Fashion in Film: Pride and Prejudice

I'm sure you're familiar with the story of Pride and Prejudice. Even if you've never read it or seen an adaptation, the story is a huge part of our culture. It's the ultimate classic novel, and by extension, the ultimate costume drama.

When I say "the ultimate costume drama," I'm of course referring to the 1995 adaptation, in all its five-hour, Colin Firth-y glory. My mom was the one who got me started on this adaptation when I was just a wee child. I've since seen it upwards of twenty times. Not to toot my own horn, but I can also quote pretty much every scene word-for-word. It's the film that got me started on Jane Austen, and it's been a big part of my life for a long time. It's our feel-good movie. Whenever we're having a bad day, we pop in the disc and watch an hour of it here or there. It doesn't even matter whether we watch it in order or not. We're sucked into the beautiful story every time.

So, without further adieu, let's take a look at the costumes worn by that singular, indefatigable, beloved Austen heroine, Elizabeth Bennet.

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If you're a fan of reading IMDb trivia pages like I am, you'll know that the BBC loves to reuse costumes. The page for pretty much every British period drama has a piece of trivia that reads like this:

The green striped gown with velvet Spencer jacket Anna Chancellor (Caroline Bingley) wears at Netherfield Hall is the same costume worn by Julia Davis (Elizabeth Elliot) at Kellynch Hall in Persuasion, Vicki Pepperdine (Ann Dobbin) in the park scenes in Vanity Fair, and an extra at the London party where Annabella Milbanke meets Byron in Byron. The Spencer also appears, without the striped gown, in Little Dorrit, worn by Emma Pierson as Fanny Dorrit. 

 This means that several of the costume pieces in Pride and Prejudice weren't built specifically for the production. The real design of the costume lies in how the designer selects, matches, and styles the various pieces. Let's take a look.

The first time we meet Lizzy is when she's on a walk near her home. She's wearing a simple day dress, a structured spencer jacket, and a bonnet. This scene and her outfit set the tone for her character- she's outdoorsy, adventurous, and free-spirited, but still sensible and put-together. Lizzy's costumes, unlike those worn by the ladies around her, aren't fussy in the least. This sets her apart from the other women and shows her independent nature. We'll see several variations on the dress, spencer, and bonnet combo as the story progresses.

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I especially love this pelisse.

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Elizabeth's day dresses are equally simple. They're usually white or have some sort of subtle pattern (as seen in the image above), and they show her no-nonsense personality well. Check out the image below and compare Lizzy with the rest of her sisters. She's the only one who isn't wearing a pattern, and her dress is a demure cream color.

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One of Elizabeth's more elaborate day dresses is also my favorite. The coral dress she wears at Netherfield is one of my favorite Regency costumes of all time. The cheery color compliments her well, and it's very vibrant compared to the rest of her relatively tame wardrobe.

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Of course, no analysis of Elizabeth's costumes would be complete without the iconic white ballgown that she wears at the Netherfield ball.

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This is pretty much your textbook Regency era ballgown. White was a popular color for young women because it looked great in candlelight. The short sleeves and gloves line up with both the fashion and the etiquette of the time. The one thing that makes this outfit stand out is her floral ribbon crown. Yet again, we see something that's beautiful in its simplicity, and some very smart fashion choices on Lizzy's part.

To round it all out, we have the final scene of the mammoth drama, in which Lizzy and Darcy get married.

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It looks like Lizzy's wearing a long-sleeved white gown with pleating and buttons on the bodice, and some sort of white pelisse on top. Elizabeth and Jane are both wearing white, which I've touched on before, and it's interesting to see how both of their wedding gowns express their personalities. Elizabeth's is simple and structured, while Jane's has demure lace accents and a more feminine cut.

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That wraps up this week's Fashion in Film post! It's been so fun to write about one of my family's favorite films, especially on the day before Thanksgiving. I hope you have a lovely holiday, and I'll see you next week. God bless.

Bonus Round: Check out this amazing analysis of different adaptations of the Netherfield ball. It has some great info on Regency era fashion and ballroom etiquette.

Wheels in Motion- the 1820's

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I'll be honest, this week I completely expected to write a blog post that ridiculed the 1820's for their puffy sleeves and silly amounts of accessories. Boy, was I wrong. While it's true that I still prefer the naturalistic simplicity of 1790-1810, I've really come to appreciate the grandeur and opulence of 1820's fashion.

