The contemporary artist said she was also inspired by fashion depicted in The Lady’s Magazine, a popular women’s title which Austen read and took embroidery patterns from.
The magazine ran from 1770 until 1832, and contained fiction, poetry, essays, news, and articles on fashion and music.
Research by the University of York has underscored how influential The Lady’s Magazine was at the time, and how much it was valued by Austen.
Professor Jennie Batchelor, from the department of English and Related Literature, said: “Austen has pulled many aspects of the magazine into her novels, which included character names and even the title of one her most popular works, Sense and Sensibility.
“Lela and I discussed a fashion plate, featured in the magazine in1819, called ‘sea-side walking dress’.
“Although the image was printed a couple of years after Austen’s death, in 1817, it was typical of the fashionable styles of the late 1810s.”