Zee Costumes

Ahh, the costumes in Downton Abbey - everyone raves about them, everyone swoons over the lace, the sleeves, the swoosh, the embroidery, the hats... because really, they are absurdly, insanely beautiful in this show. It makes the level of costuming so high for all the other Period Dramas. Everyone in DA always looks impeccable, the necklaces and hats are in perfect balance, the clothes have all the wrinkles in the right places. Let's also not forget the hairstyles! I mean seriously IT IS AMAZING. These characters could all be in magazines in every single snap shot. Not fair.

Basically what I'm going to do in this post is just talk about the clothes & wardrobes I love best. It might be random, and it will be filled with loads of pictures. Excuse me and pardon me if it bores you to death, but really, I couldn't have a DA week without at least some appreciation post for the costumes! (Imeanreally.)

(By the way, I apologise to the lovely characters downstairs in Downton, who probably won't be mentioned at all in this post. But I love them still. They just don't have many dresses of many colours. :-P) (Money does do SOME things. :-P)

Mary's wardrobe in season one and season two was serious life goallls. She looks so good in Edwardian fashion - the corset makes her posture so regal and the hairstyle and statement hats make her look so stunning and Mary-like. It's funny how some characters look way better in Edwardian and some look way better in Twenties-clothing! Lady Cora is another example - she looked so good in Edwardian clothes - with the high collars and impressive sleeves she looks like royalty. Sometimes she looks rather weird in 20's outfits. :-P

I also LOVE Sybil's clothes in Season one - the purple dress is my favourite:

(Here's a beautiful collage of the purple dress, if you're interested.)

Sybil is still in her teens in the first season, which means her outfits are slightly girlish and her hair is still half-down, in a thick braid, or with a half-updo. I love her light blue and light pink blouse-outfits, and the triangular collars. I love her white dress in the garden party too. And of course, one MUST mention her adorable light blue bloomers. :-)

I will forever love that scene. :-) Especially Tom's adorable smirk in the window... cuz he approves wholeheartedly. :-P

In Season two, there's the great War, so everyone wears slightly more simple clothes, and of course they pull it off like gold. Lady Mary's wardrobe is still my favourite, of course - but we should take a sec to talk about the men IN KHAKI. I mean they look fantastic; especially Matthew. :-P Tom Branson looks swoon-worthy as always, in his dark green chauffeur garb with his cap and leather boots, but the khaki clad men almost steal the show. :-)

My favourite dress of Mary's in Season Two (my favourite dress in season two, PERIOD) is the one she wears in the following picture. It's a blouse and a skirt actually, but the blouse is soooo pretty. *insert heart-eyed emojis, like loads of them*

ALSO THE SCENE WHERE SHE SINGS AND MATTHEW COMES IN. It is seriously my favourite scene in the whole entire show, I think. :-) :'-)

I LOVE Mary's wedding dress!!! The wedding dress itself isn't that spectacular actually, but that was the fashion of the time and she does look brilliant. Her veil is stunning and I LOVE the head peice, with the leafy silver thing. And I know I say it often, but Lady Mary looks so much better with long-hair-updos than that Willy Wonka bob-cut.

(But she looks good whatever, don't worry.)

Both of Edith's weddings were a sight for sore eyes. She looked best in wedding number two and HAPPIER TOO haha, but WOW LOOK AT SYBIL AND MARY AT Edith's first wedding!!!!!! Mary's blue dress is immaculate and diviiiine (the flutter on the sleeves at every little breeze!!!! Ahh!) and Sybil's purple and lace dress is gorgeous too. I love Sybil's bob; she looks so good in one.

Sybil and Mary seriously outshone Edith on her first wedding day, ha.

(This picture was suppose to be a gif, but it's not. moving. Whatever.) (I love her outfit and the hat is JUST COOL. She looks great in it.)

Edwardian style wasn't very nice on Edith - and her hairstyle in Season One was UGH so unflattering! She became wayy prettier when the bob was invented and she had those finger waves in. Cloche hats and a sporty silhouette and long necklaces suited Lady Edith to a T. She looks brilliant now. Her second wedding dress was shockingly pretty. :-)

And you know what else she wears so well? Those hats with one side flat up. She slays in those kinds.

This pink outfit is probably my favourite of Rose's. Look at all the little white beads embroidered all over! And then the creamy pearl necklace and her hair peeping under the white hat?!! Gorgeous.

I cannot finish this post without mentioning Lady Rose's wardrobe!!! At first it's very girly and tomboyish; a lot of sailor-ish looks (which I think is perfectly adorable), and her hair is out of control and frizzy. Her hats are plain with a simple ribbon. Then, as she matures and grows into a lady rather than a teenager, her clothes become more elegant and classy - but still very cheerful and bouncy and fun and colourful - just like her.

