READ MORE