1830's Drama Queens

Gurl! Get a Chemisette on...Mr. Knightley
doesn't want your sunburned shoulders!

For those of us with a love of historical clothing comes an almost requisite love of the costume drama. Of course, the negative side of that is A) you send your significant other screaming from the room when you suggest watching Pride & Prejudice (Jennifer Ehle version no doubt!) for the 297th time and B) your "literary" friends refuse to watch any period piece movie with you because of your unsolicited running commentary on the historical accuracy of each and every character's ensemble. Yep, we've all been there...alone, very likely in the sewing room, or perhaps the couch...watching Emma and yelling at no one that she really ought to be wearing a chemisette with that day dress...puhlease!  Ahem...okay, enough embarrassing insight into my life and on to what we're here for...the COSTUME DRAMA!
In particular, I want to introduce you to some...or should I say a few (because they're aren't many) that concern the time period we've been talking about in relation to the book Sophie du Pont: A Young Lady in America...the 1820's and 30's.  So, there isn't a whole lot out there to satisfy your wish of watching leg-o-mutton sleeves (Gigot sleeves in 1830's speak) grace the silver screen, but I'll share with you the ones I know...please feel free to share any other suggestions.  Keep in mind the list is in no particular order...shall we begin?

Wives & Daughters - 1999 miniseries, joint production of BBC & WGBH Boston, starring Justine Waddell, Bill Patterson, Francesa Annis, Anthony Howell (*sigh*) and many other familiar BBC faces. An adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, Wives and Daughters: An Everyday Story, the story centers around Molly Gibson, the headstrong and quirky daughter of a widowed country doctor and her struggles with a wicked stepmother, beautiful stepsister and love.  In my opinion, it's a great movie and they did a   very good job with the costuming, especially for this little understood time period. Much of Molly's wardrobe is a bit more 1820's in style, while her Stepmother and Stepsister wear the height of 1830's fashion with huge gigot sleeves and elaborate hair pieces. This speaks to Molly's simple but elegant taste and her character.  Keep in mind, that during much of the 19th Century being too fashionable was often seen as reflective of a character flaw...selfish, greedy, vain, etc. In addition to the lovely costumes the story is great...true to form of Mrs. Haskell's work.  If you love Cranford then you should enjoy Wives & Daughters. Here's a few examples of extant dresses that remind me of Molly's simple style...

Cotton dress, British, c.1827
MET Collections

American or European, 1830's
MET Collections

Cotton dress 1825-1835
Tasha Tudor Collection - Augusta Aucti

George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans)
Click here for a great article
from the New Yorker on Eliot's
childhood home, Griff House.

The fashionably annoying
Rosamond

Middlemarch - Another BBC production, this one aired in 1994 with seven episodes.  The adaptation was based on the 1871 novel, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans).  The novel/ movie are set in the fictional town of Middlemarch during the period of 1830-32 and focuses on many of the towns characters, but in particular Dorothea Brooke, played by Juliet Aubrey. Again, this one stars many familiar BBC faces such as Douglas Hodge, Robert Hardy, usual baddie Rufus Sewell and Colin Firth's little brother, Jonathan Firth. This is a great series and received tons of praise and awards on the other side of the pond.  Matter of fact, it even inspired a cottage industry of Middlemarch inspired stuff, from spin-off novels and comics to lectures and debates.  As far as the costuming, it's pretty good...however, Dorothea being quite the intellectual dresses somewhat plain and in general the backwater burg of Middlemarch is lacking in fashion know-how. The vain and remarkably annoying Rosamond is a spoiled fashionista with some fantastic dresses...the only problem is you have to watch her to see them.  This is another series I would highly recommend...it's not as funny as Cranford and not as depressing as a Dickens adaptation, but tows the line in-between with just the right amount of humor and tragedy with some great costumes thrown in for good measure.