Her hair is always gorgeous too, and HER WEDDING DRESS. <3

My sister and I like to joke about how lazy these characters are that they can't even DRESS themselves, but actually if you look at the way they are dressed it's almost not surprising! It's like putting on a wedding dress every day, almost, and people often need help putting on wedding dresses. Plus, they had corsets and fancy hairstyles etc. 

Haha. This is when Anna was going away for a week. :-P

What are some of your favourite Downton Abbey costumes?

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

10 Favourite JA dresses

{Images from cap-that.com}

The Jane Austen movie have the PRETTIEST gowns. They're generally not too fussy, as the Regency style/pattern was a more simple one. (I mean, you know, no endless hoops or furbelows like the ladies wore in other time periods. I love those too, by the way.) Here, dear people, are my ten favourite. And ohhhh, choosing where which one will go in the list is going to be HARD. But I'll try. :-)

(Most of these are going to be from Emma Woodhouse in the 2009 wardrobe, just warning. I'm very much in love with her entire wardrobe. :-/)

#10 - Elizabeth Bennet's gold sprigged dress

Elizabeth's whole wardrobe is entirely simplistically gorgeous and naturally elegant. I'm the most in love with her blue spencer (I mean, it's seriously the most beautiful spencer in the entire world - go click here) but as that's not a dress, it cannot appear on this list. One of my favourite of Elizabeth's dresses is this one. I love the goldish-brownish design, and the fresh white-ness. It's just scrumptioussss.

#9. Catherine Moorland's light blue/white dress

I actually am not crazy about Catherine's wardrobe in general, but this one is just adorable. And the neckline is not atrociously low, which is nice, you know. I love it - it captures Cathy's youthful-ness and innocence very well. :-) (There, wasn't that a clever thing to say?)

#8. Maria Lucas' yellow dress

I know Maria Lucas isn't one of the main characters in Pride and Prejudice, but I've always noticed and completely LOOOOVED her yellow dress. The bell-like sleeves, the buttons in the shape of flowers... it's just so adorable and angelic. She wears it at the Netherfield Ball (where she gets to hold Mr Darcy's hand during a dance - lucky girl) and several times at Rosings.

#7. Emma Woodhouse's Christmas dress

Okay, maybe it's just me being in a disastrous Christmas mood already, but this dress of Emma's is absoblumelutely adorable. We don't see her wearing it enough, but from what I've seen, I think it's made from a kind of velvet-y material - maybe not, but it looks kind of velvet. And I LOVE Velvet. I personally think the sash is a bit too large, but for the rest this dress is VERY Naomi-Approved.

#6. Kitty Bennet's blue patterned dress

I don't know why I love this dress of Kitty's so much - it's very simple. Maybe it's the little tiny puffs at the top of the sleeve, or the tiny blue dots. I just love it so much.

#5. Emma's pink afternoon dress

AHH. EMMA'S WARDROBE. It was agony choosing 'at least four', I tell you. But this pink inside-the-house dress definitely deserved a place on the list. I mean, look. It's gorgeous and yet it looks super comfortable too. I actually (shockingly) love Mrs Elton's outfit in this scene too. Yes, it's over-trimmed, but it's really surprisingly gorgeous (or it would be, if someone else wore it) - look at her bonnet. 

#4. Isabella's yellow dress

Okay, most of Isabella's gowns aren't my favourite ones. They generally tend to scream: "FLIRT" - you know what I mean. But this yellow one; I mean, it's SO pretty. And it suits her so well and OH I WANT IT THANKS. (Ahhhh, look how it flows... and the perfect puffy sleeves. Looook.)

#3. Marianne's peach cross-over dress

Marianne wears peach SO. DARN. WELL. (My favourite outfit of hers is the one with the peach pelisse and the peach hat with the ostrich feathers. As this isn't a 'dress', I cannot add it into my list, but I have to give you a LINK to it. Because it's gorgeous.) Anyway, this dress - I LOVE IT. I love the cross-over pattern and the gold-y peachy-ness. It's so elegant and simple and golden... Ahhh, I really like it a LOT. :-)

#2. Emma's orange flowered dress

This dresssssss. Wow, guys, it's AMAZING. It's really Autumn-y, with the rusty tones and the burnt-orange, and the peachy flowers.... GAHH. Someone sew this for meeee.

#1. Emma's pink ball gown

AND NOWWW. MY FAVOURITE DRESS. I have mentioned this dress many times before, I know I have - but that won't make me stop right now. (Sorry if you just got your hopes up, haha.) In the 'behind the scenes' of Emma 2009, the costume designer (forgot her name. Or maybe his name. I can't even remember if it was a man or a woman. Probably a woman, because that's more typical.) said that this dress has loads of thin layers to create a shimmery, elegant effect. Well, that's just why I love this dress - it's the shimmery party-ness - and ohhh, it's pink and sparklyyyyy.

