Costume Spotlight | Jane Eyre (2011)

I'm starting a new blog series dedicated to reviewing costumes from films and stage shows, sometimes focusing on a single costume or, like today, reviewing costumes from a whole movie or production. At the moment I'm only planning on posting this segment once a month, but that could increase in the future.

At the end of each post I'll be rating between 1 and 10. Please join me in the comments and let me know your own thoughts and rating!

To kick things off I thought I'd start with one of my favorite costume films, Jane Eyre (2011). This is the latest movie version of the classic book written by Charlotte Bronte. The story is about a girl (Jane Eyre) that was orphaned and abused as a child but now is governess to a young girl and falls in love with her employer, the mysterious Mr. Rochester.

Please note, this post does have minor spoilers in it, though I don't mention any of the big spoilers.

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

The film follows the original story of the book very well for a 2 hour film and depicts the Gothic genre of the book very well. It stars Mia Wasikowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as Edward Rochester.

The costumes were designed by Michael O'Connor, who was very specific in making sure everything was as authentic as possible to the era the story was set in.

While the book is originally set in the 1830's, film adaptations are rarely set in that time because of how wacky the fashions were. That's why this, and most adaptations are set in the 1840's instead.

The following is from Michael O'Connor. “The lining, the buttons, the stitching, everything was totally researched. I always say, ‘Is there a reference for that, is that something they did?’ And if people say [they] don’t know, then I say we can’t do it—there’s so much information from that time that there’s no excuse not to have it.”

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

When asked if he was ever tempted to vary from authenticity, he replied “It’s tempting, but there’s no need. The truth is interesting enough. Jane is a sort of plain character, but that doesn’t mean she’s unstylish. She’s wearing shades of gray with white collars, and she can still look quite smart or quite nice and serviceable—not overly fussy.”

I think it's worth noting that over all, the costumes in this film are historically accurate for the 1840's, however as it is with all costumes, there were some elements that aren't perfectly accurate. Some of the costumes are tailored slightly different to be a little more modern (i.e. sleeves being cut tighter than they would have been in the era), and one bonnet (bellow) in particular is designed more for decoration than any useful need.

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

O'Connor on Jane's wedding dress: “The thing was to make it simple. Rochester is always trying to buy her things, which she rejects because that’s her character. So [the aim] was to make it a simple dress, and shorten the length. Jane’s a country girl, it’s a country dress, and it’s fitted and tight-sleeved, rather like her day dresses, like her character.” via

Below is a photo of the dress made for the film compared to a fashion plate from 1844, around the time the story is set. You can see just how similar the two are and just how accurate for the era the design is.

Fashion Plate c. 1844 Le Moniteur de la Mode

Wedding Dress (Jane Eyre 20011) Designed by Michael O'Connor

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

Blanche Ingram
Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

Rochester and Jane
Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

Mrs. Reed
Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features 

The use of color and texture is so beautiful in this film. You can practically feel the fabric just by watching. There's such a variety of different fabric textures between dresses made of silk, cotton, and lace, and the crocheted gloves, knit shawls, straw and lace bonnets, the frilly fichu's and wool jackets.

While there's so much variety in types of materials, they all help keep the gloomy atmosphere that comes with the Gothic setting and really helps build the visual feeling of the film.

Jane Eyre (2011) via Focus Features

What I love about this adaptation is how well it represents this particular era of fashion, which often gets overlooked. It's an elegant era and still slightly silly with the amount of petticoats women wore to achieve a voluminous silhouette and the slightly crazy hairstyles.

Overall, I give the costumes in this film a 9 out of 10.

Rate between 1-10 in the comments and let me know your thoughts.

Making an 18th Century Inspired Dress Part 4 | Making the Petticoat/Skirt

Today I'm wrapping up my Making Of posts for my 18th Century Inspired Dress, talking about how I made the petticoat/skirt. In the 18th century skirts were usually separate from the bodice and were referred to as petticoats, or "outer petticoats".

The petticoat is made from 2 large rectangular pieces of fabric, approximately 50 inches wide each for a total circumference of approximately 100 inches. Once my pieces were cut I stitched the sides together with a 5/8 inch seam allowance, leaving the top 8 inches open for the side openings. 

I folded the edges of the opening over once, then again to hide the raw edges, pressed, then hand stitched to hem the opening.

After this I pleated the skirt (which unfortunately I don't have any photo's of at this stage). I originally wanted to do cartridge pleats on the skirt but when I did a quick test I found that I didn't have enough fabric and I ended up with my backup plan of knife pleats.

Next, the waistband. The waistband is created from two separate rectangular pieces. The shorter piece is for the front and the longer is for the back.

Folding the waistband in half lengthwise I pressed, then opened it up and folded the top edge under half an inch. This is for after I attached it to the skirt and to hid the raw edges of the waistband later.

I also folded and pressed the ends in by half an inch.

Opening the waistband, I placed it right sides together to the skirt and machine stitched.

I then folded the waistband over, covering the raw edges of the skirt with the folded edge of the waistband and hand stitched it closed. You'll notice that the edge of the waistband is longer on this part of the skirt. It's like this on the front waistband, but the waistband for the back sits flush with the width of the skirt. This is because I opted to go for a button closure, which isn't historically accurate from anything I've seen. I chose to do this because I liked the look and since I wasn't going for complete historical accuracy.

After attaching the back waistband the same way, I machine stitched button holes on the front waistband and stitched a couple of vintage mother of pearl buttons onto the back. And voila! The waistband was done.

Lastly I had to hem the skirt. Because of the bum pad worn under the petticoats the straight edge of the skirt was higher in the back (right). I had to cut the skirt so it was even all the way around before hemming, which I did by hand.

And that's it! I still haven't gotten any photo's of this dress worn, but hopefully I will soon.

If you haven't already, be sure to read:
Part 1 - Drafting the Bodice
Part 2 - Making the Bodice
Part 3 - Making the Stomacher