Ugly Period Drama Dresses

My reaction to most of these:

Yes, there are some ugly Period Drama dresses, despite the fact that I seem to insist that 'every dress in this movie is AMAZING', and that, 'Gah I love her wardrobe.' I thought it would be fun to devote an entire post towards the bashing of those ugly dresses that either didn't flatter the character, looked completely comical rather than completely smashing, or just were downright ugly. Let's start - this ought to be fun. :-)

"What an ugly bonnet, Lydia. What possessed you to buy it?"

UGHHH, Cora's wardrobe isn't bad in general, but this dress is extremely unflattering, in my opinion. It highlights her figure in all the bad ways and the colours clash in all the bad ways as well. And then the gold? With the red? I don't like it. (Seriously, O'Brien is the better dressed one in this picture. When in doubt, stick to black - that's solid fashion advice.)

Suit yourself Anne, suit yourself, but I haven't the foggiest idea what you're so enraptured about. In the book, where you got an adorable double-puffed brown gloria dress, I can imagine it - fully imagine it. But in the Period Drama??? With the oversized collar, the Henry-the-Eighth-sleeves, and the unflattering milky blue - you look quite bad. (Please don't smash me over the head with th-- )

Ha. Ha. We alllll know what a fan I am of P&P05, right? (Sarcasm.) One of the reasons why I hate it is Caroline Bingley's Netherfield Ball "GOWN." I like to say that she forgot to put on her dress and that she's dancing around in her underwear because THAT IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. Look - spaghetti straps. She's got spaghetti straps. (I'm going. Bye. Bye guys.)

Yes, this is probably the prettiest dress in this post, but it isn't pretty. Edith's wardrobe in the later series is AMAZINGNESS (Edith looks stellar in 20's clothes), but some of her outfits - mainly this one - have disappointed me. It looks especially vile when she actually stands up in it and walks. It's like someone added some sickly orange old drapes over a clashing blue blouse. I'm not loving it.

Molly, I love you, I love you --- buuuut really? You in a watermelon-sleeved dress and slithery, slinky feathers in your hair? Stick to adorable attires, they flatter you so much more. Yes, you look elegant, but you also look a bit ridiculous. The sleeves. I mean - I know - it's the fashion. Buuuut - it's ugly.

I know these dresses are made to look the sisters ridiculous, but I couldn't not mention one of their absurd matching ensembles in this post! Their clothes are actually hilarious - always over-the-top, always matching, always interesting, always ridiculous. They do prove with their outfits that they're good at sewing though, which is the point, because they own a dress-shop.

HAHAHA. LET US ALL LAUGH. Seriously, Bright Star made me rather queasy because of the moany main character, the odd mushy romance and... YUCK THE COSTUMES. The girl (Abbie, I think?) is supposed to be a seamstress with a sense of creativity, but I think she's a seamstress with a sense of clownish-creation-ridiculous-laughing-stock-creativity. (Or whatever.) Basically, I think her entire wardrobe is dreadful. I mean... just LOOK AT THE COLLAR. (And look at this vile dress.) (AND THIS ONE.) (And this hat!) (I know, ewww.)

And last and probably also least - we have Scarlett's red 'dress.' With tule around the elbows, ostrich feathers tumbling dramatically from the shoulders and a Marylin Monroe-dress bodice. Yes. Haha. You'd find someone wearing this after the Civil War, wouldn't you? ;-P I LOVE most of Scarlett's dresses, even the ones that aren't historically accurate, but OH THIS ONE. It's dreadful! I do not like it, not one little bit. :-P

Things I need to do before I visit Emma:

Someone on Pinterest said in the caption on this picture: "Just watch this show for the hairstyles." She is right.
(Not that I didn't want to watch The Paradise before this, though.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One more week and then the craziest three weeks ever will commence. (I will refrain myself from talking in capital letters because I remember two years ago I wanted to make a classy sort of blog and I must do my fifteen-year-old self proud.)

Before next week though, I have a number of things to do, and, because I actually DO them when people know I need to do them, I will paste them on zee blog. (Also, I need a blog post excuse, and also, it will add to the general excitment. Also it gives me a jolly good excuse to talk about Downton Abbey because I am currently watching said show.)

THINGS I NEED TO DO BEFORE I LEAVE EUROPE:

1. Pack my suitcase and weigh it. It's almost packed, but the general finishing touches must be done this week. (This will be a jolly lovely task, for obvious reasons.)