I LOVE IT. :-)

What are some of your favourite Jane Austen Movie dresses?

Oh, and I WOULD have added this dress, but I didn't because it's not really in a JA movie, and us Janeites aren't completely happy with this movie (because Jane Austen never eloped and she does in the movie, and that makes us angry.) But anyway: I LOVE THIS DRESS TOO. Like, I love it like crazy and I'm completely in love with it.

Oh, and I mentioned the word 'love' seventeen times in this post. We are all surprised.

Yet another of my costume posts

According to my Improvement Questionnaire, Nonsensical Rambling posts are your favourite kind of posts and Costume posts, Tag posts and Reviews all come together as second. I thought it's been quite a fair amount of time since I did a costume post, so here's an update on my latest favourites.

 

 

I've completely and officially fallen in love in with Cinderella's blue ball gown by looking at the amazing pictures of this movie I'm yearning to see. Lily James' tiny waist is an amazing contrast above the full, sweeping, big ball-hoops. And have you noticed all the little butterflies on the tissue-paper-like neckline? It's as if there are truly butterflies resting on her shoulders and oh, the effect is heart-wringingly gorgeous. And then we have all the tulle and the little sprinkles of glitter on the skirts to top it all off... I APPROVE.

 

But I also love, love, love her first dress - the one her mean stepmother tore and was supposed to look like something to be ashamed of. It's simple maybe, and not as glamorous as her blue beauty her fairy godmother created for her, but I personally find it absolutely charming and beautiful. To be honest, if I had to wear one of the two Cinderella dresses, I'd choose the pink one. It seems more natural and comfy, despite it not being so glamorous.

AND IT'S PINK.

Hey, it's no secret. I may use caps if I wish.

The pink dress (and the fact that they both come down the stairs and consider it not-perfect) also really reminds me of Meg March's pink dress in the old Little Women version. Another darling, darling dress, by the way!

Has anyone here seen 'Cheerful weather for the wedding'? I recently discovered it and I think it looks absolutely amazing by the look of the 1) cast 2) trailer and 3) costumes! I've not a clue though about the appropriateness or the goodness of it, so if any of you guys does, please make sure to tell me in the comments. Because yeah, I really love the look of it. Felicity Jones, Elizabeth McGovern, Barbara Flynn... yup, I want to see it.

 

 

And as I said, the 1930-ian dresses in there are absolutely lovely. Felicity Jones also gets to wear some lovely summery blouse-and-shorts-outfits and picnic dresses. There's a lot of flowery, chic stuff which I'm dying to see in action. :-)

 

So yeah, let me know whether you've seen it.

 

I also thought the dress in Cheerful weather for the wedding looked a bit like Ruth's lovely ones in Fried Tomatoes. Only, the ones in Fried Green Tomatoes look somewhat more shabby and lived-in, I suppose; but they have a charm too.

 

 

I have a confession to make: I am not a big fan of Georgian styles. A Georgian-style gown has to be REALLY good to make me like it. Barbara Spooner's purple outfit managed to captivate me, and so did Dido's rose-embroidered dress. I haven't seen Belle 2013 yet, but yep, I'm dying to.

 

I also really like the gown of the lady next to her, despite the low neckline. The colours are positively beautiful.

 

 

Now that I'm watching Downton Abbey Series Five, I'm all back into them Downton gowns, this time especially eyeing Rose's wardrobe - which is elegant indeed, but with some practical pieces in between. I'm on episode seven, so I haven't yet seen the lovely lace-collared blue costumes picture above, which is one I just ADOOORE. I looove the embroidered orange flower popping up out of nowhere on her shoulder, and ZEE HAT.

 

I really love Rose now. She used to be very annoying and flighty, but now she's more mature and very outgoing to the poor and less wanted. And Atticus is such a nice fellow - so sweet and kind. I can't wait to see more of him, and them as a couple! :-)

 

Downton Abbey Series Five starts off really bad, but as it goes on IT IS SO GOOD. I'm just loving it like mad right now.

 

 

Yes, today I AM kind of focusing on costumes in movies I haven't yet seen (but want to.) I haven't seen 'The Theory of everything' (not counting, the trailer of course, which I've seen about twice... or yeah, maybe a bit more than that, heehee) but I noticed via pictures that the costumes are lovely as anything!

 

You know, I used to really strong dislike clothing from the fifties, but now my mind has changed. I especially love the light-blue dress in the picture. Not to mention that the elegant clasp, and long gloves finish the ensemble beautifully. Felicity Jones is SUCH a beautiful actress. :-)

 

There you go! Some of my current favourite Period Drama costumes!

 

Are there any dresses that have been eying your attention lately?

Leave me beautiful-costume-links and tell me whether you have seen/approve/recommend these movies mentioned in this post. :-)