'There are definitely some people who think we are a bit weird’: Jane Austen superfans at a festival celebrating the author last year As Netflix’s new period drama Bridgerton takes over our screens, Hanna Woodside meets the Regency superfans for whom bonnets, balls and clip-on ringlets really are a way of life 'I feel naked if I don’t wear a top hat – I can’t leave the house without one,’ says 26-year-old Zack Pinsent. Having shunned modern clothing as a teenager (symbolically throwing his last pair of jeans on a bonfire aged 14 in favour of wearing his great-grandfather’s old suits), Zack has dressed in full Regency attire every day for the past decade. These include breeches, waistcoat, tailcoat, wool cloak and, of course, a top hat. ‘I’m very fond of a cane, too,’ he adds. ‘Accessories are the cherry on the cake of authenticity.’ Zack’s version of loungewear is an 18th-century banyan – a sort of silky dressing gown for men. This year, to stay Covid-safe, he’s sewn fabric face masks with prints from the 1770s.