Lady Catherine would never approve!

I have to confess that I finally gave in to the world of Pinterest. I use it to feed my addiction for fashion ranging from 1800-1830s. So, while I had 1830s on the brain (which, these days is quite often!) I thought I'd do a post on a film whose fashion was inspired by the 1830s. Consider it also my second (and probably not my last!) post dealing with Jane Austen adaptations and their fashion accuracy.

The 1940 "Pride & Prejudice" with Greer Garson & Laurence Olivier

The film in question is the 1940 version of "Pride & Prejudice". For true Jane Austen fans, it must be a travesty of the worst kind. All sorts of things are changed, left out and added to this Hollywood adaptation, not to mention that the costumes are a good 15 years off. Despite its glaring inaccuracies, I admit to being rather fond of this film. Perhaps because it's the first film version of "Pride & Prejudice" I saw. Perhaps because nothing can go seriously wrong in a film that stars Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, two remarkably beautiful people.

And after all that gushing, to the costuming. For Hollywood in the 1930s and '40s, the costumes (designed by Adrian) are remarkably accurate to the 1830s. They're a bit of a caricature of the 1830s, but I'll show you some examples:

Bonnet worn by Greer Garson. This is not accurate for the period, but you can see where they get the idea from (see below):

Illustration/ fashion plate from the 1830s

Mary Boland & Edmund Gwenn as Mr & Mrs Bennet. Mrs Bennet's dress is very good. 

The lovely Greer Garson in her green bonnet. 

Woa! That dress is going to fall off! But something about "Miss Bingley's" wardrobe reminds me of this dress:

Ball gown from the 1820s/ 1830s.

Jane's dress on the far left reminds me of my own dress made from an 1830s pattern:

Below are several examples of extant gowns to give an idea of authentic 1830s clothing.

A plaid dress from the 1830s.

A lovely stripey dress with pelerine from the 1830s.

1830s fashion plate. There are some pretty low shoulders here (see above photo)!

A lovely white 1830s dress.

Greer Garson wearing underclothing! Again, I'm not sure if it's 100% 1830s, but hey, she's wearing a corset!

Dress worn by Ann Rutherford who plays Lydia Bennet.

The skirts are a little too wide, but otherwise they are quite good for a representation of the 1830s.

Ah. All's well that end's well (though this might be from the 1st proposal scene...).