Costume

As our film is set in the early 19th Century it's vital we get the costume correct. This means allot of research is needed to be done into the costume. We are aiming to borrow costume from the local acting group - upstagers.

Women's Costume

Here are some of the usual codes of dress for women between 1795 - 1820 which is the time setting of our film:

• Laced corsets were abandoned in favour of of high waisted dresses, similar to the natural figure
• The main clothe styles were based on the Empire Silhouette, dresses were close fitting just below the bust then falling loosely to the ground
• The dresses usually had soft flowing skirts and usually white almost transparent muslin
• As our main protagonist is of Upper class we need to look at the difference between morning dress and evening dress which was a must for women of this status
• As our main protagonist is a young woman we need to concentrate on making her appear like this, young women wore softer shades of colour such as pinks, light blues and lilacs
• The hairstyle for our main protagonist is vital. The style was mass curls worn over the forehead and ears, with longer hair drawn into a loose bun

Men's Costume

Here are some of the normal codes of dress for men between 1795-1820:

• Cut and tailoring became allot more important as it was seen to show quality
• Tightly fitted leather riding breeches reached to the boot tops and were replaced by trousers for more informal wear
• Coats were short at the front and had a tail behind and had a tall standing collar
• Shirts were made of linen with a collar and usually worn with a cravat tied in various styles
• Waistcoats were usually high wasted and squared off at the bottom
• Older men wore wigs still but younger men tended yo have their hair short with curls and long side burns

The podcast below gives more detail on the choice of costume for the teaser trailer.