Musings of a Designer on Jewelry, Crochet, Crochet Patterns, Knitting, Running a Crafty Business, Movie Costumes, Books, Art, Design, Steampunk & the Geek Girl Life

Friday, March 11, 2011

Downton Abbey: Must See Period Costume Drama

If you haven't seen Downton Abbey yet, you are in for a real treat! I'd call it an Edwardian soap opera (first season set in the years 1912 – 1914), and it is riveting. It has it all: mysterious pasts, jealous sisters, gay footmen, medical dramas, secret ambitions, inheritance scheming, backstabbing housemaids, smart dialogue, the legendary Maggie Smith, and .... and... AWESOME COSTUMES!!

I know many of these costumes were reused from other productions, but it doesn't matter at all. You can run these episodes on mute and just be dazed by one glorious costume change after another. Especially if you know your costume history, it is just delicious. Get a sketchbook, a big piece of chocolate cake and watch these back to back for design inspiration overload!
Perfect period style.

The dress. The gloves. The lace!!

The evening dress choker!! (Hmm.. that looks familiar from another well-known film. Still gorgeous though!)

5 comments:

Waterrose said...

I love period movies and this looks great. I haven't seen anything about this movie/series?

V. Éva said...

Elbűvőlően szépek, pompásak.

Annie said...

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by my blog and your kind words about Miles Cat. He's doing much better.

I love your blog! I love period dramas like Downton Abbey, but I seem to keep missing the broadcasts or just catching bits of episodes. I might wait until it comes out on DVD, get it from the library and watch the series at my leisure.

I'm currently rewatching the original Upstairs, Downstairs series.

OakGem said...

I LOVE period tv series. If you enjoy thise one, you will also love Hercule Piorot, and the Tudors. Piorot is full of charm, and Tudors is another soap opera drama with eye boggling costuming. Amazing! Will definitely hound this show down.

A woman in those days wouldn't be caught dead without her jewels. Check out some of the vintage jewels I have in my collection here:
OakGem

personaltrends said...

You can watch the episodes on line if you miss the live broadcast. personally I have it set to record on my DVR. I love talking to mom about it the next day.
I'm a jewelry designer and I love this kind of period drama for the inspiation, but I also get great ideas from contemporary flims as well. My latest Necklace was inspired by the choker worn by Angilina Jolie at the end of "The Tourist"