Agent Carter (2015-16) is a Marvel Cinematic Universe show that I’m still kind of amazed was even made, let alone got two seasons of airtime. It stars Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, who was initially introduced in Captain America (2011) as the love interest of Steve Rogers who was divided from him across time.
The show explores how she put her life back together following Steve’s presumed death, working her way up in the chain of command in the Strategic Scientific Reserve as she tackles corruption within the SSR and the forces outside it that are attempting to undermine Howard Stark’s research and credibility. It’s less superhero flick and more spy thriller, which is frankly what I love about it. The characters exist in the same world as superheroes, but it’s also a world where most of those supes are still largely underground due to prejudice and ignorance. And happening alongside the early years of the space race and the Cold War is the race between the U.S. and their various allies and enemies to create another Captain America to become the next “super soldier” (i.e., human weapon). Agent Carter fits into the same category of MCU shows like Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, where people aren’t flying around and blowing shit up with their brains. The thing that makes Agent Carter stand out, however, is that it’s set in 1946-47 and the costumes are fabulous.
Giovanna Ottobre-Melton headed the costume team for all 18 episodes of the show, and she and her team put together a cohesive look for the main characters that feels authentic with just a little bit of a classic comic-book patina. Another thing I appreciated about the show is that I recognized a number of off-the-rack, vintage-inspired outfits from small labels like Trashy Diva. I’m not entirely sure how many outfits were custom-made for the series versus pulled from stock or sourced from other vintage-inspired modistes, but I’d hazard a guess that most of Peggy’s outfits were a mix of custom and vintage. Honestly, every episode is packed with some excellent outfits on all the characters (their costuming budget had to be pretty respectable because most of the characters get at least two-three changes per show; Peggy often gets four or more), but these are a few of the standouts!
Did you watch Agent Carter (2015-2016)? Tell us what you liked — or didn’t like — in the comments!
Find this frock flick at:
I loved Agent Carter and I was bummed that it only had 2 seasons. If you are looking for a white blouse like the one Peggy wears, House of Foxy or Seamstress of Bloomsbury might have one.
There’s a musical number in an episode! Shaddup I love musical numbers!
I loved the show and I was actually kind of mad that Avengers: Endgame had Steve go back in time and marry Peggy. Not because I don’t think she wouldn’t have still been such a badass if she’d married him, but because a lot of her character development on the show was her proving herself as more than Captain America’s girlfriend (of course the audience knows she was a very capable agent but it was easy for the men on the show to dismiss her as such) (that and I really liked her developing relationship with Daniel Sousa so having Steve knock him out of the running was… meh).
Yes!!! Agreed so much. Felt like a slap in the face after all the development her character underwent. I also loved her with Sousa. I choose to believe the Endgame ending is some alternate timeline, haha.
Well, it is a multiverse. The married Steve and Peggy could have been variants….
I loved this show so much, and loved Peggy’s character. I think that between Peggy and Natasha, it was fab having these two women in the Marvel universe who weren’t supers per se, but flesh and blood highly trained women who could hold their own and deal with just about any situation that they found themselves in. They were kind of rare in a world of muscle-bound superheroes, and as much as I’ve enjoyed Wonder Woman, normies who can kick butt are pretty cool. Loved Peggy’s wardrobe, especially her evening wear when undercover, but loved seeing her in leather jacket while on field ops. I think there were some Agent Carter patterns for cosplay for awhile, and I’m sorry I never bought one. Any of her well fitted dresses with puff sleeves and A-line skirts are adorable with the right platform shoes.
It’s always fascinating to see an actor or actress with their Stunt Double – especially if the resemblance is quite close – because it feels a bit like seeing the actor (in character) alongside the actual character.
Also, Ms Hayley Atwell isn’t just a dish, she’s the whole main course (But we all knew that, obviously).
I got to meet Hayley at NYCC a couple of years ago and she signed my Agent Carter Funko Pop. She actually asked me how much I’d liked the show and I told her I missed it and wished they’d renew it some day.
Something weird is going on with the pictures in Firefox Mac on this and other posts: they are all resized to be the same width or height or something. Very weird and ugly.
Yeah it seems to only be on Firefox, don’t know what they did. Chrome & Safari work fine tho!