Period drama fashion
Jul. 14th, 2012 12:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
birdienlOver at Elegance of Fashion, very interesting posts have been appearing all week about the fashion of period dramas. Here are my answers to the meme that was placed on the blog.
1. Which costume in all the period dramas you've seen is your favorite (list up to three)?
I love flower motifs on clothes, so it's no surprise two of my favourite period drama costumes are flowered dresses!
Emma's yellow flowered dress from Emma (2009)
Bella's flowered dress from Our Mutual Friend. It's relatively simple compared to her earlier dresses in the adaptation, but still very pretty and it fits so well with her new life and newfound happiness as the wife of John 'Rokesmith'
Practically every costume of Downton Abbey is stunning, but one of my favourites is this sea-green coloured dress of Sybil.
Let's not forget to give a shout-out to the men's costumes and their wonderfull cravats and riding boots!!
2. Which period drama costume vexes you the most (list up to three)?
Elizabeth's brown dress from Pride and Prejudice (2005). I know the Bennet family is not rich and the girls therefore do not wear elaborate dresses and this adaptation might be more realistic in this aspect compared to the '95 adaptation, but this dress... The colour is so drab and the fabric looks so rough and washed to often.
3. Which period drama hat or bonnet do you like the best?
I must be honest, I usually don't notice hats very much. But I went through my screencaps and found a few that I liked very much.
This fancy straw bonnet worn by Elizabeth-Jane in The Mayor of Casterbridge.
The bonnet of the newly rich Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre (2011). Very distinctive!
I also want to mention the very interesting headgear worn by the nurses in Casualty 1900s.
4. What costume would you wear today if we could wear period drama fashions in this day and age?
If only that were possible! I would like to try so many iconic dresses from beloved period dramas! But for practicality (to work and bike in) and to avoid repeating the answers from question 1, I would love to start by wearing a '40's style dress like the girls from Land Girls (BBC) or Sam from Foyle's War.
(Though this is not my favourite '40's dress, Land Girls and Foyle's War are quite hard to find screencaps from, so this 'll have to do)
5. Do you notice historical inaccuracies in the period dramas you watch or do you just ignore them for the most part?
Not very much, or they must be quite blatant (like Victorian dresses in a Regency production). I'm usually too much immersed in the story and the characters to notice much else, at least upon first viewing. Lately though, I realized I'm unconciously noticing nice costumes (or scenes in general) to use for my icons while viewing!
6. Pick a period drama character. If you were designing their costumes for a new adaptation (or a new episode), how would you go about designing their costumes?
I'll go for Elinor Dashwood's wedding dress, as we never got to see her wedding, either in the '95 or '08 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. I think she would look best in a relatively simple dress, but with some lovely floral details. I did a Google search and found this, isn't it just lovely?
7. What's your favorite fashion era? Why?
There are so many eras that I like: medieval (my first love!), Georgian, Regency, Late Victorian, Edwardian, '40s. I'm not so fond of the early Victorian fashion of the 1830's with the big sleeves and the drooping shoulderlines. Nor do I like the big lace collars and the large hips (you could balance a cup of tea on it!) of the 1600s.
I think my favourite era will still be the Regency though. The dresses were relatively simple, yet elegant and feminine.
8. Which period drama has the best costuming? The not-so-great costuming?
Another very hard question! There are so many examples of great costuming. Emma (2009) and Downton Abbey have stunning dresses with beautiful patterns and fabrics. In Cranford the costumes are not as grand, but they all fit the characters very well and have great details in bonnets, caps, scarfs etc. Foyle's War is great for it's historical accuracy of the many WWII uniforms and other iconic outfits of these period.
I personally do not think much of the costuming of Pride and Prejudice (2005). The dresses are inconspicuous and often look crumpled.
1. Which costume in all the period dramas you've seen is your favorite (list up to three)?
I love flower motifs on clothes, so it's no surprise two of my favourite period drama costumes are flowered dresses!
Emma's yellow flowered dress from Emma (2009)
Bella's flowered dress from Our Mutual Friend. It's relatively simple compared to her earlier dresses in the adaptation, but still very pretty and it fits so well with her new life and newfound happiness as the wife of John 'Rokesmith'
Practically every costume of Downton Abbey is stunning, but one of my favourites is this sea-green coloured dress of Sybil.
Let's not forget to give a shout-out to the men's costumes and their wonderfull cravats and riding boots!!
2. Which period drama costume vexes you the most (list up to three)?
Elizabeth's brown dress from Pride and Prejudice (2005). I know the Bennet family is not rich and the girls therefore do not wear elaborate dresses and this adaptation might be more realistic in this aspect compared to the '95 adaptation, but this dress... The colour is so drab and the fabric looks so rough and washed to often.
3. Which period drama hat or bonnet do you like the best?
I must be honest, I usually don't notice hats very much. But I went through my screencaps and found a few that I liked very much.
This fancy straw bonnet worn by Elizabeth-Jane in The Mayor of Casterbridge.
The bonnet of the newly rich Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre (2011). Very distinctive!
I also want to mention the very interesting headgear worn by the nurses in Casualty 1900s.
4. What costume would you wear today if we could wear period drama fashions in this day and age?
If only that were possible! I would like to try so many iconic dresses from beloved period dramas! But for practicality (to work and bike in) and to avoid repeating the answers from question 1, I would love to start by wearing a '40's style dress like the girls from Land Girls (BBC) or Sam from Foyle's War.
(Though this is not my favourite '40's dress, Land Girls and Foyle's War are quite hard to find screencaps from, so this 'll have to do)
5. Do you notice historical inaccuracies in the period dramas you watch or do you just ignore them for the most part?
Not very much, or they must be quite blatant (like Victorian dresses in a Regency production). I'm usually too much immersed in the story and the characters to notice much else, at least upon first viewing. Lately though, I realized I'm unconciously noticing nice costumes (or scenes in general) to use for my icons while viewing!
6. Pick a period drama character. If you were designing their costumes for a new adaptation (or a new episode), how would you go about designing their costumes?
I'll go for Elinor Dashwood's wedding dress, as we never got to see her wedding, either in the '95 or '08 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. I think she would look best in a relatively simple dress, but with some lovely floral details. I did a Google search and found this, isn't it just lovely?
7. What's your favorite fashion era? Why?
There are so many eras that I like: medieval (my first love!), Georgian, Regency, Late Victorian, Edwardian, '40s. I'm not so fond of the early Victorian fashion of the 1830's with the big sleeves and the drooping shoulderlines. Nor do I like the big lace collars and the large hips (you could balance a cup of tea on it!) of the 1600s.
I think my favourite era will still be the Regency though. The dresses were relatively simple, yet elegant and feminine.
8. Which period drama has the best costuming? The not-so-great costuming?
Another very hard question! There are so many examples of great costuming. Emma (2009) and Downton Abbey have stunning dresses with beautiful patterns and fabrics. In Cranford the costumes are not as grand, but they all fit the characters very well and have great details in bonnets, caps, scarfs etc. Foyle's War is great for it's historical accuracy of the many WWII uniforms and other iconic outfits of these period.
I personally do not think much of the costuming of Pride and Prejudice (2005). The dresses are inconspicuous and often look crumpled.
