Top Ten Period Drama Dresses

What's the one reason why we watch period dramas? Okay the plot is one... Yes, the acting is good... Yes, the heroes are dashing. Okay, so there is more than one reason why we watch period dramas. But one of the most common reasons that we watch period dramas is the costuming. Wouldn't we all love to wear a lot of those fashions that they wore back then today? They were so lovely and elegant! Why don't we wear something like today?

But anyways, we all have our favorite dresses and outfits from period dramas. Here are my top ten favorite period drama dresses.

Wednesday: Guest Post by Melody and Miss Laurie - Historic Hairstyles - Period Drama Fashion Week

During the time periods of many of our favorite period dramas how a lady styled her hair was as important as the fashions she wore. Being stylish from head to toe was important for a young lady who entered society, particularly if she hoped to catch a rich husband. For us the hairstyles in period dramas are just so fun to admire and it's interesting to see how hairstyles changed through the eras. Let's take a look at the fads in historic hairdressing through the eyes of our favorite period dramas!

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Top: The Scarlet Pimpernel 1982, Cranford, Amazing Grace

Bottom: Pirates of the Caribbean 2003, Wuthering Heights 1992, Sense & Sensibility 2008

Georgian Era Hairstyles that were poufy and piled high was the desired look in this era. Ladies would make their hair as 'big' as they could (by teasing it and using false hair, hair rats, etc.) before putting it up--preferably leaving several long curls tumbling down the back. Or perhaps for a softer, simpler look: a regular, smooth pompadour with an elegant curl or two on the shoulder. Powdered wigs were also popular during the early part of the 1700's but were given up by the time Jane Austen was born because they were often called "vulgar" by critics.

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Top: Pride & Prejudice 1995, Sense & Sensibility 2008, Emma (Miramax)

Bottom: Sense & Sensibility 1995, Emma (A&E), Pride & Prejudice 1995

Regency Era

Hair in the Regency period was rather simple compared to the surrounding eras (except perhaps the people who loaded their hair with feathers and other hair decorations for balls and special occasions), yet with an elegant charm. Styles resembled fashions of ancient Greek and Rome and ladies always wore their hair up. A common style was to have a middle part with curls framing the face, and the rest of the hair put up in a bun or a slightly more tumbling, pinned-up-curls sort of look. Silk ribbons or scarfs were often used to tie around the head and the bun and ladies like Jane Austen were also fond of wearing brightly colored turbans adorned with feathers or jewels.

As pretty as it might look in the movies ladies of this era would not have worn their hair down in public, it would have been considered improper.

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Top: The Young Victoria, Little Dorrit, Wives & Daughters

Bottom: Great Expectations 2011, Wives & Daughters, Jane Eyre 2006

Romantic Era / Early Victorian Era

Fashions became more intricate in this era. Hair was often pulled tightly away from the face and into a knot or a very carefully-arranged, stiff-looking hairdo high on the top of the head, with curls or ringlets on the side. A more simple look was to part the hair in the middle and smooth it over the ears and perhaps braid the side pieces before adding them back into a bun. (You know, the stereotypical Jane Eyre style.) And we mustn't forget all the artificial hair additions and decorations; feathers, fans, flowers and fruit might be added to the evening styles.

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Top: Cranford, Bleak House 2005, Cranford

Bottom: North & South 2004 (twice), Bleak House 2005

Mid-Victorian Era

As the Victorian era progressed hairstyles loosened to create softer and sweeter looks. Hair put up at the back of the head was pinned lower than the romantic era, often braids and intricate folding of the hair was added to the buns. Younger ladies would sometimes wear some of the back in ringlets to give a sweet, almost angelic look that supported the Victorian ideal that ladies were delicate flowers.

