The Fashions of Georgiana and Kitty

THE FASHIONS OF

Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley spans a period of about 20 years, from shortly after the time of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813, to 1835. During that time, women’s fashion changed dramatically, as the Regency period—with its simple, close-fitting dresses with Empire (high) waistlines—gave way to the dawn of the Romantic era. Costume designer Fumiko Bielefeldt traces this history in gorgeous gowns created for this production.

In Act One of the play, which takes place in 1815, we see the Bennet sisters attired in Regency-style dresses, like Georgiana’s gown shown below in Fumiko’s costume sketches, with its simple lines and relatively sparse decoration.

In Act Two (which takes place in 1835), we see waistlines dropping, and much grander ornamentation begins to appear; full bell skirts replace the slim silhouette of the Regency gown. The extra fabric in the dramatically swelled skirts was heavy, and hems were weighted to keep the skirts in place; to offset the weight, skirts were made shorter, with hemlines rising above the foot as seen in Margaret’s dress. In the styles of 1835, shoulders are bared and exaggerated sleeves appear (anticipating the enormous “leg of mutton” sleeves of a few decades later). In Kitty and Georgiana’s gowns we see the added ornamentation: pleating in the bodice, ribbon bows at the shoulders and waist, an inset, ruffles and lace in the skirt.

The silhouette of early Romantic-era dresses are distinctly different. Waists are nipped in with corsets, and detail on the gowns’ bodices accent the small waist against the full skirt. As skirts became fuller, seamstresses moved away from the gores inserted to create volume, and gathered yards and yards of fabric into the waistband of the gown. During the 20 years of the Georgiana and Kitty story, hairstyles changed dramatically as well, from the relatively simple hairdressing of the Regency giving way to the more architectural styles of the mid-19th century, with the accent on massed curls around the face. Often, the hair was parted into three sections, with the two shorter sections curled with tongs to accent the face, and the longer center section swept up into elaborate constructions, sometimes augmented with hair pieces, flowers, feathers, ribbons and jewels. Pomade was used to keep the top and back sections sleek and straight. Such styles required the assistance of a maid, and as a consequence, maids who were skilled in creating fashionable hairdos were coveted.