TV Tuesday: The Downton Abbey Costume Exhibit

I’ve been a fan of Downton Abbey since it first started in 2011. And why not? Besides the fact that it’s a period drama (centered around a period I studied a lot), and got plenty of good reviews, it starts with the sinking of the Titanic. Of course I had to watch! It definitely did not disappoint.

While some seasons of Downton are better than others, they’re all very good. It’s definitely a soap opera, and some fairly ridiculous things happen, but the dialog is snappy and fun and the costumes and period ambiance are gorgeous. Even Saturday Night Live couldn’t ruin it for me… at least not completely. 🙂 My biggest disappointment, perhaps, would be that it moves so quickly through time, traveling from 1912 in season 1 to currently 1925. It’s interesting to see so much of British (and by extension American) history in such a short time, but I also wanted them to spend more time in the earlier periods.

Now in its sixth season, it’s starting to wrap up all the overly dramatic storylines in a nice little bow. I admit I’m behind, having only seen the season 6 premiere so far, but they’ve already tidied a few dust ups, just within that one episode. But that’s fine with me. (I’m particularly glad they got rid of that blackmailing woman, who already annoyed me after her first scene.) I enjoy that it’s not always so melodramatic. Life shouldn’t be so awful, and it’s only really that awful for people on a TV drama (especially a teen drama, like Finding Carter…but I digress).

While in Virginia for the Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to go to the Virginia Historical Society. They’re located across the street from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, our original destination, but the VHS had a special exhibit, Dressing Downton, on the costumes of Downton Abbey. Informative and beautiful, though a little expensive, it was too cool to pass up. My only disappointment is the shocking omission of Lady Sybil’s pantaloon outfit, which is a fashion highlight of the whole series. It’s a traveling exhibit, so check to see if it’s coming near you. In the meantime, I took a number of pictures to share here. (There are a few pictures from the gift shop, and from the VMFA too.) Enjoy!

(Hover over the images to see the caption, and/or click the image to see it larger and read the caption.)

2 thoughts on “TV Tuesday: The Downton Abbey Costume Exhibit

  1. Liv

    I love the show and was excited for the wedding this week. They have such incredible clothing!

    • I know, the costumes are so gorgeous!

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