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Top: The Way We Live Now, Daniel Deronda, Little Women 1994

Bottom: Daniel Deronda, Our Mutual Friend 1999, Daniel Deronda

Late-Victorian Era

Extravagant is the word for this later part of Queen Victoria's reign! Hair was arranged in piles of curls at the back of the head with long ringlets left to fall near the base of the neck. Fake hair pieces were very popular during this time and were added to give hair more height, more curls or even braided headbands. Even the more simple day time styles would contain more intricate braiding and arranging of the hair with an abundance of curls. 

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Top: Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, Downton Abbey, Somewhere in Time

Bottom: The Winslow Boy, Road to Avonlea, Downton Abbey

Edwardian Era / Early 1900s In the 1900s, the definitive style was the pompadour. It's the opposite of the hair being pulled tightly away from the face--it is as loosely and expansively as possible swept up into a bun--a rather romantic-looking hairstyle that was an important part of the popular Gibson girl style. The 1910s brought more simplicity; pompadours were still common, but becoming popular were hairstyles lower down on the back of the head; one common look was a middle part with the hair twisted back on both sides into a low bun, or making the twist continue all around the head, with the hair tucked in at the back rather like a Gibson-tuck.

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Top (1920s): House of Eliott, Upstairs Downstairs 2010, House of Eliott

Bottom (1930s): Wind At My Back, Poirot: Sad Cyress, Poirot: The Mystery of the Blue Train

1920s / 1930s As more ladies went to work after World War I hairstyles became even more simple. Long hair was oftened pinned into a bun at the back of the neck to keep it our of the way. With the wave of flapper styles more ladies began to sport very short hairstyles which they sometimes curled, smoothed very straight for a sleek look, or had it "set" into a stiff-looking wave at the temples or all the way around the head, which often accompanied the stereotypical "bob." Hairstyles in the 1930s were quite similar to the previous decade, but short hair was more frequently curled on the sides and ends to to make a softer look, and the very short, chin-length hairstyle was becoming outdated. Like the 1920s, top portions of long (and short hair) was frequently given stiff wave curls before being pulled back into a bun at the nape of the neck.

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If you're like us you'll probably want to try some of these historic hairstyles on your own hair. Here's some of our favorite historic hairstyle tutorials, but keep in mind that many of the fine ladies would have had a maid to style their hair before a ball so it's sometimes tricky to get the styles right yourself.

Locks of Elegance (Georgian through Edwardian styles), Historical Hairstyles (a few tutorials including Elizabeth Swann's Georgian do and Margaret Hale's Mid-Victorian do), Ups and Downs (lovely Regency styles with a few Victorian) and Rapunzel's Resource (tons of long hair period drama styles that can easily be adjusted for medium length hair).

Thank you for joining us in looking at these old-fashioned hairstyles from period dramas! We hope you've enjoyed it. There are so many lovely eras, but Miss Laurie's favorite would be the Regency era and the Mid-Victorian as a close second. Melody is having a very hard time deciding, and although the Regency era is always wonderful and marvelous, her favorites might be Mid-Victorian and Edwardian. (Maybe.)

Many thanks to Miss Elizabeth for having us guest post! We had a lot of fun.

Miss Laurie writes the lovely blog Old-Fashioned Charm and Melody is the authoress of the charming Regency Delight ~Jane Austen, etc.~.

Which historic era has your favorite hairstyles?

Miss Elizabeth Bennet: Thank you, Miss Laurie and Melody, for guest posting!

Tuesday: Character Costume Highlight: Molly Gibson - Period Drama Fashion Week

Today's Character Costumes Highlight is Molly Gibson.

A little about Molly

Molly (born Mary but called Molly to differentiate her from her mother) is the daughter of widower Mr. Gibson. When Mr. Gibson remarries Hyacinth "Clare" Kirkpatrick, Molly is introduced to her stepsister, Cynthia Kirkpatrick, who she helps out of a difficult situation though Cynthia is engaged to Roger Hamley, who Molly loves. Throughout all of Wives and Daughters, Molly is a very kind-hearted character who is helpful and defends those she loves. 

Molly's White Ball Gown

Just ignore Cynthia and Hyacinth.

