Ah, the year of two Emmas! Sometimes things come in bundles, and both a feature film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and this ITV version starring Kate Beckinsale were made of this Jane Austen novel, first published in 1815. While Gwynnie isn’t terrible, we’re fans of Kate’s version of Emma (1996) around here, so it’s time for a deep-dive!
Undoubtedly most of you know the story, where high-minded Emma Woodhouse tries to make marriage matches for her protégé Harriet Smith, not realizing that various matches are going on around her. Beckinsale’s Emma does a delightful job balancing the character’s cleverness with obtuseness, and she’s funny and sharp. I can’t believe how this is one of Samantha Morton‘s very early roles (frock flick or otherwise) as Harriet — she’s done such dark and complicated roles since then, and here she’s a wide-eyed, naive young thing! They’re an excellent pairing as friends. Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley, Emma’s foil and eventual love interest, isn’t as dreamy as some of the Mr. Knightleys out there, but he does a solid job. All the secondary characters are filled out well by veteran actors like Lucy Robinson (who played one of Bingley’s sisters in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice!) as Mrs. Elton, Samantha Bond as Mrs. Weston, Olivia Williams as Jane Fairfax, and Prunella Scales as Miss Bates.
Best of all, the costume design is by our fave Jenny Beavan, who, before this, had already made a name for herself on classics like A Room With a View (1985) and Sense and Sensibility (1995), both with co-designer John Bright. Of course this flick is going to look good! The show’s star agreed, plus gave insight into some of the costume design — Kate Beckinsale told the The Herald Glasgow:
“I knew straight away the costumes were going to be brilliant because the designer, Jenny Beavan … created a look that was character-led. We decided, for example, that I should wear no bonnets, only hats, which I thought was more true to Emma’s rebellious spirit. She is a match-maker par excellence, always trying to get her friends and acquaintances married off to each other.”
Don’t worry, this isn’t a bonnet-free zone like Bridgerton. As I point out in my hat research post, the Regency era was filled with hat shapes and styles! Sophisticated Emma wears non-bonnet hats that are accurate to the period, while young Harriet wears simple bonnets, as does more conservative Jane and some of the older women.
But my favorite thing about this show’s costumes is the Regency mix-and-match wardrobe shown on these ladies, especially Emma. The look of one dress can be changed up from scene to scene by the use of different neckerchiefs, vests, jackets, and hats. This is 100% how it would be done in the period by all but the insanely wealthy. Clothing was far more expensive than it is today, and fabric was the main expense. So a large item, like a gown, would be worn as much and as many ways as possible. Accessories use smaller amounts of fabric and other materials, so you could afford more of them and use these small items to change the look of an outfit for each occasion. Let’s see how it’s done in this version of Emma onscreen!
Emma’s Wardrobe in Emma (1996)
Her first dress is striped in green-grey tones and has long sleeves topped by a puff of elaborate strap work. She wears it with…
1) A plain neckerchief tied in a bow:
2) A solid green-grey vest that appears to have a double row of buttons up the front + a ruffled neck piece.
Neckline ruffles were popular in the 1800-10s and show up in fashion plates and portraits. While Emma, living in a small country town wears her ruffles laying soft, they could be starched up and sit high on a tall collar too.
Various types of little vests were worn for both day and evening. They’re especially useful for jazzing up a Regency little white dress, but Emma wears hers with prints too.
Back to Emma’s wardrobe options!
3) With a wide-brimmed, tall-crowned straw hat added.
4) Or with a tall dark plum-colored toque hat:
That’s four different looks from one dress worn with five various accessories. Not bad.
Her next dress is also striped, but in blue-green tones (and without the fancy sleeves). She wears this with the ruffled neck piece.
Emma is quite fashionable to have two stripey dresses. Zoom in to see these extant stripes:
Emma wears this pale printed dress with long sleeves a lot!
How does she change up this dress? Let’s count again…
1) At home, she adds a lace-edged neckerchief tied in a bow, and her hair is wrapped in sheer fabric:
2) But she also wears it with the the ruffled neck piece:
3) And adds both the the ruffled neck piece, the wide-brimmed straw hat, and a vest, but this is new one — it appears to be in a green/white check print and has a single row of buttons up the front, with the bottom button off-center.
4) She also swaps out the ruffles for a lace-edged, square-shaped neckpiece.
Another four looks from one dress, this time with six accessories, three of which are new.
Then Emma has a white tone-on-tone dotted dress with long sleeves. Can she get four styles out of this one?
1) Here, she wears it with wide-brimmed straw hat and what I’m pretty sure is the same green/white check print and has a single row of buttons up the front (the bottom off-center button is the giveaway, and you can faintly see a check pattern on the fabric).
2) For a gathering, she adds the lace-edged neckerchief tied in a bow and a big straw hat with a fabric crown.
3) Then swapping in the lace-edged, square-shaped neckpiece.
Seems to be just three looks using five accessories, but only one is new, so those accessories are getting a proper workout.