2. Write a short story for my sister's birthday. One of my sisters had her sixteenth birthday yesterday (Scrumptious chocolate cake alert!) and my lame excuse as a present was 'order a story.' I do this sometimes, and basically I let them choose a story idea and I write down a short story for them. (Hashtag the life of a writer, right?) She said it must be a surprise, so I'm writing down a story about pink princesses and - kidding, kidding. (The said sister is not that kind of girl.) I'm not telling you what the story is about because said sister is just about the only family member who follows my blog posts devotedly. Anyways, happy birthday dear sister! (I wrote 'happy birthday dead sister' first. This is awkward.)

3. Load the batteries of the camera. (About cameras - some of you may expect pictures of Emma and me. I'm afraid I ain't ready yet to demonstrate my face to the internet. Buuuut we will try to show, in other ways, what our stay was like. We promise to make it vivid despite the lake of facial pictures.)

4. Make sure Beau Dermott wins Britain's got Talent.

5. Finish Downton Abbey Season Six!!!!! YES, we're watching it!! It's sooo good. Watching Downton Abbey hits so close to home; and I'd missed it so much. Of course, I know all the spoilers (but fret ye not, my lips are sealed... unless you ask.) but personally I think that makes it even MORE fun to watch. We're on episode six tonight.
Some spoiler-free thoughts so far: 1. Andy is so cute. 2. Daisy is quite stupid. 3. I actually like Thomas Barrow. 4. Tom is TOO NICE. And he looks old. Where's my old (as in, young) Tom? 5. The way Cora says 'ghastly' is hilarious. 6. I love Edith and Mary's new suitors. Especially Edith's. (She's fiiiiinally found the right one, haha.)

6. Do my last exam for the year on Tuesday! (Sociology.)

7. GET EXCITED. (Also, do French and study Sociology, bleh.)

8. Finally; I want to read some books this week. I haven't done proper "free time" reading in a dramatically long time, and I'm SHOCKINGLY behind on my Goodreads reading challenge, which is a news of distressing nature. I need to read the "Refiner's Fire Trilogy" and then some short books that are quick to read till I'm ahead of my Goodreads schedule.

As much as I'm enjoying Season six, MATTHEW IS NOT FORGOTTEN. I MISS HIM AND I MISS MARY WITH HIM.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What are your plans for this week?

Why I love Period Drama so much.

{Many pictures are grabbed from this wonderful place.}

{Warning: There are a toooon of pictures in this post, because it's a post about Period Dramas, and you all know I get rather nuts when I come to this particular topic. So if your Internet is in a bad mood (*cough*  What am I saying, it always is) I'm sorry if all the pictures don't load properly. Come back later, because you'll want to see them all. This is a post very pleasant to the eyes, even if I do say so myself.}

An explanation of this post: WHY I LOVE PERIOD DRAMAS SO FREAKING MUCH. Here are the reasons, the explanations and futher gushing, appreciation and love-showing towards these wonderful shows and movies.

1. The fascination of another era.

I love watching stories and characters in other eras. I don't enjoy modern-set movies; I just don't like them as much. This isn't just because of the eye-candy (you know, zee frills and co, which I will talk about very very soon) it's also because it's the past and that's just fascinating to see carried out on stage. It gives us scents and whiffs of what it was like, and it sends us to a whole new realm; a whole new sphere. When I watch Emma, I'm not in 2016, I'm in the Regency Era, wearing a muslin gown and buying bonnets in Meryton, or whatever. When I'm watching Call the Midwife I'm dipped into a slice of 1956, and I live there for a minute.

And that is wonderful. I'm fascinated, and I always want to learn more about the way they lived, acted and dressed, etc.

{Period Dramas that especially dip me into another era: Call the Midwife / War Horse / Anne of Green Gables / Pride and Prejudice 1995 / Little Dorrit.}

2. THE COSTUMES.

REALLY THOUGH. I cannot even START.

The frills and the silk and the SWISHES. I LOVE THEM. I would watch any terrible movie if the costumes were good. (Well. Maybe not, but really. I just so enjoy watching actors and actresses in Period Costumes. They just all look so terribly gorgeous and beautiful and fantastical and majestic. Especially the rich ones, and there are always plenty of rich ones.)

