Fashion

Every Sunday night, I look forward to one thing, and it is not seeing my students' faces come Monday morning. Downton Abbey is a highly addictive Masterpiece Theater series that started last year, and now we are in the thick of Season Two. Set in Edwardian England, it is the story of the Crawley family, the owners of the ancestral Downton Abbey. After the only male heir to the family fortune and estate dies on the Titanic, the three Crawley daughters are left scrambling to find suitable husbands to ensure that all is kept within the family. The drama that takes place in drawing rooms is contrasted with the drama of the servants in the chambers downstairs.

Everything about this series is just incredibly detailed, which includes the clothing. Many of the pieces the actors wear are originals from the time period, a fact made even more astounding when you think of the delicate netting and beading. As the eldest sister and the family beauty, Mary Crawley's clothes are pieces of art, worn by the artist as she tries to seduce men in the family drawing room or on a hunt.

Inspired by these images, I pulled out several pieces from my own closet. The materials and the designs are very much in keeping with the Edwardian styling, even though they were purchased a few years back at stores more known for catering to fashion forward teens. The challenge with these pieces is to wear them with something more masculine or more casual to make them more modern. No one wants to walk into a bar looking like an extra off a set.

The same can be said about the antique shoe buckles and brooches I've collected throughout the years. Even though these pieces are delicate, I've worn them with just jeans and tshirts, and I'm always surprised how these pieces can make even the simplest outfits suddenly special.

By the way, for those who love the series, there is a companion book that gives fascinating background information about the time period. ~m~