The third year of Downton Abbey Mania is about to commence. I am fully prepared to devote the next 7 Sundays sitting in front of PBS to join the Crawleys, their friends, and relatives and watch this high-end dramatic soap plot unfold (January 6th – February 17th). The action has moved from the Edwardian Era and the carnage of World War I and entered the 1920s – the jazz age, the flapper age, and the first generation in which youth held sway in music, the arts, and fashion, influencing their elders in the process.
The lawn in front of Downton Abbey is getting crowded! Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Scores of young men are now dead and mourned in burial grounds across Europe. The young, angry at the carnage and destruction and irreplaceable loss of life and limb, turned away from their parents’ rules and adopted a looser, more flamboyant lifestyle. Women voted, drove cars, drank, had affairs, attended jazz clubs, and skirted convention. The youth culture was in full sway, and for the first time adults began to ape their youngers.
The Edwardian fashion silhouette included restrictive corsets, long skirts, and trussed up bosoms. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Adolescence became the new standard of beauty – youthful adolescence, or the “garconne” look. Thin was in, and the idea was to appear small bosomed, small hipped, and boyish.
The prepubescent girl look became popular, including flattened breasts and hips, and bobbed hair. Fashions turn to the “little girl look” in “little girl frocks”: curled or shingled hair, saucer eyes, the turned-up nose, bee-stung mouth, and de-emphasized eyebrows, which emphasize facial beauty. Shirt dresses have huge Peter Pan collars or floppy bow ties and are worn with ankle-strap shoes with Cuban heels and an occasional buckle. Under wear is fashionable in both light colors and black, and is decorated with flowers and butterflies. – Women’s Fashion 1920
Gabrielle Chanel, Evening Dress in Crepe Georgette with Silver Lamé Sash. France, c. 1923. Image @canalblog.com
Hems rose, bras were condemned, and fabrics swayed and shimmered. Unchaperoned dates became de rigueur. And hair was worn short or bobbed. Gone were the restrictive corsets of their mothers and grandmothers. Hemlines began to rise so that by 1924, skirts stopped at the knee (displaying the entire lower leg) and waistlines dropped below the hips. Slits, pleats, and skirt gathers allowed for freedom of movement. Fabrics for evening wear shimmered with metallic thread, beads, and sequins. Dance clothes were made of gold lame or flowy fabrics cut on the bias. Fringes showed movement, and the craze for new dances like the Charleston and Tango, was in full swing.
Fashion silhouette for 1922. Image @Pauline Thomas fashion-era.com
How did the women of Downton Abbey fare in this new liberated age? Let’s look, shall we?
Lady Edith
First, Lady Edith, who we last saw straddling a tractor in pants and learning to drive an automobile, is still trying to find a relevant place in the world. Stuck in the middle of two beautiful sisters, she has yet to find her unique position.
Lady Edith wears a relaxed, straightlined look popularized by Chanel. The outfit is early 1920’s, before the hemlines started to rise dramatically. Her cloche hat closely fits her head, and she wears her crimped hair short. As skirts shortened, shoes and hose began to play a more important role in fashion. Edith’s outfit is a bit clunky. Will she do better with time? Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Lady Edith’s dinner dress exposes her arms and much of her shoulders, but does not emphasize her waist or bosom. The rich fabric and color is typical of the 1920s. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
The gorgeous shimmering fabric with panels hangs loosely over Lady Edith’s fit frame. Madeleine Vionnet was especially adept with the art of bias-cutting and diagonal seaming. This sleeveless dinner dress is typical of the era. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Close up one can see the beautiful shimmering metallic thread details. Lady Edith’s crimped hair is fashioned to look short. Note the delicate long necklace. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
This Callot Soeurs gown reminds me of the cut of Lady Edith’s dress. You can find it on my Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/pin/236509417903111924/ Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Coco Chanel strongly influenced fashion throughout the 20th century. Her dresses for working women and women on the go sported functional features and lacked superficial decorations. Her fashions were clean, sleek, and monotone. In the image below, Edith, who has found a job as a columnist, visits her editor in a practical yet fashionable gown.
Lady Edith in her “little boy” work outfit, London. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Lady Mary
Unlike Lady Edith, Lady Mary has everything, including access to funds. In order to become rich, she has to look the part. It helps enormously that Lady Mary’s figure is thin, elegant, and small-bosomed. Her future assured, she spends no time worrying about the cost of her wardrobe and indulges herself royally before the wedding.
The cloche hat, dropped waist, restrained colors, and well placed details of her day gown bespeak a quality that ready-made or homemade garments did not have. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Rich, lush fabric, dramatic sleeves and neckline, and black embroidered detailing. Matthew’s suits are also beginning to look more relaxed and modern. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
An extraordinarily attractive day suit. The hat is dramatic (not cloche) and sports a feather. Note that clothes tend to be color coordinated. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
An utterly romantic and refined outfit. Mary is elegant, and certainly not a flapper of the speak-easy kind. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
With so many young men killed during WW I, Lady Mary is lucky to be married at all. This romantic wedding gown echoes the romanticism of the era. The tiara is an especially beautiful and authentic detail. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Simplicity and elegance are the hallmarks of early 1920s fashion. 1920 photograph.