{Period Dramas with especially good costumes: Belle 2014 / Downton Abbey (SERIOUSLY)/ Emma 2009 (again, just... wow)/ Cinderella / The Young Victoria}

3. This obviously includes the hairstyles and the hats.

No explanation needed, really. We just need to sit down together and appreciate the amazing wigs and hair designers and curling irons and ribbons and hats and bows. Because they're wonderful. (And a Period Drama without HATS? Is that possible? NO. LIFE WOULD BE A BLANK TO ME.)

{Period Dramas with particularly good hairstyles and hats: Wives and Daughters (some of the hairstyles are ridiculous, but MAN they are impressive!) / Amazing Grace / Again, Downton Abbey (the hats in there - *swoon*) / Emma 2009 / Pride and Prejudice 1995}

4. Everything is epic.

Seriously though. When I walk on the beach - is it epic? Is it even slightly epic? No, um, no sir. When step up the stairs? Is it epic? Nope. But whenever someone in a Period Drama even walks in his own HALL, it is epic. The shadows fall on the right places, and the sun shines in the right places, and gahhh... HOW. Sometimes it looks cheesy, but most times it looks EPIC and they wear these swishy things and the right kind of hats and ohh, I get chills.

{Especially epic movies: Horatio Hornblower / Gone with the Wind / War Horse / Testament of Youth / North and South}

5. Focus on Period Details.

THIS MAKES MY HEART HAPPY. I don't know why. But all zee details. All the shots and glances at those authentic Period pieces; whether it be a paintbrush, a close-up of a gown, a typewriter, or a wine-glass... I love it.

{Some Period Dramas that make me happy with a lot of details: Downton Abbey (I mention this a lot, haha, but there's a reason for this) / Belle / Saving Mr Banks / Sense and Sensibility (both versions, actually.)}

6. Scenery

I love that Period Dramas focus a lot on beautiful natural surroundings. People in the past did spend a lot of time outside, and especially those ones who lived in this mansion in the middle of no-where. I always love some excellent, soaring, rollicking green scenery. (Green really is a beautiful, flawless colour. Never tire of it.) (Imagine if we were sick of the colour green! That would be rather problematic, wouldn't it?)

{Period Dramas with especially breath-taking scenery: Sense and Sensibility 2008 / War Horse / Pride and Prejudice (okay okay, both versions) / Bright Star / Far From the Madding Crowd and Poldark (judging from screencaps) / The Sound of Music.}

7. The colours are just... GAH.

SO many period dramas are just VIVID with colour. Especially if they feature rich people. (Yeah, Dickens Movies might not be too colourful. Although, still, there's that marvellous ridiculously pink room in Little Dorrit, right?)

{Some especially colourful movies: Belle / Brooklyn and A Royal Night Out (judging from screencaps!) / The Paradise / Pride and Prejudice 1995 / Emma 2009 / Northanger Abbey / Sense and Sensibility / Anne of Green Gables / Saving Mr Banks.}

8. THEY BREAK MY HEART.

They do. Sooo many Period Dramas (specifically looking at you, cruel and heartless BBC) just crumple me and kill me a bit on the inside. I love it when I cry and cry and cry while watching a movie; it fills me while yet making me feel terrible and useless. It is ridiculous and wonderful and HEARTBREAKING.

(Seriously though, that gif of Testament of Youth up there almost made me cry. Just by LOOKING at it. Pathetic.)

{Particularly heartbreaking Period Dramas: Testament of Youth (wins the prize, fursure) / Call the Midwife episodes / Downton Abbey / Miss Potter / Finding Neveland / The Book Thief / Little Women.}

9. The houses.

They're just fascinating and spark up all my imagination and dreams. We have the lavish in-and-exteriors of the Crawley Family, and the marvellous grounds of Pemberly. We have darling cottages with honeysuckle gardens, and pink-patterned bedrooms. Period Dramas are filled with detail, especially with the houses. The architecture, the windows, the carpets, the way they make everything look perfect... love it. :-)

{Period Dramas with particularly good exterior and interior eye-candy: Downton Abbey / The Great Gatsby and Marie Antoinette (judging from screecaps, they are really amazing in that department) / The Paradise / Lark Rise to Candleford and Cranford (for cute-houses)}

10. Zee HUMOUR

If you know me, you know I always appreciate a good laugh. Yes, I love crying while watching movies, but Oh I LOVE the humour soooo many Period Dramas offer! All the humorous characters, all the witty one-liners, famous facial expressions and funny scenes. Some simple examples right off the top of my head? Mr Collins and his proposal. Sister Evangelina in Call the Midwife and the way she sets Chummy and Peter off on a date. The conversations between the Palmers: "I wish the rain would stop"- "I wish YOU would stop."

