The Costumes of Downton Abbey Sara Butler Professor Emerita, Miami University Volunteer, Butler County Historical Society TODAY PBS Series Behind the scenes: the costume design process The upstairs and downstairs characters Movie New characters Changes in continuing characters – or not Clothing from Butler County Historical Society Four costume designers: Susannah Buxton (Seasons 1) Rosalind Ebbutt (Season 2) Caroline McCall (Seasons 3&4) Anna Robbins (Seasons 5&6) 18 primary characters - some changing costumes frequently Caroline McCall Sources of inspiration for costume designers: Magazines of the time period Photographs and portraits Costume books Existing artifacts Designers from the period Queen Alexandra, 1905 Steps in the process: Characters defined by Julian Fellowes, the creator Inspiration boards for each character created by designer Color palettes for each character determined by designer Costumes are coordinated with set Actors are consulted Costumes help actors assume roles Budget = $30,000 - $40,000 per episode Robert’s dinner suit = $4,200 Sources for costumes: Vintage Built (made) Existing costumes from supply shops (e.g. Cosprop) Vintage elements used on some built dresses – e.g. bodice panel Mary nursing Matthew Season 2 Anna at Mary’s wedding Costumes sometimes reused Season 3 44 evening dresses needed for just two episodes in Season 4 (1922-23) Sears catalog 1925 Downton Abbey in a time of change (1912-1925): Gender roles Rules of etiquette Class system Technology Clothing production and distribution Corsets c. 1912 Sybil: “Golly, my corset’s tight. Anna, when you’re done with that, would you be an angel and loosen it a bit?” Edith: “The start of the slippery slope.” Violet An Edwardian woman “Alas, I am beyond impropriety” Embellished suits 1912-14 1922-23 1925 Cora 1912-14 1922-23 1925 1912-14 1922-23 1925 Mary Mary in the latest styles 1912-14 1920 1925 1912-14 1920 1925 Edith 1912-14 1922-23 1925 Edith in day dress, 1925 Pictorial Review, 1925 1912-14 1922-23 1925 Sybil: The new woman! 1913 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X gmoZ026p_E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUdAu5Dn4BM 1924/25 Sears catalog, 1925 Violet and Martha Levinson “Frienemies” Isobel and Violet 1925 Robert 1912-14 Robert Carson Bates 1912-14 1925 Robert in dinner clothes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKNLqAhA40I Footmen: Showpieces of the house Visible indicators of status Footmen, 1925 Footmen, 1912-14 1912-14, morning 1912-14, evening Anna 1922-25 Lady’s maid 1912-14 1922 1925 Daisy 1912-14 1925 Mrs. Patmore Mrs. Hughes and Carson 1912-14 Mr. and Mrs. Carson 1925 Downton Abbey – the movie 1927 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bFZrjzM0_Y King George V and Queen Mary Queen Mary Queen Mary Queen Mary In movie Queen Elizabeth Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles Maud Bagshaw Lady-in-waiting Violet 1927 Two generations Mary Fortuny Delphos dress Edith A Marchioness Cora Benninghofen dress label Tom Branson Carson Barrow Anna and Bates Moseley Formal livery Daisy and Mrs. Patmore .