I don’t profess to be any kind of historical costume expert, but I do have an interest in vintage fashions and I love a good wedding dress. Because of this I’ve spent hours both looking at old wedding photos and watching Downton Abbey, and it strikes me that they don’t seem to tally at all!
Here are the dresses (or my sketches of them anyway) which are pretty close to the original styles. Obviously I haven’t drawn any of the embellishment – Lady Mary’s dress was covered with seed pearls and tiny crystals and there were beautiful embroidered patches on Lady Edith’s, but this gives you the general idea!
Downton Abbey started in the run-up to the First World War (around 1912) and the last series finished around the mid 1920s. So it covers the post-Edwardian era (which ended in 1910 with the death of King Edward VII but is sometimes extended until the start of WW1 in 1914) and the first half of the roaring 20s.
Women were very much corseted during the Edward Era, it was the time of the Gibson Girl and the horribly constricting S-Bend corset (below).
The S-Bend or Flat Fronted Corset popular in the Edwardian Era. It didn’t just make the waist tiny, it also contorted the back into an uncomfortable S shape by having a flat front.
By the early 1910s the female figure was starting to gain a little more freedom, with with hobble skirts and Empire line dresses becoming fashionable followed by the cocoon shapes later in the decade. We see lots of this kind of fashion in the early series of Downton.
Fashions from 1915 showing the new shapes in fashion at that time.
Now I’m not saying they got all of the fashions wrong – far from it! My question is specifically about the Downton wedding dresses (see them here). Both sisters (Lady Mary and Lady Edith) were married (or jilted) in around 1920 – 1921.
The style at this time was for straight boyish shapes with drop waists. Simple shapes using beautiful fabrics were in fashion, but not the form fitting styles we see in the Downton wedding dresses, both of which are much more reminiscent of 1930s dresses.
Here are some original wedding photos showing dresses in the early 1920s. You’ll see that the fashion was for shorter calf-length dresses with uneven hemlines and tiaras and veils worn low over the forehead (I haven’t picked these photos especially they are very typical of the time).
Wedding photo from 1922. The bride is wearing a calf-length dress with handkerchief hem and tiara worn forwards on the forehead.
Wedding photo from 1924. The dress is a simple style, but with a drop waist, shorter hem and a veil worn low over the forehead.
Wedding photo from 1925. The bride wears a simple shift-shaped dress with petal hem and veil/headband worn low over the forehead.
Source: State Library of Queensland
Towards the end of the decade (these pictures are from 1928 and 1929) we start to see a shift into more form-fitting gowns, but the tiaras and veils are still very much worn on the forehead, and I suspect the hemlines were still shorter.
Wedding photo of Princess Märtha Prince Olav, 1929. Note the tiara is still being worn forwards on the head at this time.
Wedding dress from 1928. It’s hard to see the actual dress here, but while the veil is long, it is still worn in a very much 1920s style.
Source: State Library of Queensland
Once you get into the 1930s (10 years or more after Lady Mary and Lady Edith are supposed to have worn their dresses) you start to see styles similar to theirs. Veils and tiaras start to be worn further back on the head, and dresses become longer, more form fitting and elegant.
Florence (Cooee) Blume on her wedding day in Brisbane, 1931. She is wearing a form fitting long satin dress with long veil.
Musical stars Madge Elliott and Cyril Ritchard’s wedding, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 16 September 1935.
Wedding party for the marriage of Fred Horn and Rene Harper, April 1938,
Source: State Library of Queensland
Wedding photo from 1932
See what I mean now? The Downton girl’s dresses were long, elegant and draped to fit their bodies – much more like a 1930s dress than anything I’ve seen in 1920s (or WW1) fashions. Did they do it because they thought this would appeal to the audience more? Or perhaps I’ve got this totally wrong, but I don’t think so! Take a look at the gallery below and let me know what you think!
Follow We Heart Vintage’s board Downton Abbey on Pinterest.
Image source and copyright: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, No known copyright restrictions
I totally agree with you about the wedding gowns in Downton Abbey. I’ve thought the same thing myself. However I must beg to differ about the S-bend corset! Having worn both 19th century corsets and the s-bend style myself, I find the latter style LESS constricting! It leaves the ribcage totally free to expand, and the posture effect is much more subtle than fashion illustrations show. The exaggerated curves were mostly achieved by padding and clever dressmaking tricks!
In my opinion, there is a smooth line of transition in corsetry from the end of the 19th century to the 1920s, with the ribcage being released first, and then the waistline. The s-bend, in my opinion is one of the most misunderstood styles in history!
Hi Emily, is an S-bend corset really more comfortable? I have no experience of wearing something like that at all, so it was pure assumption that something which pushes your spine into such an S shape would be very uncomfortable! Very interesting that you mention about the padding and dressmaking tricks – I hadn’t thought of that but it seems to make a lot of sense!
I have never watched Downtown Abby, but let me say this collection of photos is fantastic! 🙂
Hi there, thank you for including images from our collection in your post, we love to see them out in the world! It would be great if you could attribute the images to the State Library of Queensland – the third image (of the wedding of Nancy and Clarrie Wieting, held in Brisbane, Australia ca. 1925, by Trissie Deazeley Studios), the 6th and the 8th image can be found at http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/picture-queensland, as well of thousands of other out of copyright images you can use without permission. Have fun!
Will do! They are lovely images, thanks for sharing them 🙂
Lady Mary’s wedding dress is similar to that of Lady Bowes-Lyon, (Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) in 1922, silk mediaeval dress with embroidered tabard, while Lady Edith’s seems to be based on that of the Princess Marina (Duchess of Kent) in 1936
I did not watch Downton Abbey, but love your vintage fashion images. One also learns, not just from your images and text, but also from the comments that follow. Thank you.
I did a little research and I have to share. I find this quite ironic because of the bride’s name and the dress style, not to mention it is 1921, just like Lady Edith Crawley’s first wedding. http://lafayette.org.uk/man8611.html I don’t think Downton missed the style mark with their dress styles.
Lady Mary’s wedding dress was based on the medieval tabard style dress of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who married the Duke of York in February 1922. (She is better known as the Queen Mother). All quite correct. Not sure about Edith’s gown.