Ok remember the last video when I said I wasn’t super familiar with Medieval fashion history?
Well, Regency is the era I have studied. I’m not an expert, but I know a bit. So needless
to say, when I found out that there was a new Jane Austen adaption was coming out, I
was veeeery excited. To make this video, I took 332 screenshots
from the movie, every time Emma is on screen and I noticed a new detail in her costuming.
And then I broke those screenshots down and studied them, creating a full inventory of the elements
that went into each costume. I planned to include the full breakdown in this video,
but the full script ended up over 12,000 words, so I had to break it up. This video
will be focusing on the bigger picture, going over background info for the Regency Era,
evaluating her wardrobe as a whole, and discussing Emma's costuming as a representation of an upperclass
Regency woman. But I will release a follow-up video that delves more deeply into the scene-by-scene
analysis.
First, for those of you less versed in
the Regency era, a summary. The Regency era in fashion is ascribed to roughly 1795-1829.
The last five years of the 18th century saw a rapid fashion revolution. The French Revolution
took the 18th century love of artifice and structure, and chucked it all right out the
window. Young people of the day wanted to visually set themselves apart from the bougie
aristocracy, which was currently being beheaded. The waistlines started to rise and straighten.
The Chemise a la Reine began to expand in prominence, evolving from a controversial
celebrity fad into a staple base for new gown construction.
The old styles struggled to adapt and blend
with the new fashions, sometimes with awkward results.
By the end of the century, Regency fashion had stabilized into the Neo-classical look,
borrowing heavily from Greek art. Which is just fantastic.
Here they are, a bunch of young revolutionaries
with their high ideals about philosophy and senates. And a sizable portion of the female
population was like, “that’s cool, but can I wear it?” Which honestly I have never
identified with a feeling so much in my life. There was still a bit of fumbling about, as
women struggled to adapt their pattern drafting to the new styles. There were a lot of interesting
and creative sewing methods devised, such as the bib-front dress closures and wrapped
stays. Early in the decade, skirts still had some fullness. They often had trains, and
usually fitted sleeves reaching almost to the elbow. The predominantly white dresses
could be varied up with short bodices, turbans, an array of grecian-inspired wraps, and many
other types of accessories. At the height of the Neo-classical phase, bodices reached
an extreme shape, as low in the neck and high in the waist as possible, with the most
perfectly squared necklines they could achieve. Towards the end of the 1800's, the extremes
started to decline. You constantly see that in fashion history, a trend will grow and
grow until it reaches ridiculous levels, then is snaps back to something more subtle, before
starting down a completely new ridiculous path. While still wide, necklines weren’t quite
so low, and they started to take on rounder shapes. The trains receded from the skirts,
and the skirts lost volume to become slim-fitting, with only the essential amount of bulk centered
at the back. Sleeves were made shorter, and puffed sleeves became more fashionable. Construction
methods also became more streamlined, dresses either closing with buttons or drawstrings
at the back. During the 1810's these trends continued, with
the addition of new trends which would become much more common later in the 20's. Drifting
away from the ultra-simplicity of the Neo-classical period, more decoration became favorable.
Increasingly elaborate trimmings were used at the hems of the long skirts. White was
still the staple color, but you did start to see more patterns coming back into play. The waistlines
slowly lowered away from their extremes. The hems continued their rise to a practical ankle-length,
and the fullness came back a bit at the hem. Short puff sleeves remained fashionable, and
they were often layered atop long fitted sleeves. During the 1820’s the evolution of these
trends became more distinct. The waistlines finally settled just above the natural waist.
The fullness continued to gather in the skirts,
and more innovations were developed inexpensively to add
to the decoration of the clothing. Puffed, padded designs were built into the skirts.
More intricate designs were used to create texture in the puffed sleeves, which continued
to grow in volume. The necklines, for the most part, remained wide, but they became
much more conservative. While bodices in the earlier parts of the Regency were usually
fitted with gathers, smooth darted bodices became much more fashionable as the period wore
on. The 20’s are still considered part of the regency, but they are another transitional
time for fashion, and by the 30’s these trends had evolved to such an extreme that
their simplistic origins were almost completely untraceable.
However, Jane Austen published Emma in the year 1815, and judging by the costumes of
the 2020 adaption, this is most likely the year targeted for the setting of the film.
By distilling what we know of the Regency fashion, we can create a baseline for
what an individual outfit might consist of, and it is important to understand the purpose
behind each layer in a Regency ensemble if we are to properly appreciate the costuming in Emma.