There is so much excellent humour in Period Dramas and I love it because I dearly love to laugh. :-)

{Period Dramas with particularly good humour: Saving Mr Banks / Pride and Prejudice 1995 / Jeeves and Wooster (DUHH) / Sense and Sensibility 1995}

11. The romance.

BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL SO BEAUTIFUL. And epic and I shiiiiiip.

I mean, NEED I SAY MORE. JUST WATCH P&P AND EMMA AND DOWNTON. (*calms down*) Seriously though, Tom and Sybil, Elinor and Edward, Emma and Knightley, Minnie and Alfie, Dr Turner and Sister Bernadette - SO MANY DARLINGS. I don't think my heart can stop bursting just thinking about these adorable, good, wonderful, real romances. I love them all so much... they fill my heart with joy. (This is my inner Mrs Jennings coming out here.)

{Period Dramas with my favourite romances: All the Jane Austen movies, but especially S&S and Emma and P&P / Downton Abbey / Lark Rise to Candleford / Call the Midwife / Little Dorrit / Wives and Daughters / Miss Potter}

12. The Quotes and the Accents

 Let us not forget the gift of Period Drama quotes that we have so graciously received in our lives. And let us also likewise not forget those lovely accents that we hear with those quotes. THANK YOU. Thank you. We owe you a lot, Period Dramas. <3

{Period Dramas I constantly quote: Little Dorrit / Pride and Prejudice / The Scarlet Pimpernel / Downton Abbey / My Fair Lady / Cranford ("I have a headache of phenomenal dimension")}
{Period Dramas with fun accents: Our Zoo (DEFINITELY Our Zoo!), Downton Abbey (especially Tom's accent), Lark Rise to Candleford ('You must unbu'un.'), My Fair Lady (of course, garn!)}

13. Dance.

I always love a good ball-room scene, or a romantic dance... and well, Period Dramas DEFINITELY have a lot of those. Matthew and Mary had the swooniest dance till Lavinia came, Beatrix Potter had the CUTEST dance in her bedroom, Emma and Knightley were the adorablest couple in the ballroom, and Lizzy demonstrated real levels of sass as she danced with Mr Darcy at Netherfield. I love them all. :-)

{Period Dramas with my favourite dance scenes in 'em: Pride and Prejudice ("Mary, play Grimstock!") / Emma 2009 / DA / Miss Potter / Northanger Abbey / And very well, very well, Becoming Jane.}

14. Zee Music

Music matters so much, and Period Dramas always go for the sweepy and SWOONY kind of music which just finishes the perfectness of it all. I love that each Period Drama has their own theme song, which one just recognises IMMEDIATELY. There's the Lark Rise song, the epic Downton Abbey song, the goooorgeous Call the Midwife theme song, and the galopping beloved Pride and Prejudice 95 theme song... <3

{Period Dramas with particularly good music: The Young Victoria / Finding Neveland / Belle / Sense and Sensibility 1995 / The Book Thief / Little Women / A Royal Night Out.}

15. THE ENDINGS.

I know, I know, not all Period Dramas have good endings (cough, The Book Thief and Testament of Youth and Downton Abbey Christmas Special no.2, cough) but ohhh, MOST OF THEM DO AND... and... I cry. :-)

I do, really. I mean, just look at the happiness - the joy - look at that gif of Amy and Arthur hugging as if their lives depend on it. I've been watching that gif over and over. :-) And those endings... so often so happy and so EMOTIONAL. I so often cry when a movie ends; sometimes because they're so happy and they deserve it SO much; sometimes because I'm sad it's over; sometimes because they look back at the death of someone in the end; and mostly because of all three reasons.

{Period Dramas with excellent endings that MAKE ME CRY because of happiness: Emma 2009 / LITTLE DORRIT / Belle / Lark Rise to Candleford / Downton Abbey (I've not yet seen the last episodes, but I KNOW 100% sure that I'm going to weep for weeks.)}



This post took AAAAGES to write, but I had so much fun and I experienced so many feels while searching all the pictures. Gah, I love Period Dramas. I'm glad I live in 2016, so I can enjoy them. ;-)

(Warning for the foreseeable future: Now I've saved millions of Period Drama pictures into my laptop, a new header might pop up. I'm sick of the one I have now; it's boring, just with one picture.)