And I've also discovered that the 1830's are WAY more ridiculous than the 1820's. Just you wait 'till next week.

A breathtaking gown from the beginning of the decade. Check out the empire waist, trims, and sleeves.

At the beginning of the decade, the empire waist was still popular.  During the first half of the decade, there were slight changes, but nothing too drastic until about 1825, when natural waistlines came into fashion.

Another early decade ballgown. The waistline is a little lower than usual, but not quite at the natural waist.

By the end of the decade, long, large sleeves were the norm for daywear, skirts were fuller, and waists were lower. Necklines on daywear shot up. Mustard yellow was a popular color, and bolder prints came into fashion, as shown below.

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One thing I'm noticing as I leaf through fashion plates of the 1820's is that trims seem to be subduing ever so slightly. Maybe it's just me, but it looks like the trims are going back to the same color as the main garment, and are disappearing from some garments altogether, instead of being on EVERYTHING as in the later half of the 1810's. By the 1830's and 1840's, they'll disappear completely.

We still have a three-dimensional trim here, but it's only on the hem and the same color as the rest of the dress.

Hairstyles also saw a change near the middle of the decade. I mentioned in last week's post that a new trend in hair was curls worn near the temples to frame the face. As the decade wore on, these curls became more and more voluminous, and something that I can only describe as "tall hair loopies" (hey there, Avatar fans) were worn on the back of the head.

The two images in the middle are good examples of early and mid-late decade styles, respectively.

An early-mid decade hairstyle. Note the tiny hair loops in the back. On the clothing front, check out the mustard yellow, embroidered trim, and patterned shawl.

A closer look at bigger curls on either side of the head.

Next week, everything gets just a little more ridiculous. Hairstyles, hair accessories, hats, and sleeves will only get wackier as we venture into the 1830's and I start to reference "Wives and Daughters." 

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The Age of the Detail- The 1810's

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So you may have noticed over the past few decades that there hasn't been very much change in the way of fashion. Empire waists are still the norm, and fabrics, hairstyles, and accessories have only changed in very subtle ways. This is for the simple reason that the world has always taken its fashion from France, and France is a little busy right now.

Instead of drastic changes in the shape and fabric of garments like those that took place in the 1790's and are to come in the 1820's and 30's, the changes that took place in fashion in the 1800's and 10's are much more subtle and miniscule. Hairstyles stayed pretty static during the first few decades of the century, but during the late 1800's and 1810's there came the trend of wearing curls over the ears.

Sported here by Louise Dylan portraying Harriet Smith.

This style would lay the groundwork for increasingly elaborate and ridiculous hairstyles in the 1820's and 30's. Anyone who has seen an adaptation of "Wives and Daughters" knows what I'm talking about.

One thing that I keep noticing as I research the 1810's is the advent of the trim. 

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Dresses from the beginning of the decade, like the one shown above, seem to have light, embroidered trims around the skirt. White-on-white embroidery was very popular near the beginning of the century.

As the decade wears on, trims seem to become more three-dimensional, and in different colors from the main garment. Trims took many forms, such as ruffles and flower accents.

Kumbaya. A ruffled trim.

 A floral accent trim. The skirts seem to be getting slightly fuller as the decade wears on.

By the end of the decade, trim wasn't just on the edge of the skirt, but on sleeves, spencers, shoulders, necklines, and as shown in the image below, bonnets.

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I mentioned in last week's post that one of my first impressions of the decade was that it was "The Age of the Accessory." It might have been more appropriate to dub it "The Age of the Detail." This is because it seems like elaborate hats, color coordinated walking ensembles, ruffles, bows, and other bibs and bobs that were still part of the garment were more popular than ever, replacing the straightforward, natural simplicity of the late 1790's and early 1800's. This was helped along by Napoleon's defeat in 1815, which freed up France's fashionable future.

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As French travel and trade became safe and politically correct once again, this change to more glamour and frippery would continue to increase. The ever-turning wheels of fashion evolution were once again in motion. As we venture into the 1820's, we'll begin to see an age where the hair accessory is king (queen?) and The Fall of the Empire Waistline (insert thunderclap).