Nolly (2023), the bio-miniseries of British actress Noele Gordon, may be primarily set in 1981, but it stars Helena Bonham Carter, is currently airing on Masterpiece Theatre in the States, and has that early-80s-is-still-very-60s look, so I’m using my “it’s my blog” power to review it!
For those like me who have never heard of Gordon or the show she starred on, Noele Gordon was an actress and television performer who starred on a Coronation Street-like soap opera called Crossroads from 1964 through 1981. The three-part miniseries Nolly primarily focuses on her leaving the show and what she got up to next (no spoilers!).
Costume designer Annie Hardinge (Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third, Austenland) had the job of recreating specific key looks worn by Gordon on the show, as well as showing the difference between Gordon’s character, Meg, and Gordon as an actress. Hardinge told the Radio Times,
“‘Nolly’s wardrobe was more flamboyant and theatrical, and Meg’s outfits were much simpler and more controlled, as befits the owner of the Crossroads Motel [the setting for the soap]…’ Most of Nolly’s costumes were designed from scratch, while Hardinge additionally sourced some vintage pieces online… ‘We wanted to put our spin on how she looked rather than just copy photographs. Helena and I wanted to elevate Nolly’s look, but still make her look believable.'”
The series primarily takes place in 1981, but you get a few flashbacks to the 1930s when Nolly shoots the first color footage done at the BBC:
As well as the 1950s, when she interviews the prime minister, and then 1975 when her character Meg gets married on Crossroads:
The character of Meg is dressed very classic:
While behind the scenes, she’s both more casual and more glam:
Other characters are of-the-moment, like:
The series is fun and sparky and has a great comedic tinge and “I’ll show the haters” to it, so I recommend it!
Have you seen Nolly? What did you think?
I love a faux Edwardian updo.
My mother was obsessed with the faux Gibson Girl updo in the mid-80s. I never understood it. Still don’t, actually.
Ditto! I love spotting what I call “historical retro,” which is earlier periods that are referencing even EARLIER periods. It blew my mind when I first found out that 1970s wedges were referencing the 1940s!
History is always at it’s most delightful when one remembers that those of us who live history almost always think of history as something that happened to all those OLD people …
On a more serious note, it always interests me to see little snippets from the past which show how various generations have lived with history: One of the more weirdly intriguing examples of that is the fact that at one point the Mona Lisa hung in the bedroom of His Late Majesty King Louis XIV – one of the more hilarious is that Queen Victoria once remarked that she thought King Charles the Second the most attractive of her predecessors.
Clearly Her Late Majesty liked them tall, dark and rascally.
Just finished the miniseries yesterday. WOW!! Helena Bonham-Carter was BRILLIANT! And the supporting cast was also terrific. I highly recommend this show! And, yes, to me the costumes seemed spot on! Bravo!!
My grandma never missed an episode of ‘Crossroads’, but the show was mercilessly mocked for its wooden acting and low production values. Victoria Wood’s ‘Acorn Antiques’ captured its vibe perfectly!
My grandmother adored “Crossroads” and wouldn’t hear a word against it “I think it’s very true to life,” she said. I found the shaky sets and wooden acting hard to tolerate. It labelled Noel Gordon’s career forever.