Each woman would start her outfit with a shift, usually in white linen. She would wear stockings,
held up by garters. Her shoes were usually either simple leather boots, or flat
slippers, laced across the foot and tied at the ankle. The 18th century stays had fallen
to the wayside, but a new, lighter version had replaced them. They could be long or short,
simple or more complex, dependent on the needs and design of the individual wearer.
Next, at least one petticoat was necessary to achieve an appropriate level of opacity
with the light, sheer fabrics. Petticoats had been adapted to the high waistlines, and
were now either held up by suspenders, or they were commonly sewn to an under-bodice.
The under bodice fulfilled it’s own function, in that it also added to the dress’s opacity,
and also softened the lines of the stays. Bodiced petticoats could have sleeves or remain
sleeveless, and it was popular to make them from a bright color, so that the sheer overdresses
could be inexpensively varied up. The next layer would be the dress. They were,
as mentioned, very lightweight and often completely sheer. There is a great amount of distinction
in the type of dress and accessory combination, in regards to the time of day and activity
for which it was worn. Most commonly, however,
a morning dress would have long sleeves, and the low
necklines would be filled in with a fichu or chemisette. A lady might carry a shawl
to ward off the chill, or she might wear a cap to preserve her hairstyle.
If she decided to go for a walk, or promenade, through town, she added some kind of jacket, usually
a short spencer or a skirted pelisse coat, from which the ruffles of her chemisette could
peep over the collar, adding to her look. In addition to a jacket, she would also don
a bonnet, gloves, and a small reticule, which had replaced the large pockets of previous
eras, as they no longer fit discretely beneath the slim, sheer skirts.
And for the evening, when friends and families came together for dinner and entertainment,
the ladies wanted to look their best. This might involve a completely new dress, with
short sleeves and finer materials, or it might be as simple as removing the chemisette and
adding some jewelry. Evening dress rules were mostly extended to party attire and dances,
as far as what was and was not appropriate. However ladies always wore gloves when in
public, though this was not necessary in their own homes.
So how well did the costumer’s stick to conventional Regency attire when developing
Emma’s silhouette? Pretty well, actually, with a few important, but purposeful departures.
Twice we see Emma in a shift, with squared neckline and puffed sleeves. We see her stockings,
and she has at least two types of stocking she wears at different times of the year and
for different occasions. One is a thicker ribbed stocking with ribbon garters tied above
the knee. The other is a finer knit stocking. She is wearing stays, which
we can tell by her overall silhouette, and a few times it actually peeps above the back neckline of
her dress. But that is it. They never show us Emma’s stays in their entirety, though
we do get a nice shot of Harriet’s. Over the stays she wears a petticoat. There
never seems to be more than one layer of petticoat showing, so we’re probably just dealing
with one each time. The petticoats are definitely bodiced, because usually you can see the neckline
clearly through her dress, and you can never see any detail about the stays under her dress,
so an under bodice must be defusing it.
Over the petticoat, she will wear a gown, along with an assortment of chemisettes, bodices,
jackets, jewelry, and other accessories. The biggest departure from history, is one
I can only speculate on. I do not think the puff sleeved shift we see a couple times was
actually worn underneath her costumes. Her sleeves are usually sheer, and you can often
see her under sleeves through them. They seem to be of a completely uniform style.
Ruched up on either side of the shoulder.
Several times we can tell by the fabric that the sleeves are part of her petticoat,
and never do de ever see a hint of another set of sleeves beneath that, which, if they
were puffed like the shift, they would definitely sit lower than the ruching. I’ve only found
one moment were we see a petticoat in its entirety, and it is during this interview.
So, my theory is that if she was wearing a shift throughout the movie, and I can’t
be certain she was, because there is never a trace of it, but if she was, it was definitely sleeveless,
and her petticoats all had sleeves pretty much exactly like that pink petticoat’s.
The point of putting sleeves on a shift is to protect outer layers from sweat, but with
modern washing methods, a film set might not be worried about that as much.
The only other real “historical inaccuracy” people have pointed out about the movie, is
their sometimes hesitancy to break up the time of day by sleeve length and chemisette
use. I disagree with the chemisette argument. I think the movie actually rolled unusually
hard into chemisettes. The sleeve length critique is possibly valid. Emma almost always wears
short sleeved dresses, and she doesn’t always cover up properly when she goes outdoors. You could
mark this down to her character and station. But I think the answer is more obvious and
simple. Aesthetics. The movie had to find a balance of history and beauty that could
be appreciated by a wider audience, not just the historical fashion nuts.