Intellectual Dorthea would stick to elegant and
sensible dark silks with little adornment.
European, 1832-35, silk, MET

Fashionable and vain Rosamond would
go for the extra-large puffs!
British, ca.1830, cotton walking dress, MET 

Little Dorrit - The 2008 miniseries production of BBC and WGBH Boston is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' serial novel by the same name.  The novel was originally published between 1855 and 1857, consisting of 19 monthly installments at a cost of about a shilling each. The story centers around Amy Dorrit and her father who both live in the infamous debtors prison Marshalsea.  The story twists and turns as Dickens is prone to do so you'll just have to watch the series (or better yet read the book) to know what happens.  There have been a few adaptations of the novel, however the most recent one is at the top of my list.  The cast includes Claire Foy, Matthew Macfadyen, Bill Patterson (again), Tom Courtenay and a whole slew of characters that'll keep you going..."wait, wasn't that, yep it was", through every episode. Little Dorrit (click on the link for a great article about the inspiration for Amy's character) is one of my favorite costume dramas. I admit I'm biased because I love pretty much any Dickens adaptation, but more than that it was just great costuming (with some occasional minor missteps).  The novel begins in 1826 and this particular adaptation did a great job in conveying the fashion changes of the period...the wealthier folks wear the latest styles of increasingly puffy sleeves and large bonnets, while the elderly or the poor still sport empire fashions.  Also, the characters were portrayed in large part by their clothing.  Sweet, kind and giving, Amy is neatly dressed and lovely, but slightly out of fashion in her higher-waist dresses and narrower skirts.  Meanwhile, her sister, a dance hall girl, flirts her way into getting fashionable clothes though decidedly lacking in taste. It's fitting that big lug John Chivery, assistant turnkey of Marshalsea, puts on his best clothes complete with a fetching belcher to profess his love of Amy.  

Tough, but well mannered, Jem Belcher
might just smack you for belching

A belcher (no, not a teenage boy) was a brightly colored neck cloth named after the bare-knuckle prize fighter Jem Belcher. By the way, Dr. Who fans will recognize some familiar faces in the cast, and perhaps even the work of costume designer, Barbara Kidd.

Amy Dorrit might not be caught
dead in such an ensemble...but I might!

The Young Victoria - Now, of course we can't leave out a recent fave of many costume drama devotees...The Young Victoria. A feature film, released in 2009 and starring                                  

"The Old Victoria" just didn't have
the same ring to it...

Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend and Paul Bettany, it wowed us with stunning sets and costumes.  Who didn't envy the Queen's wardrobe..and those hairstyles?  But...I'm not the biggest fan of Queen Victoria so I had significant issues with the story line and characters that big, puffy sleeves just couldn't overcome. Plus, the movie is set in 1836 and by that point the styles are beginning to change once again toward the pointed bodices and cleaner lines of the 1840's, style changes that owed much to Victoria's influence...did I say I'm not a big fan of the big Queen V?  I did enjoy the movie, but it's one of those that I probably won't watch over and over again.  Some of the costuming ..such as the sheer bonnets were dead accurate and much of that owed to the stalker like reporting of what Queen Victoria wore at every public appearance and of course to the talents of Oscar winning costume designer, Sandy Powell (she won one for this film).  If you're in search of great costume eye candy of the 1830's (mostly the later 1830's) and sappy romanticism, then The Young Victoria is your movie!

The bald mannequins totally creep me out!
(Costumes from The Young Victoria)

Oh, hunky young Ewan...can you save this
movie from absolute awfulness?

Scarlet and Black  - Well, this is one that I slightly cringe at putting on the list because I thought it almost un-watchable...almost...you see it stars a young Ewan McGregor and it has fairly good costuming so if you turn the volume down and just stare at the eye candy...then it's tolerable.  The 1993, four-part BBC series, also starred a teenage Rachel Weisz, the elegantly haunting Alice Krige and our favorite Mr. Bingley, Crispin Bonham-Carter.  The series is based on the 1830 novel, The Red and the Black (Le Rouge et le Noir) by the French novelist, Stendhal (Mari-Henri Beyle). Occurring from 1826 to 1831, the historical psychological novel (pretty much lost me there) strove to be both a psychological study of the protagonist Julien Sorel and a satire of French society under the Bourbon Restoration.  Let me translate...so this poor, smart kid gets educated by the clergy, but he's always questioning the man so he takes off to find his own way and by the way, he has visions of Napoleon. Along the way he meets and falls in love with a kindly cougar and a spoiled socialite...neither relationship goes very well and in the end everything pretty much sucks. Did I mention it stars a young Ewan McGregor?

