Outrageous Mitfords

As previously discussed, the five English Mitford sisters lived fascinating lives. Until now, we’ve had to content ourselves with adaptations of Nancy Mitford’s somewhat autobiographical novels. But finally, Outrageous, the 2025 bioseries, has come to BritBox! And folks, it’s FABULOUS.

As I’ve written before, the Mitfords were:

A group of real-life aristocratic British sisters who were very well known in the 1930s and 1940s for their beauty, style, and tabloid-followed lives: Nancy was a novelist/biographer and socialite; Diana was a socialite and fascist; Unity became a devotee of Hitler; Jessica moved to the US where she became an author and communist; and Deborah became the 10th Duchess of Devonshire (Top 5 Films Related to the Mitford Sisters).

Now, this series moves away from the fiction and tries to capture their real lives. The costumes are spot-on, capturing the range of styles worn by cash-poor and rich elite in 1930s England. And, while not every sister has broken out of the pack, it’s been entertaining watching the real-life ups and downs, including love and marriage and affairs and divorces and politics, of this quirky, fascinating group of women.

The costumes were designed by Claire Collins, who hasn’t designed anything particularly notable before this (gah I always hate writing that), but worked in the costume department on Bleak House, Jane Eyre, Miss Austen Regrets, and Dancing on the Edge. Unfortunately there hasn’t been a lot of press with her (hey Claire, wanna do an interview?), but I did find a few blips, like the significance of jewelry — which, unfortunately, I admit I haven’t really noticed on screen except for one important exception that I shall discuss:

“As part of our research, we specifically collected images of jewelry pieces worn by the Mitford girls… and although we couldn’t replicate certain pieces, we were able to use them as a guide. For example, we decided to incorporate more bohemian pieces for Nancy as we were keen to express her ties with the creative types of the time, such as the Bloomsbury group… The Mitford sisters came from impeccably aristocratic stock, but growing up, money was tight… Nevertheless, I think jewelry was highly significant in their lives, as it often came in the form of gifts from the men they loved, but it could also be exchanged for hard cash and might help them out of a tight spot” (The 6 Mitford Sisters, Their Jewelry and a New TV Series).

Collins is doing a great job of using costume to distinguish character, which is of course one of its major jobs. Writer Nancy (Bessie Carter of Bridgerton) is very bohemian and wears more 1920s-styled, loose, drapey clothes than the others:

Compare to the real deal:

Next, literal (VERY LITERAL) fascist Unity is totally focused on LOVING Hitler and the Nazis, plus goes away to finishing school in Germany, so her clothes are relatively clunky and look like the kind of sensible thing her mother picked out for her:

It captures the very “hanging around the estate,” tweedy, horse-riding look the real sisters wore in the countryside:

Of course, the standout is GLAM AF Diana (Joanna Vanderham of The Paradise, Dancing on the Edge, and Banished). She marries a rich guy and then leaves him for Britain’s fascist party leader, and in both situations, she’s loaded… and beyond chic. I can’t stop staring at this perfect curl in her hair:

But her standout moment has been this white silk? jersey gown — high-necked and long-sleeved, it could be dowdy but for the interesting seaming and gathers on the front:

The AMAZEBALLS train that flashes by:

And most especially, the stunning rhinestone headpiece that I had to capture from every angle:

She also gets a chic suit for a daytime encounter, and I LOVED the overlapping peplum and cape with buttons.

Diana (center) was indeed the most glam of all the sisters:

Of course, one key element to the story is the looming specter of fascism. According to the actor playing fascist party leader/Diana’s love interest Oswald Moseley,

“They had this amazing warehouse where you’d turn up and there was all of the original 1930s wardrobe.  It was all antique, perfectly preserved stuff.  Claire contacted me maybe three months before, and just said, ‘Look, I’d be really keen for you to wear all this stuff, but you’re not going to fit in it.’ If I wanted to fit in it my body shape had to change, so I lost 12 kilograms to fit into these (clothes).  And that made a really big difference, because if how they’re cut and how they feel.  When you’re creating a character, you never where your hook is going to come from.  You have ideas and hopes and concepts, but when I put on one of Oswald’s uniforms that he designed himself, he was trying to mimic Mussolini, it’s a really satisfying result for me as a performer.  It was really informative” (Interview: Joshua Sasse on portraying a historical figure in Outrageous; “You have to work extra hard in order to keep him grounded.”).

And Unity and Diana go in person to one of the famous Nazi Nuremberg rallies, which is jarring to watch especially given politics in the US right now:

Collins used red to signal the intensity of things (and, of course, the Nazi color was red):

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But it’s also fascinating to hear the dialogue between Muv and Farve (father), as Jessica tries to warn her parents about Hitler and the Nazis. The parents basically pooh-pooh things, saying if anything bad were happening it would be in The Times, and Unity who is in Germany isn’t reporting any pogroms. It reminded me how it can be very easy to ignore police raids and political violence if you’re not their target, and if you’re predisposed to see the upsides, you may miss all those experiencing the downsides. Pay attention, folks.

Have you been watching Outrageous? Chime in with your thoughts!

 

 

 

 

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