And this goes for some of the other choices made as well. Many of her pieces strike me
as historical, but just a fraction off. Many garments were simplified, streamlined. They
didn’t roll heavily into the fluffy, lace-and-bows, ultra-feminine opulence of the era. Which
is an understandable choice. We have our own cultural norms and stereotypes, and can a
modern audience really be expected to take Emma seriously if she’s dressed
like an overgrown child in a nightdress? Maybe they should, but it’s the choice the
filmmakers went with.
Ok now that we’ve discussed the history
behind Emma’s silhouette and layers, let’s talk about her wardrobe as a whole. Often
when I see movies, I’m less interested in any one specific outfit, and more weirdly
fascinated with how all of the moving parts of a wardrobe function together. And versatility
is a trait the Regency era excels at, and what won my love for the era. I used to
hate regency. It used to be my least favorite period, like I said, because I thought that the women all looked
like little girls in nightgowns. My opinion didn’t change until I began to understand
the absolutely breathtaking versatility of Regency style. Every piece of a Regency woman’s
wardrobe was designed for maximum versatility, adaptability, and economy.
The regency staple item is a white dress. The color of the dress can be altered at whim through
layering. Sleeves can be lengthened or shortened through a few simple whipstitches. It can
be a simple daily wear dress. The addition of a bodice can transform it into an evening
gown. What is the point of a jacket with short sleeves? Versatility. What is the point of
all of the scarves, hats, chemisettes, Spencers and pelisses? It is all about versatility.
The Regency era is also fun because of the ways it will surprise you. Women's clothing prior
to the regency had been fairly consistent for a very long time, and the fashion revolution
gave women a blank slate to experiment with, making up their own pieces and drawing inspiration from
a variety of sources to adorn their simple white bases.
At the time of the Regency, fabric was still prohibitively expensive. The very fine cotton
then preferred over linen or wool had to be imported. But with the regency method of
layering, one white cotton dress could be easily restyled for any occasion. A new bodice
could be made from barely a scrap of silk, and you have a whole new look and color scheme.
Spencers required more for the sleeves, but they still used very little fabric in comparison
to earlier 18th century jackets. Pelisses required the most fabric, but even a lower
income woman only needed one for warmth, and that one pelisse could be styled differently
with chemisette collars, hats, and shawls. Simple straw hats can be re-trimmed. The sliding
buckles can be interchanged. Even Regency perures show the wonderful sense of economy
they had. If you are going to invest in jewelry, why not buy a matching set? So that whether
your outfit requires a necklace, earrings, brooch, tiara, or anything else, you can always be
sure your jewels will coordinate. The small layers of a regency ensemble shows us an incredibly
economical way to diversify a wardrobe. I love the concept of capsule wardrobes, and
the most effective wardrobe is the one that uses the smallest number of pieces in the
greatest variety of ways. Emma is the perfect case study of Regency
versitility, and the costumers did a fantastic job. In the movie we can track the progression
of a wealthy regency woman’s wardrobe through the course of one full year. Never does she
wear an identical outfit twice. But how well did the costumers represent this wardrobe?
Let us do a full inventory. Throughout the year, Emma wears 6 day dresses, and
6 fancy dresses. She has a summer evening dress and a winter evening dress, and 2 ball
gowns. She also has 2 special occasion dresses, her Christmas dress, which I speculate is
an heirloom, and her Wedding dress. That is a… surprisingly reasonable balance.
As far as I can tell, Emma has 6 petticoats. She has two white petticoats, three colored
petticoats, and one satin petticoat for her ballgowns.
She has 10 different chemisettes, which maybe could have been scaled down a little bit. But considering
how small they are, and how relatively inexpensive they would have been to collect, it is reasonable.
Emma wears 6 different bodices, through which she can add warmth or dress up a basic gown.
She has 9 different jackets. 3 are lightweight spencers, 5 are pelisses in differing levels
of warmth, and she has 1 cloak. Considering that for a woman of Emma’s class a jacket
was a prerequisite to even leave the house, this seems appropriate.