Long flowing lines and drop waist. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Breathtakingly gorgeous gown. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Mr and Mrs Matthew Crawley. Awww. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Wide collared coat and cloche hat. Long beaded necklaces. How very elegant and modern. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Saturday Evening Post, 1922
Lady Rosamund, Isobel Crawley, and Lady Rose
Aunt Rosamund wears a dress with asymmetrical details and loose sleeves that allow for freedom of movement. Her dress echoes that of the younger set and she has most definitely discarded her Edwardian clothes. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Rosamund’s 1920s gown looks downright dowdy next to Lady Rose’s youthful, modern sailor-collared dress. Her hat has more dash and elan than Edith’s simple monotone cloche. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Lady Rose is the youthful ideal. Her clothes are shorter and flowier than those of her elders. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Young and impetuous Lady Rose MacClare wearing a flapper dress. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (French, 1883-1971). Dress, 1925, crystal beads on silk chiffon. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gifts of Mrs. Wesson Seyburn. Photographs by Ken Howie.
While the older set, like Isobel Crawley, wore fashion influenced by the young, their outfits were decidedly conservative in comparison. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Martha Levinson
Shirley Maclain as Martha Levinson, Cora’s American mother. Her clothes are expensive and extremely fashionable when compared to Isobel and Violet. Martha tends to overdress according to British standards. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Balenciaga Coat 1927
The contrast between Martha and Violet cannot be more stated than in this image. Violet wears old-fashioned clothes and a tiara that has probably been handed down for generations. Martha is a walking advertisement for nouveau clothes. Her headband is extremely fashionable and she wears an outfit dictated by the preferences of the young. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Martha’s jewels and headbands match each outfit. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Martha’s clothes are as flamboyant as her personality. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
This is a rather restrained look for Martha, who sports a short crimped haircut. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Mary, Martha, and Cora: 3 generations. The clothes are simple in this scene, and the details are exquisite. While Lady Mary’s hair is long, the hairstyle mimics a shorter bob. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Cora, Lady Grantham
Cora strikes the right balance between current fashion and her position as countess. The earl, who values tradition, wears traditional clothes. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Cora in black. Fashionable, yet restrained and somber. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
The Crawley women at Lady Mary’s wedding to Matthew. Note the elaborate hats. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Cora looking regal in a richly colored and detailed gown. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Characters as defined by fashion: Violet in Edwardian clothes, Cora in a conservative 1920s evening gown, and the very young racy Lady Rose in a flapper sleeveless evening gown. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Lady Sybil
This interesting image shows the very elegant Mary standing next to Lady Sybil, whose wardrobe reflects her new status as the wife of a working man. Anna is in uniform. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
The lines of Lady Sybil’s simple gowns remind me of Madeline Vionnet’s chiton gown.
Early 1920s fashions were influenced by many cultures – Egypt, Greece, Japan, and Mexico.The monastic style was also fashionable. Tom Branson’s suits are ill-fitting in comparison to the earl’s and Matthew’s suits. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Lady Sybil’s pregnancy was easily accommodated in this loosely flowing gown. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Tom and Sybil spruced up for Lady Mary’s wedding to Matthew. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Lady Sybil’s gown is made of fabric with an exotic fabric. This was an era that harmonized art with fashion. Rayon, known as “artificial silk”, gained great popularity with the public. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Team Bates
One simply cannot ignore the servants, although a uniform is a uniform. Let’s see what else the hoi polloi wears, shall we?
Poor unfortunate Bates. Forced to wear prison garb. Oh, woe is he. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
…
This grey ensemble does poor Bates no justice. When will he be released? Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Mrs. Bates in a fighting mood for her man. She will move heaven and earth to prove his innocence. Her version of 1920’s flapper style is somber indeed. Her clothes are probably homemade and sewn from a pattern. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
With only modest resources, Anna Bates manages to look primly stylish. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Detective Anna Bates prying information from a reluctant witness. Her coat is conservative and long. And is she wearing clogs? Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Another woe is me character – Ethel. Poor poor Ethel is trying to make do in life while taking care of her bastard son Charlie. She still manages to afford a cloche hat. Ethel’s colors of choice are somber, sober, and solemn. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
Phyllis Logan as Mrs. Hughes and Lesley Nicol as Mrs. Patmore. Very little in their wardrobes has changed. Credit: Courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
For those whose interests in 1920’s fashion has reached new heights, click here to visit my Pinterest board entitled 1925: http://pinterest.com/janeaustenworld/1925/. For more about avant-garde dresses of the 20’s, google Coco Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet, Lavin (and his robes de style), Paul Poiret (who lost his leadership position in fashion during this era, but who was heavily influenced by Japanism), and Liberty and Co. of Paris and London.
Next week: My review of the first 3 hours of Season Three of Downton Abbey. PLEASE, in your comments do not reveal spoilers. We in the U.S. have not yet seen the series. Thank you!
More on the topic.
- 1920s dress styles
- 1920s fashion
- women’s fashions 1920
- From Flapper to Bride
- Downton Abbey: Award Winning Couture
Images courtesy of © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2012 for MASTERPIECE
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