Today's Movie Costume Highlight is Sense and Sensibility. Which one? The two newest ones (1995 and 2008)!
I like both sets of costumes, but I found that the 1995 version had more accurate costumes to the Regency Era (though there are still some good, accurate costumes in the 2008 version).
What I found was interesting for the costumes in both versions was that Elinor has the same style robe/jacket in both versions.
Both robes/jackets were used differently. In the 1995 version, Elinor only used her robe/jacket to go outside while in the 2008 version, Elinor wore it inside as a part of her dress. In both cases, the robe/jacket is worn very well indeed.
What also sets the 1995 version apart from the 2008 version is that Marianne has a similar robe/jacket as Elinor (though not the same one). And with 1995 Elinor and Marianne, they wear their robe/jacket with a fichu (or a triangular piece of fabric used to fill in the neckline). The 2008 version (in most of their dresses) doesn't really use a fichu all that much: we see fichus used a couple of times on Elinor, but most of the time, Mrs. Dashwood sports a black fichu.
Before I mentioned historical accuracy in the costuming of the Sense and Sensibility(s). Comparing the last picture (with 2008 Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters) with this one:
We can see that the two dresses are different styles. 1995 Mrs. Dashwood has a Regency dress on while 2008 Mrs. Dashwood has what looks like a Georgian dress on. That was one of the issues that people had with 2008 Sense and Sensibility was that there were a lot of Georgian fashions used when it would have made more sense to have Regency fashions.
Mrs. Dashwood, in my opinion, would be able to get Regency era clothes while Mr. Henry Dashwood was alive. They did have the money to get current fashions. If the Dashwoods were poor while Henry Dashwood was alive, then I could see Mrs. Dashwood wearing Georgian fashions. But since they had money, she would have most likely bought Regency fashions.
Another example of this is Mrs. Jennings's outfits:
1995 Mrs. Jennings has Regency fashions, which in my opinion works better than having her in Georgian fashions like 2008 Mrs. Jennings is. Mrs. Jennings is a character who is rich and goes out into society: I wouldn't see her in older fashions because she is in society frequently. She would have more of the latest things, but maybe more toned down than dresses meant for younger women.
Overall, both versions of Sense and Sensibility have very nice costuming, but my preference leans more towards the 1995 version's costuming.
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| This is one of the few time that Elinor wears a fichu. |
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| Mrs. Dashwood is often seen with her usual black fichu. |
Mrs. Dashwood, in my opinion, would be able to get Regency era clothes while Mr. Henry Dashwood was alive. They did have the money to get current fashions. If the Dashwoods were poor while Henry Dashwood was alive, then I could see Mrs. Dashwood wearing Georgian fashions. But since they had money, she would have most likely bought Regency fashions.
Another example of this is Mrs. Jennings's outfits:
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| Mrs. Jennings (Left) with Sir John Middleton and Lady Middleton |
Overall, both versions of Sense and Sensibility have very nice costuming, but my preference leans more towards the 1995 version's costuming.
God Bless,
I've seen both versions and definitely preferred 1995's costumes. I did like some of Elinor and Marianne's dresses from 2008. My favorite dresses are from the 1995 version: Marianne's white dress (in the picture above), Elinor's dark blue day dress (also above, love this one!) and Elinor's riding habit.
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