An inside look at the intricate costuming of the popular PBS series, including character costume choices and the historic fashion trends characteristic of the aristocracy during the Edwardian era.
Appealing to Anglophiles, costume and sewing aficionados, and fans of the hit series, The Costumes of Downton Abbey presents—with comprehensive historical detail and beautiful imagery—the design decisions and wardrobe intricacies that shaped the glamour and elegance of the characters of Downton Abbey.
Featuring the fashion of both upstairs and downstairs cast members, this title explores the unique daytime, evening, special occasion, and wedding wardrobes that led to a 2011 Emmy and several Emmy nominations for Outstanding Costumes for a Series. Detailed photographs, fan-favorite stills from the television series, and designer notes and insights make this a delightful and informative guide to the role costumes played in the character portrayal, story development, and art direction of the series.
Period dramas are always amazing to look at, and there's never been a better, more intricate one than Downton Abbey. The team behind the scenes were determined that every detail would be exactly right, and that included costumes for every character. Throughout the series costumes were used to subtly inform the audience about character arcs, the changing times, and even characters' circumstances.
The book alternates between going through character by character, and tackling broader topics like accessories or partywear. This saves it from getting monotonous, as the topics are constantly switching and swapping. Generally speaking, it's divided into Above Stairs and Below Stairs, though the non-character chapters feature players from both areas of the house and beyond.
The joy of a book like this, however, is in the images, and this book delivers in spades. Every page has at least one picture, many have more than one; they're mostly beautiful, full colour images taken from the show, but there are costumes sketches and layouts as well. Here are a few examples:
The accompanying information is fascinating and really easy to follow, whether you know anything about costuming or not (I don't, and I found it really interesting!) It's been really well written to be easy to follow.
If you enjoy Downton, or costuming, or behind the scenes info, this is definitely the book for you. In fact, if I were going to make a complaint, it would be that the book, being A4, thick and hardback, is heavy to hold up for a while - that's literally the only downside!
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