We have a saying around her at Frock Flicks that certain mid-Victorian women’s clothing periods are the Death of Fashion — mostly the 1840s and the 1850s. Go read my Snark Week post about why! The gist is that the clothes tend to be really frumpy, dowdy, and boring to us. You may love it, cool, but this is our blog, our opinions ;)
Still, we can make exceptions, and I can find a few frock flick fashions from this period that I enjoy, if grudgingly. At least five of them!
Lady of the Camelias (1981)
I haven’t seen this movie and can’t find it on streaming. It’s just Camille by Dumas, so the story is probably depressing as hell. But LOOKIT THESE GOWNS BY PIERO TOSI!!! Holy fuck, that man could make anything look fantastically good. Doesn’t hurt that the gorgeous Isabelle Huppert is wearing these in the movie, but just the costumes on display are fantastic. Lucious trimming and exquisite tailoring really elevate the usually mundane style of this period.
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
How do you make 1840s fabulous? Plaid. I could probably fill this whole top 5 with plaid frocks from the 1840s, but I’m making it harder for myself and including just one plaid costume and one you might not have seen or remember. And it’s the only interesting costume in this otherwise nice but forgettable try-at-a-twist on ye olde Dickens Christmas story. Worn by Morfydd Clark as the writer’s wife, this dress and all the costumes were designed by Leonie Prendergast, whose other frock claim to fame is Ripper Street.
Jane Eyre (2011)
Bronte novels onscreen tend to be set in the 1830s and ’40s, really leaning into the death of fashion, especially with ‘plain’ Jane Eyre. This adaptation was purposefully set in the 1840s by director Cary Fukunaga because he didn’t like ’30s fashions, so costume designer Michael O’Connor obliged. Never mind my own literary nitpick that the story should be set in the 1810s. Anyway, if you’re going to do 1840s, do it in stripes!
The Feast of All Saints (2001)
Did I mention plaid? Yeah, can’t help it, plaid really work in this era! Take a look at the lovely pink plaid on Marie Ste. Marie (Nicole Lyn). The pleated bertha collars of this period look particularly fabulous when made in plaid (or stripes!). Costume designers Jeannie Flynn and Van Broughton Ramsey were nominated for an Emmy award for this work.
Camille (1936)
And finally, let’s hear it for the boys! The 1830s had a more exaggerated silhouette for both men and women, but it stuck around in menswear with a nipped-in waist and flared coat skirting. This isn’t shown too often on film, but costume designer Adrian gives the character of Armand Duval (Robert Taylor) a touch of this elegant fashion.
Do you consider the 1840s the Death of Fashion or not?
Yes, generally speaking, but these films show that there are exceptions. I’m surprised that Young Victoria is not on this list! :)
Young Victoria has beautiful costumes but mostly 1830s :)
Yes some looks are very severe – and those bonnets! but the sewing in the extant garments is truly beautiful … especially mid to late 1830s.
Dragonwyck & the plaid dress on Ella Purnell in the promos For Belgravia weren’t too bad!
I normally find 1840s dull, but not necessarily “death.” I have to say the 1981 Camille – just chef’s kiss for Isabelle Hupert’s costumes. Absolutely stunning! The two plaid dresses featured above – I think I’d make myself crazy, blind, or both trying to lay out the pattern pieces to cut the plaids so they match, and my gosh – tucks AND smocking on that central bodice! How do you even cut that to make the idea work???? As for the 1939 Camille, Robert Taylor and his bib sized cravats certainly look good. I love Garbo, but the older I get, the less I appreciate Adrian’s design work in costume dramas. The women’s gowns are beautiful, but they definitely fall into the hysterical rather than historical category. Adrian was the one who pushed for George Cukor’s version of Pride and Prejudice to get changed to mid-19th century because he found Regency era clothing boring.
An opinion with at least some supporters on this website (I believe there has been at least one thread about the subject), but not one I share: blame exposure to the SHARPE television films (and their rather lively selection of leading ladies) at an impressionable age.
The bodices of those dresses was cut to restrict the movement of the arms. That meant only ladies could wear them. The arms couldn’t be raised much above the waist without splitting a seam! So it marked the era when women were forced back into the kitchen and domestic affairs (not the first time or the last that happened!)
I have no issues with 1840s fashion. Nor do I regard it as “the death of fashion”.