French, about 1830, MFA Boston

ca.1830, LA Museum of Art

In case that's not enough for you, here are a few more
films that contain some 1820's/30's, but not quite enough
to be a full-fledged costume drama for this period...

Les Miserables (pretty much any adaptation, musical or not) -
Victor Hugo's classic is set in the 1830's, unfortunately there's not a whole lot of cutting edge fashion in French prisons!  I thouroughly enjoyed the new musical-based release and there are some other great adaptations of the novel...you'll find a review of them here. The version
released in 2000 with Gerard Depardieu as Jean Valjean and John Malkovick as Javert (heck yeah!) got great reviews and is available on Netflix.

Jane Eyre - While most of the story takes place in the 1840's, the really scary part...Jane's childhood is set in the 1830's. Multiple adaptations are available with at least two on Netflix and the most recent version, released in 2011 is on DVD.

Swashbuckling ensues!

The Count of Monte Cristo - A good compromise to watch
the 2002 version with the fella...you get eye candy in the way of      Guy Pearce and Jim Caviezel and he gets sword fights and the beautiful Mercedes, played by Dagmara Dominczyk. The downside is with all the swashbuckling going on there's not much time for pretty dresses.

George Sand not in pants

Impromptu - 1991 film starring Hugh Grant and Judy Davis that is set in 1830's France and examines the strained relationship between composer
Frederic Chopin and the authoress George Sand.  Sand was one tough lady and to show it she often wore men's clothing...hence the lack of lovely 1830's ladies fashions in this odd, but likable film.

This list is no means exhaustive...I left out many older movies simply because the costuming tends to be a general "old timey" look and not necessarily period specific.  You can find Middlemarch, Wives & Daughters, Impromptu, Scarlet and Black, and various versions of Les Miserables and Jane Eyre on Netflix.  Happy watching and feel free to share your own favorite 1820's/1830's costume dramas!

The ever-so-fashionable Ivanhoe

As a follow-up to my welcome post, I thought it might be fun to explore a little bit of the fashions of Sophie du Pont's drawn world.  The sketches, diaries and letters used in the book, Sophie du Pont - A Young Lady in America date from 1823 to 1833.  Not only is this one of my favorite periods in fashion it also is one of the least studied and understood.  The middle period between empire waists and crinolines...it's an odd time in fashion. I say it's sort of like the Little Bo Peep look...on acid.  A backlash to the form fitting empire style dresses began in the 18-teens and was evident in the puffs, laces and general frilliness that began to overtake women's fashions in Europe and America.  Inspired by the romanticism of the period, fashion turned to castles, knights and the Renaissance and gradually away from the classic lines of ancient Greece.

A Lady with a Drawing of Lucretia, by Lorenzo Lotto,
c. 1530-33. Copyright Bridgeman Art Library 2010
Check out these guns!

Nothing says Ivanhoe like black tulle
and geranium satin!

The change was gradual and empire waists persisted in high fashion far into the mid 1820's.  Sleeves gradually got puffier and waists had more ups and downs than a roller coaster!  Perhaps we should  narrow it down a bit and look specifically at the years, oh, let's say 1820 &  1821. 
Sophie du Pont is just 10 years old and probably more concerned with dolls and practicing needlework rather than fashion.  To understand a little bit more about these years in fashion I want to focus on the work of Elisabeth McClellan, Historic Dress in America.  The book was published in 1904 and is perhaps my favorite book on historic clothing.  Many folks today complain about the lack of illustrations, or the overwhelming amount of information...but, those are things I enjoy about the book.  I love reading her descriptions - trying to imagine the outfit she is describing, somehow I try harder to "see" it rather than just looking at an illustration.  McClellan can overwhelm you with information, but many of the resources she had access to have long since vanished leaving her work as an invaluable source.  