Shoes were harder to track, but from what I could spot Emma has 6 pairs of daily wear
boots, of which she strongly favors the yellow, and secondly favors the black. She has basic
tan flats for most evening occasions, plus a pair of flats to match each ballgown. And
she has a pair of pattens, to protect her nicer shoes from mud.
Emma liberally combines an assortment of jewelry, sometimes practically, and sometimes
purely for effect. She has at least 16 pairs of earrings, 9 necklaces, 5 brooches, 4 hair
sticks, 3 tiaras, 2 gold headbands, 2 sets of matching bracelets, 1 gold bangle, her
2 rings, and the various buckles and slides she uses to close her jackets. While this
is a lot, and she does have an obvious weakness for small dangle earrings, you do have to
remember that a woman like Emma probably has not purchased much jewelry for herself, rather
she would have inherited a collection from her mother and other previous matrons of the
family. She uses 9 different shawls and scarves, though
usually for effect rather than warmth. Emma caries 6 different reticules, most of
which are crochet. 6 does seem to be the number the costumers kept going with.
And she wears 8 different pairs of gloves. 2 are tall leather gloves primarily used for
evening events, 2 are short leather gloves for day wear. And because gloves were a requirement
regardless of season or weather, she also has 2 short lace pairs for summer, and 2 tall
lace pairs. She carries a few other accessories.
2 fur muffs, a fan, a small parisol, a lace handkerchief.
And then there are the hats. Emma has 14, most of which are only worn once. The hats
are the only area where I felt like the quantity vs. versatility factor was way off. I would
have loved to see the same hat being used multiple times in different ways, especially if it had been
the same base hat with different trimings. Overall I feel like Emma’s wardrobe painted
a remarkably realistic picture of what a real woman’s wardrobe might have looked like.
It even fits into the 80/20 principle, with about 20% of her clothing getting 80% of the
screen time, and the rest only appearing once or twice. Her clothes follow a distinct personal
style, and she has clear preferences for cross-front bodices and ruched sleeves. She has a proclivity
for earrings, but she has a favorite necklace, chain, bangle, and rings that she wears regularly.
She has very few staple items, and a large number of small accessories that can be combined
almost infinitely. At first I was annoyed that most of her reticules are crochet, and
in reality probably the movie hired a crocheter, like how Game of Thrones had Michelle Caragher
as an embroiderer. So if you have a crocheter on staff,
why not make them all crochet? But historically, there was great
variety in reticules. Some were crochet, some netted, some embroidered, some painted, some
beaded. They came in all shapes and sizes, and most women made their own reticules, as
little showpieces of their handiwork. I was disappointed that the costumers had not used
more variety in Emma’s reticules. But then I realized that this is actually perfectly
in-character with Emma’s tendency to think more highly of her skills than they actually
merit, be they artistic, musical, or social. Maybe she can’t embroider or bead. Maybe
all she learned how to do is crochet. I don’t know but it makes me laugh.
So what can we as a modern audience learn from Regency Fashion, and Emma’s wardrobe in particular? I’m
primarily talking to the history bounders right now, and anyone else thinking critically about
their own wardrobe. I think the biggest lesson would be the advantage
of consistency. How much more effective your sewing can be if you have the self discipline
to streamline your designs, extrapolating new patterns from ones you’ve already perfected,
narrowing down your color scheme to one that is purposefully interchangeable, and the big one
for me: picking one silhouette that is comfortable and works well for my body type, and then
sticking to it. All of these things I really suck at; I’d much rather jump around at
whatever is currently piquing my interest. But the negative aspect is that I see massive
waste of my own energy with minimal results. I think I’m at a point in my sewing journey
where streamlining my mindset is the push I need to get to that next level. If I were to invest
my time into building a solid collection of basic pieces, from there I could add to it
and increase versatility. So what do you think? Where are you in your
sewing journey? Maybe you are just starting, maybe you are just starting to think about
starting. Maybe you’re way ahead of me or on a completely different track altogether.
I would enjoy hearing about it. Please don’t take me too seriously. I’m literally just an uneducated
internet tramp fumbling through history alongside you.
But I hope that through this video you’ve learned a few things about regency fashion
and acquired a new appreciation for it—whether you like the era or not—and that you’ve
gained some insight into the costumes of Emma. If you want to do more research of your own,
I’ll include links to the articles I read, as well as a Pinterest board where I uploaded
all of the screenshots I took of the movie. If you’d like to see a deeper analysis of
the construction and historical inspiration behind Emma’s pieces, I’ll add a link to the
breakdown video.