One outfit that doesn’t get any makeovers is this plain white dress with short sleeves. Emma wears it for tea with Harriet and again at the end of the story, so at least it’s reworn.
You’d think Emma’s wardrobe would be mix-and-matched with spencers, the high-waisted little jackets worn in the 1810s. But the only one of note is this pale pink (?) double-breasted spencer she wears at the picnic. Unclear which white dress it’s worn over, but there’s the wide-brimmed straw hat again.
Emma does wear this plum velvet pelisse (long coat) several times, first over the pale printed dress (with the ruffled neckpiece) and the coordinating tall plum toque hat.
Bonnets aren’t the only hat worn during this period — tall hats are quite posh!
That velvet pelisse coat also gets with a different hat, possibly in the same plum velvet, and in a round beret shape.
Emma’s velvet beret shows up with this grey corduroy (?) jacket too.
For evening, whether dinner or dancing, Emma doesn’t rewear any outfits or makeover dresses with accessories. This is one time when her wealth and refinement is on full display. She has this light green dinner dress:
Another green dress in a soft print, which is worn with a velvet vest:
And her fanciest dinner dress is in a pale yellow/golden lace:
Emma’s ball gown is also a pale yellow/gold color, but in silk. The back has a lovely drape, perfect for dancing.
With most of the other ladies in filmy white, Emma stands out just a tiny bit in glowing, regal silk.
Harriet’s Wardrobe in Emma (1996)
As a poor parlor boarder of undetermined parentage, Harriet doesn’t have the funds or fashion sense of her new friend Emma. Harriet doesn’t have much of either dresses or accessories to change them up with, thus highlighting her lesser situation.
She starts with this simple checked dress, the neckline filled in with a ruffle-topped chemisette. She’s wearing a bonnet, also contrasting with Emma’s more fashionable wide-brimmed straw hat. Most of Harriet’s day wear has filled-in or high necklines.
The very pale yellow dress does get more accessorizing.
How so?
1) To have her portrait sketched by Emma, she adds a lace neckerchief.
Later, for tea, she adds:
2) A tiny green satin bow at the neckline.
Out at a gathering, she wears:
3) A straw bonnet with flowers and satin ribbons.
So three slightly different looks achieved with the smallest of three accessories. That suits her station and the occasions.
This pale lavender dress is her rare day dress with a lower neckline (it’s also recycled from Pride and Prejudice 1995):
But to walk about town, Harriet fills the neckline in with the same ruffle-topped chemisette worn before. Plus she wears her fancier bonnet with satin ribbons.
Harriet naturally has a smaller choice of evening wear. There’s this white dotted dinner dress:
Which I thought might be the same as this dotted gown, just the white layer worn with yellow underneath. But looking closely, the dot patterns are different.
When Harriet wears this white and yellow dotted gown to a ball, she adds a ruffled fichu:
This costume is recycled from Pride and Prejudice (1995), and it reminds me of this fashion plate:
Harriet gets another ball gown that she wears just once — it’s in a pale checkered fabric accented with with pink ribbons.
Other Women’s Costumes in Emma (1996)
Jane Fairfax
Genteel, modest Jane doesn’t get a lot of outfits, just a few appropriately genteel and modest ones. She’s not fashionable like Emma, and although she’s not well off, she comes from a higher status of family than Harriet. She wears traditional bonnets too.
For the picnic, she has a lovely spencer jacket accented with a little bit of eyelet lace.
Not clear, but the spencer might be worn over this pale blue dress she wears at a gathering, with the same bonnet.
Her ballgown is white with pale blue dots (and recycled from Pride and Prejudice 1995).
She has another even more plain dress in all black.
Mrs. Elton
For flash, no-one tops social-climbing Mrs. Elton. She piles on accessories, lace, trims, and all kinds of fripperies. But she does get multiple uses out of some of the accessories, at least.
She wears this yellow dress (recycled from Pride and Prejudice 1980) with a hat, cap, and jewelry she wears in many scenes.
For a dinner party, she wears the same pearl collar and long pearl necklace, adding a head necklace (one of the few styles and times they’re accurate!).
At a ball, she again wears all the same jewelry, but swaps the head necklace for a tiara-like hair ornament.
And with a pale orange dress, she again wears all the hat, cap, and jewelry.
In the next scene, she removes the tall hat to reveal the cap underneath:
That hat (which is recycled from Princess Caraboo 1994) and the cap are reminiscent of ones found in period fashion plates:
At the picnic, Mrs. Elton doesn’t repeat any apparent accessories, but she’s the most elaborately dressed person in attendance with this fussy pink and lace ensemble.
She almost fits in with the other ladies in the garden, with everyone in soft tones, but Mrs. Elton’s dress is loaded with trimmings, unlike the other ladies.
Mrs. Weston
Lastly, but not leastly, Mrs. Weston’s best dresses all have the same crossover style bodice, making it her “thing” for dinner and dancing.
That was a popular style, of course.
And her orange gown in a sari fabric reminds me of this portrait with a crossover bodice made of Indian-style fabric.
Which Emma from 1996 has the better costumes in your opinion?
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