Costuming In "Pride And Prejudice (2005)"

Let me admit something shameful first: I have never read Pride and Prejudice. I know, I know. How could I possibly have an English degree and somehow managed to never read this book? Well, as it turns out, I have a lot of strange gaps in my knowledge of British and American literature, mainly from the 1800s. Sure, I took the required "British Literature 1 & 2", the first half was from Beowulf to Dr. Faustus and the second half was mostly just poetry from Pope to Yeats. Novels were neglected. And when it came for me to chose my own courses I ended up taking things like "Fiction of the 50s" and "The Real And Unreal in Fiction and Film" (which was an English course strangely enough and really strengthened my love of analyzing film). Perhaps if I had taken "The 19th Century British Novel" things would have been different but I really didn't want to pass up the opportunity to take other more unique courses.

However, in high school when I took "Survey in British Literature" I remember the opportunity to read Pride and Prejudice coming up. Our teacher had assigned Jane Eyre but when some students saw the size of the novel, they objected that there was no way they could read it in the time allotted. She solved this problem by offering Pride and Prejudice as an alternative. I picked up both books and read the first page of each. I couldn't get through the first page of Pride and Prejudice without getting distracted so I read Jane Eyre instead. I liked it although I thought the end got a little boring after she left Rochester since the times with him were the most interesting to me but I always wondered what would have happened if I read Pride and Prejudice instead.

So a month ago I started reading Pride and Prejudice . . . and Zombies. I was amused but after about 20 pages I decided that I really should know the original, zombie-free plot in order to get a better idea of how things are being altered. The fastest way to do this was of course to watch a movie version of it and I decided on the most recent one. I had heard good things about the one with Colin Firth (my mom seemed fond of it) but the most recent one was more easily accessible.

As a movie, I really liked it. The direction was really nice (same guy who directed Atonement) and the acting was good but as usual I was particularly intrigued by the costumes. The Regency era was a strange time for women's clothing as there had been a particular interest in Grecian styles that deviated sharply from the extravagant Georgian fashions before it. The dresses were simple and often empire-waisted. Undergarments were simpler with just a chemise underneath, small stays that functioned like a modern bra, and a petticoat over all that was like a sleeveless dress to give slight shape and protect the outer dress. White, like in the Georgian era, was a popular color.

Th problem with talking about the fashions of this time period is that there is not a heck of a lot to say because they are so simple and repetitive. Even in this movie, characters were the same styles, shapes, and even dresses over and over. More so than having particularly important outfits, the characters have personal styles. Yes, there is something to occasionally be said about the importance of a particular clothing choice but I think because there are so many characters with so many different personal styles, it would be more interesting to look at a character's full wardrobe and what this says about them instead of looking at particular outfits in particular scenes.

As always, please click to enlarge the photos so you can actually see the detail.

Georgiana Darcy

Oh hi, Catherine Howard. Darcy's sister only appears for a brief moment to meet Elizabeth and she has on this simple white, half-sleeve, light fabric dress. The dress makes her look young, innocent, and delicate which, from what we are told about her character seems appropriate. She is somewhat sickly, if I recall correctly, and she was almost duped into marrying Mr. Wickham so he could gain her fortune.

Miss De Bourgh

Like Miss Darcy, we only see her briefly but she has only an outfit that is interestingly the polar opposite of Miss Darcy's. She is wearing a heavy dress with a shawl and long sleeves that is a column of black and very much like something an old widow would wear. It more closely resembles her mother's more mature clothes than the light ones of the other girls in the movie. Unlike Miss Darcy, who is kind and cheerful, Miss De Bough is quiet and sad seeming although we know factually that she is also sickly. It's interesting that Mr. Darcy was expected to marry her since she is somewhat the opposite of his sister: a similarly difficult start in life but allowing it to weigh on her instead of thinking positively. Perhaps it is thought she would be a good match for him because of how well Darcy looks after his sister.

Lady Catherine

Lady Catherine represents both a different social class and a different generation than most of the characters. Her clothes are very expensive looking and far more elaborate than the girls and Mrs. Bennet who would be her contemporary. Note that the shapes of her clothes are far more indicative of the Georgian era than of the Regency era but they lack a lot of the superfluous details. She has her own hair styled and doesn't appear to be wearing panniers, allowing her to have a skirt that is slimmer but still bigger than those of the slim Grecian dresses. It's these styles that will be carried over into the Victorian era when the slim gowns fall out of fashion until perhaps the 1930s.

Mr. Collins

Mr. Collins only has one outfit that speaks to his occupation as a preacher with its stark black and white and overly practical hat. It also shows his stuffy nature. His one outfit is not stylish like Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy's clothes and is very buttoned up with the high stance of the vest.

Mrs. (and Mr.) Bennet

Like Lady Catherine, Mrs. Bennet is from a different generation that causes her clothing to look more Georgian than Regency. However, her clothing is much less expensive than Lady Catherine's, even her nicest outfit in the lower right picture. The funny fluffy thing on her head in the last shot also looks like a leftover from her younger days since none of the younger girls have done much more to their heads than nicely style their hair. She also wears more patterned fabrics than anyone else which also give her a matronly and old-fashioned look.

Mary Bennet

Mary Bennet is the spinster of the Bennet girls. There, I said it. If there is one daughter who is going to end up unwed and caring for her parents as they age, you can tell it's going to be her even if you don't know who will marry who by the end. Her personality is very awkward and she clearly doesn't like to be a part of society, often lingering in the background or cloistering herself. As such, her clothing is drab and not very pretty. When at home she wears a pukey grey dress, often with an apron and her clothes for going on the town are dark and heavy. The only time we see her in something lighter is in the first picture of the second party they attend where her dress actually looks a lot like Kitty and Lydia's dresses but she doesn't look particularly comfortable in it. It's a very childish style with its poofed sleeves that look far too precious on her but fine on Kitty and Lydia.