And ignore everyone else in the picture.

  Molly's Orange Dress

Which of these two dresses of Molly's is your favorite? Or is your favorite one not up here? Leave a comment!

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 God Bless,

Tuesday: Movie Costume Highlight: Little Dorrit - Period Drama Fashion Week

Today, we'll be looking at an insight to the costuming of Little Dorrit. The costumes of Little Dorrit are kind of interesting. The story takes place around 1826. On the one hand, Regency attire is used for some characters (tends to be worn by poorer characters), but on the other, dresses that look more like Romantic Era wear are used (tends to be worn by rich characters).

The Poor/Middle Class Characters

Now, as I've said before, the poorer characters tend to wear fashions that are closer to Regency attire. They have the high empire waist that was popular in the Regency era and their sleeves aren't as big as sleeves are in the Romantic Era. For the poor and middle class characters, it wouldn't be impossible for them to be wearing "older" fashions since mothers could pass down their old clothes to them or for financial reasons they wear their clothes until they can't be worn anymore.

An example of a character that wears Regency Era fashions (but only for the first part of Little Dorrit) is Fanny Dorrit. Since Fanny doesn't have as much money as, say, someone like Mrs. Mertle, she would probably get the most wear out of her clothes for as long as she can. Granted, she does try to maintain finery, but in the meantime, she wears older fashions while she is poor. There is a question whether she bought the outfit by herself or if it was a hand-me-down from her mother (though her mother died not long after Amy was born: Amy being born in 1806 would mean that a hand-me-down would have to be from 1795 - 1806, so it would be considerably old).

Maggy also wears Regency Era Fashions (but throughout the entire miniseries). It's very likely that Maggy's outfit was a hand-me-down from someone. What is unusual with this picture is Amy's outfit, which does not have a Regency Era waist. It would make sense if Amy wore Regency attire since at this point in the story, she is still poor. Not quite sure why her dress is different...

Not only do the poor characters wear Regency wear, but even some of the middle class ones wear Regency wear too. Take a look at Pet's and Tattycorum's dresses. Both dresses look like they are Regency since they have the empire waistline; if the outfits are not Regency, they are probably not too long after the Regency Era.

Mrs. Clennam also wears Regency wear. Since she is an invalid and doesn't leave the house, she doesn't have much of a need for the latest fashions. 

The Rich Characters

The rich characters would obviously be able to afford the latest fashions. They want to appear fashionable in society. A lady like Mrs. Merdle would have the latest fashions that society has to offer. The waistline on her dress is much lower than the Regency waist. The sleeves on her dress are also bigger than the sleeves of the Regency Era.

Okay, so you can't see Fanny's dress in this picture, though you can see evidence of bigger-than-Regency-sleeves sleeves. Just by looking at Fanny's hair, we can see that she has adopted the latest fashions. The particular style of hair that she is wearing became more popular towards the 1830s.

Here is a picture of the Dorrits after they became rich. Some of the fashions are still reminiscent of Regency wear (note, Fanny's short sleeved pelisse). This picture is from when the Dorrits were newly rich. Is it possible that they weren't fully aware of the current fashions and as they were more in "good" society, they became more aware of current fashions? (Though Fanny did see Mrs. Merdle enough when they were poor.)

So that is my movie highlight for the day. Have you seen Little Dorrit? What were some of your favorite costumes?

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 God Bless,

Tuesday: Today's Era - Post Regency - Period Drama Fashion Week

This post for this Tuesday was brought to you by Post Regency fashions! Enjoy these pictures of Post Regency period drama costumes! Keep an eye out for more posts today!

Little Dorrit

Amy Dorrit and Fanny Dorrit

The Dorrit Family

Fanny and Edmund Sparkler

  

Wives and Daughters

Molly Gibson and Cynthia Kirkpatrick

Molly Gibson and Roger Hamley

Hyacinth Kirkpatrick and Molly Gibson

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 God Bless,