Now onto the fashion!  She begins 1820 by relating that black dresses "came into favour" and the fashion world introduced two new fabrics with plume velvet and levantine satin - both used for evening dresses.  Furthermore, highland tartans had experienced ups and downs in popularity for the last five years but "became a pronounced fashion in 1820, even for evening dresses". (McClellan, p.141)  The newly published romance "Ivanhoe" shared title with a black tulle and geranium satin evening cap.  McClellan continues to dissect the style changes of 1820 and moves from the fashionable influence of the Scots to the overwhelming use of flounces. ;)

cotton dress, France, 1818-1820
Les Arts Decoratifs
Let's Count the Flounces!

"We notice at this time frequent mention of flounces as trimming for ball dresses, but it soon became fashionable to trim everything with flounces." (McClellan, p.143)    

ca. 1820 turban, silk, British
MET Museum
That's one pouffy turban!

Beyond flounces and trims of every kind worn for day and evening we also learn that turbans "were still worn in every variety of material, Chinese crape and Peruvian gauze being favourites". (McClellan,  pg.143)   

Young married ladies in Paris had a preference for richly embroidered turbans fastened with gold brooches and embellished with feathers of herons, marabouts, ostriches, or birds-of-paradise. Metallic gauze persisted as being fashionable in both evening hats and turbans.  Transparent fluted bonnets with a wreath of ribbons trimming  the crown and edged with plaited gauze were all the rage.  The fashion for transparency continued in the introduction of many new fancy gauze's in 1821 designed especially for bonnets and headdresses.  The meaning of names were already lost on Elisabeth McClellan when she penned her costume history at the turn of the 20th century.  Marbled gauze, marabout gauze, deluge gauze, and flowered gauze tempt our imagination with their mysterious meanings. (McClellan, pg.147)

Silk dresses for evening and half dress challenged the ever-popular muslin for reign supreme.  McClellan describes these silk frocks ornamented with silk quilling arranged in bias to create a "rich effect", perhaps resembling the dresses pictured below. (McClellan, pg.147)   Additionally, black velvet dresses ornamented with beads were fashionable for evening parties and "white cachemire dresses, trimmed at the border with three bands of satin, are much worn at the Parisian tea parties."(McClellan, pg.154)

ca.1820 Silk dress, American, Old Sturbridge Village

1820 silk dress, American  MET Museum

1823-1825 silk velvet dress, Scotland
V&A Collection

1824 silk wedding dress, American
MET Museum

Portrait of a Lady, ca. 1820 - Andrew Mellon Collection
Check out the amazing collar of her pelisse....puh-leezz girl!

Zenaide & Charlotte Bonaparte, 1821
by Jacques-Louis David
Napoleon's nieces - the eldest, Zenaide wears
a black velvet dress

                   



























Pelisses were still very much in fashion and the authoress shares a coveted ensemble of a gray levantine pelisse trimmed down the front and around the bottom with "puffings" of the same material, a satin bonnet of a marguerite color, a plain fichu of find India muslin, slippers of grey kid, a beaded reticule and lemon-colored gloves.  Marguerite was likely a light pink or yellow owing to the Marguerite daisy which came in both colors. (McClellan, pg.155)

ca.1820 silk pelisse, American
MET Museum

Now, from pelisses to hats we have much to learn perhaps Ms. McClellan can educate us a bit:

"The hats are somewhat smaller in the brims, though there are some hats which are bent down in the shape of bonnets: straw hats of every shape, are now becoming very general for walking; Leghorn hats have already made their appearance; the brims much narrower than formerly; they are ornamented with a narrow scarf of plaid silk, forming a circular drapery. These hats are placed on one side, and the hair that is exposed is arranged in full curls or ringlets." (McClellan, pg. 153)  She goes on to advise that, "The most tasteful bonnet for walking is a curled plush silk of beautiful pink; and grey hats with flowers of the same colour, made of velvet or chenille, are in very great favour."(McClellan, pg.153)  

Georgian Cut Steel Earrings -1820

Of course, the fashionable belles that you are I'm sure you are dying to know the most vogue accessories to wear with your velvet and silk frocks.  First, is the parasol with the most elegant of India muslin, "embroidered with a beautiful border in feather stitch, instead of fringe; the edge is finished with broad Mechlin lace, about four inches in breadth...lined with azure blue, shot with white; the stick and handle are of polished steel, the thick part is beautifully wrought and the handle is formed like the leaf of the acanthus."(McClellan, pg.152) 
The mode in jewelry is polished steel.  "A brooch of polished steel confines the gown to the bust, and another is placed in the back between the shoulders", a look most elegant in the following description.