Charlotte Lucas

Charlotte's clothes are kind of a less frumpy version of Mary's. She wears similar drab colors of greys and brown but the shapes of her clothes are not quite as depressing. She doesn't really embrace the newer empire waist styles, probably because she is considered to be an old maid at this point and probably thinks it would not be appropriate but she does have some appreciation of detail in her clothes like how the first dress has the ruffle around the neck and the second has stripe sleeves. She is definitely more comfortable in society but thinks rather lowly of herself because of her age and status. After she gets married, her clothes remain pretty much the same but perhaps even more demure, which makes sense for the wife of a preacher.

Caroline Bingley

Miss Bingley shows what the young upper class dresses like. Caroline wears all the latest fashions in rich fabrics. There's also something a little showy about the way she is dressed. She always has the shortest sleeves of anyone at a party (I don't even know if a sleeveless dress would be appropriate in this day) and even in her casual wear she has on a dark red or that slight v-cut that draws attention right to her chest. The showiness is part of her personality as she tries desperately to get Darcy's attention and makes sure to appear more rich and classy than everyone else in the room.

Kitty Bennet

Next to Mary, Kitty and Lydia have some of the most bland clothes for around the house. You get the impression, even more than with Mary, that their clothes are hand-me-downs from Jane and Elizabeth. You also get the impression that Kitty, being the second youngest, got first pick before Lydia because her clothes are slightly less shabby and cuter. It's actually kind of hard to talk about her clothes without also talking about what Lydia is wearing in the same scene since they are often dressed similar . . .

Lydia Bennet

So I will. In their "around the house" clothes, Lydia's dress looks kind of wrinkled and off-color while Kitty's is slightly nicer with the neck ruffle and the better looking but still cheap and homespun looking fabric. At the first party they go to their clothes are nearly identical yellow dresses with childish bows in the back but in the second party Kitty's dress calls back to her home dress and Lydia's is much more poofy like Mary's and immature looking.

Kitty And Liddy

I had no choice but to do a side by side comparison here. The first picture is of Kitty and Lydia in their town dresses, both shades of pale yellow and practically the same shape. Next to their oldest sisters, these outfits are very young-looking with the ruffly collars, large brimmed hats and crinkly pastel fabric. In the beginning, Kitty and Lydia are pretty much indistingusihable as people so they are appropiately dressed the same for most of the movie.
The difference comes in after Lydia gets invited to stay with a friend and Kitty doesn't which directly leads to Lydia running away with Wickham and procuring a hasty marriage. When Lydia returns home for a visit as a married woman, their clothes are now completely different. Lydia's outfit has matured immensely and also become much more expensive looking. Kitty's outfit has also matured into something that looks like a more recent hand-me-down of Jane's. It's much nicer than her other clothes but it still speaks to her status as a younger sister who still hasn't moved out. It's also clear throughout the scene that Kitty has developed some resentment towards Lydia because of how she has married first and is very cocky about it, hence they are wearing completely different colors for the first time.

Mr. Bingley

Mr. Bingley is always meant to be a lighter comparison to the often darkly dressed Mr. Darcy in a way that is actually similar to how Jane is a lighter version of the more neutrally dressed Elizabeth. Bingley is dressed to be the more traditional "handsome prince" character who has a very fairytale romance with Jane. He's even riding a white horse, damnit. He's the gregarious one so he is dressed in colors like light greys and tans and even his dark brown coat has an inviting soft and velvety look to it.

Jane Bennet

Jane is a pretty, pretty princess in light blues, pinks, and white. She never wears bold colors, the boldest she has is that blue town dress, which supports her shy nature. Her clothes are very soft and feminine contrasting her with Elizabeth who wears more sensible and sturdy things. We are supposed to see Jane as the pretty and sweet one which is why she ends up with the princely man. The pink ribbon on the dress she wears when Bingley proposes also calls back to the pink dress she wore when they first meet.

Mr. Darcy

Mr. Darcy is a sea of black and dark blue which shows his seriousness. In fact, the lighter the details on him, the more likely he is going to open up a bit. When he is writing the letter he has on a red vest of some sort while he is making remarks to Miss Bingley and expressing his opinion. He wears a blue patterned vest in moments of vulnerability with Elizabeth when he sees her in his house and when he introduces her to his sister, letting her into his world. When he comes to Elizabeth at the end he appears to have taken some dressing cues from Bingley as he has on a tan vest and cravet, doing his own version of the princely thing.

Elizabeth Bennet

And finally, Elizabeth. She loves neutrals and even when she wears a color like green, red or blue, it is a really neutral shade of the color. Elizabeth is practical and smart and so she dresses that way.  Her clothes are a lot less traditionally feminine than Jane's, she even has some menswear inspired pieces, which give her a kind of strength for the time period. She wears a lot of the same things many times but they are often changed by adding a coat, shawl, or in one case a sort of sleeveless pullover thing. You get the feeling that if Mary ever decided to not be a spinster for the rest of her life, she would start wearing Elizabeth's old clothes in the same way that Kitty looks like she has started taking Jane's. Also, a funny trend in the movie is that a lot of significant moments involving Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth involve her wearing coats: the time she walks to Bingley's house, the proposal in the rain, finding out bad things about him, and ultimately, the actual proposal.


So there's my two cents.


I won't make any promises for what I will do next. My next fashion post may be The Young Victoria since all my history movie nerd friends say it's one of the best.