Costumes in 'Downton Abbey' on display ahead of UK season premiere
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E-mail CNTV, September 22, 2014
Speaking of noble attire, an exhibition of elaborate costumes from the hit British television series "Downton Abbey" is drawing an unprecedented number of visitors to a historic house in Delaware.
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An exhibition of elaborate costumes from the hit British television series "Downton Abbey" is drawing an unprecedented number of visitors to a historic house in Delaware. |
The Winterthur estate was home to an upper class American family who lived a life that was, in many ways, very similar to the fictional Crawleys of Downton fame.
Series five of the internationally-acclaimed British television program "Downton Abbey" has yet to premiere, but a special exhibition of costumes from the series is giving thousands of American fans their 'Downton fix' right now.
This collection of 40 costumes from series one through four are on display at the Winter tour Museum, a palatial former estate of the upper class du Pont family.
In its heyday a century ago, it was the American equivalent of the fictional Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, England.
Now, visitors to the exhibition can compare the histories of these two very wealthy families - one real, one fictional.
"Some of the similarities are - they lived a life of amazing precision. A lot of rules that are unfamiliar to us today - when you wear gloves, when you wear a tiara, when is a white tie appropriate? When is black tie appropriate? How do you dress for a cricket match," said Maggie Lidz, curator of "Costumes of Downton Abbey".
The exhibition opened in March and quickly became the most popular attraction at the 1,000-acre estate, which also features an expansive garden, a library, and a large collection of American antiquities.
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An exhibition of elaborate costumes from the hit British television series "Downton Abbey" is drawing an unprecedented number of visitors to a historic house in Delaware. |
"This is nice because you really get a flavour of what it was like to be extraordinarily privileged in those days. And the costumes are just amazing," said a visitor.
"It's fantastic. I'm a total fan of Downton Abbey - watched it several times. Will probably go watch it again. And it's a beautiful exhibition," said another visitor.
These velvet dresses belong to Downton Abbey matriarch, the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley, played by actress Maggie Smith.
But for many, the highlight is a recreation of the romantic engagement scene from the end of series two, when Matthew Crawley proposes to Lady Mary.
"We have Mary's beautiful red dress. We have Matthew's evening clothes. We have a big blow-up behind them of that moment. We have video going with the entire scene, but there's something else we added on to it. We have a brilliant lighting designer who has added a sense of snow. So you can stand there and the snow can fall on you too," Lidz said.
Another highlight is the opportunity to see the kind of detail easily missed on the small screen, from the elaborate fabrics, stitching and beads on the ladies' evening dresses, to the footman's jacket buttons embossed with the family coat of arms.
The exhibition at Winterthur will close on January 4, 2015, just as series five of the TV show is set to premiere in the United States.
Series five premieres in the UK on September 21st.
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