"A very pretty woman appeared in public last week and all her numerous ornaments were of polished steel: her dress was a marshmallow-blossom colour, which admirably set off the superb brooches she wore in front of her bust, and at her back." (McClellan, pg.152)

    

1826 hand motif necklace
seed pearls, gold, emerald, diamond
and ruby 

Gold jewelry still had its place in fashion as we are told that richly embroidered turbans are secured with gold brooches and belts with gold clasps in the form of two hands locked together. (McClellan, pg. 152)

Whew! It's not easy being fashionable in the 1820's. Hope you learned a little bit and are inspired to read much further into Elisabeth McClellan's, Historic Dress in America.  Maybe on your next 1820's dress project you can add a style element or two featured here.  Now, if someone could just make an inexpensive reproduction of that sweet hand motif necklace...well, that would be...sweet! :)

Welcome!

Old Rags Tumblr

Welcome to the first post of my blog!  Ideally it will be a foray into historical fashions...in particular American and European fashions from the 18th and 19th centuries.  I'll very likely take a detour now and again into other lands and decades and oftentimes venture beyond just fashion.  Now, you're probably a little curious about the title...so, let me explain.  Well, first off I love, love, love history and especially anything that gives me a glimpse into who the people of the past really were.  What did they feel, how did they live, are they more like us than we might suppose?  So, a while back I stumbled upon a little book in the library of my workplace...which just happens to be a historic house museum.  There among dusty tomes on Federal architecture and 19th Century glassware sat this little gem of a book that I had probably passed by a gazillion times.  This time though we found each other and since then I always find an excuse to take it off the shelves....ahem, like for this blog post.  Not to mention, it also has given a rise to a slight obsession with finding other such books.  There will be a blog post or two on those other little treasures later.  

"Sophie du Pont - A Young Lady in America" by Betty Bright Low and Jacqueline Kinsley is a glimpse into the life of Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810 - 1888) through her letters, diaries and most endearing...her sketches.  Sophie was the daughter of Eleuthere Irenee du Pont, the gunpowder manufacturer and ancestor of the later industrial giant DuPont.  Her life was idyllic...a perfect mix of wealth and comfort, but belonging to the first generation of that emerging empire still unspoiled and happy with the simple pleasures of life.  Sophie's sketches and the "world" she created are both hilarious and magical.  The letters, diaries and sketches chronicled in the book are in the time period of 1823-1833.  

Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888)
painted by Rembrandt Peale
Hagley Museum & Library 

Eleuthere Irenee du Pont (11771-1834)
painted by Rembrandt Peale
Hagley Museum & Library

All that and I still haven't explained the blog title yet. Well, I don't want to spoil the book for you but the title is a caption related to my favorite of Sophie's drawings.  I'll keep the caricature a surprise, but I will say this...the title of it "Preparations for a Wedding - adorning the paranymphe" might give a bit of a hint.  Sophie usually included the dialogue of what had transpired with her sketches since she tended to capture interesting scenes that took place among her friends and family.  "Discompose the altitude of my puffs" is a phrase that appears along with a particularly charming scene and I fell in love with it!  Basically, I say that curious phrase whenever I can cleverly (or not so cleverly) insert it into a conversation and of course most people likely think I'm crazy.  Thankfully,  people that know me and have had me shove Sophie's drawings in their face shrieking about how amazing they are...well, they understand...or tolerate me. 

Sleeve "puffs" in the LACMA collection
No one wants to have the altitude of their
puffs discomposed...no way!

I'll explore more about Sophie and her drawings later...but, in the meantime think about getting your own copy.  http://www.amazon.com   If you love historic fashion and 19th Century material culture then you'll fall in love with it!  So, the adventure (and nerdiness) begins and hopefully it will be fun and fashionable...to a degree.