In Which I Make A Lady Mary Costume For A Downton Abbey Premiere
HELLO PALS,
A few weeks ago I attended a premiere party for Downton Abbey: A New Era, which was also the first time I’d been to a movie theater since Ford v. Ferarri in Ye Olde Days of 2019. Naturally, this Return To The Cinema meant Dressing To The Nines.
—Actually, we were encouraged to dress in 1920s clothing or as our favorite character. I have many favorite characters (leave yours in the comments), but since I was fresh out of Fabulous Hats to be Violet or Isobel and cigarettes to be Thomas And O’Brien Gossiping ConspiratoriallyTM, am about three feet too tall to be Mrs. Patmore, and have not yet achieved Mrs. Hughes Levels of Wisdom, I decided on the spoiled-socialite-turned-capable-estate-manager, Lady Mary. As the oldest daughter of the wealthy Crawley family, Mary spends the first several episodes foxhunting, fighting with her middle sister Edith, trying to hide a Certain Scandal, and collecting suitors. As the series goes on, though, she learns from her mistakes, starts to make peace with Edith, learns to run the estate alongside her chauffeur-turned-brother-in-law, and develops into a much more mature, likeable character. (It’s that Character Development, along with her interesting relationships with other characters, that make her one of my favorites, not because she’s always a great person. We like to see #growth and a good Character Arc.)
Anyway, when I first heard about this event, I thought I’d make a copy of this dress, first seen in Season 1, Episode 3. (Screenshots are from Netflix.)
Then I promptly remembered that, while I love having made my own clothes, I really dislike the process of making them—and also didn’t feel like spending much money on Fabric And Materials. So, I did what I did for my prom dress, which was head to Salvation Army and Peruse the Merchandise.
AND, just like with my prom dress, I was in luck—I found a long wine-colored velvet dress for the low low price of $7.99. (It’s a Petite size, so it probably would have been floor-length on an Actual Petite, but I’m 6’ and it’s supposed to be the 19teens/1920s, So There.) With that secured, I Vaguely Referenced this dress from Season 2, Episode 9.
I was originally going to add a few tiers of gold trim to mimic the layers at the bottom of the dress, but a Series of Unfortunate Events (being out of fabric glue, the trim being too thick to sew on with the sewing machine, discovering that the fabric glue I bought the next day wouldn’t hold the trim on) meant having to sew it on by hand right before the premiere, so I only ended up trimming the bottom hem. (In another Unfortunate Event, I was sitting outside while I sewed and a bird pooed on my head. I am sure this also happened to Lady Mary!!! Nothing but class and fanciness at this establishment!!!)
Of course, I also needed some opera gloves, but quickly ran into a Series of Even More Unfortunate Events. When I looked for some on Amazon, the ones with the most promising reviews wouldn’t arrive until the day of the premiere, which I didn’t want to risk waiting for. The local costume shop I decided to check instead had apparently closed during the pandemic, and when I tried to make some from scratch, I got in a Mary-and-Edith fight with the sewing machine. (Have I mentioned I hate the process of sewing?) Finally, in a flash of InspirationTM, I called up an Adu.lt Enter.tain.ment St.ore (the periods are an attempt not to come up in weird searches) and said “HELLO I AM GOING TO A DOWNTON ABBEY PARTY AND AM LOOKING FOR OPERA GLOVES, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU SELL?!?!?” And lo and behold, the sales clerk was a champ and assured me that YES THEY DID!!! (She was super nice and very chill and said she was also a seamstress and gloves are never worth trying to make yourself.)
So, with that errand adding a Mary-approved dose of ScandalTM, the only thing left to do was pile on the costume jewelry—all of which was inherited from my grandma. After lending a black skirt and eyelet trim to my mom for her Anna Bates costume (we’d tried, unsuccessfully, to convince my dad to go as Mr. Bates with a bowler and cane) and borrowing a black clutch in return, loosely following this hairstyle tutorial, and putting on my most favorite black booties, off to Downton we went.
(Did I throw in an extra reference picture to make a complete grid, yes!!! Should I have taken off the long silver necklace and only worn gold, yes!!! Was I zooming around too much right before leaving to check on these Details or take extra photos, also yes!!! This is my brand!!!)
The movie was excellent. I won’t say too much or I’ll spoil it, but my favorite part was getting to see the downstairs characters in Certain Outfits (you’ll see what I mean). Mary continued to grow as a character, and if you’ve watched the series before, you’ll be glad to see the return of most of your favorites.
It was also fun to see other people at the theater dressed up—there were some older women in elaborate 1920s costumes, some very dapper suits on the men, and even a Fabulous Hat! I was surprised that everyone who talked to us knew who I was supposed to be—Mary wears red and wine a lot, but not exclusively, and there are multiple Dark-Haired Fancy Lady Characters, so I didn’t know whether my Loose Interpretation would hit the mark. But the most compliments went to my mom, and deservedly so, since she was the only one representing the entire Downstairs Staff!
If you haven’t watched the new Downton Abbey, I encourage you to do so. If you haven’t shopped at your local thrift store, do that too. After all, you might find something worthy of the most fashionable lady in the village—or something like the STUNNING floor-length satin skirt I bought for $3.99 to use as an Alternate Mary Costume and will probably feature here before too long. (You’d be surprised how often I have to pull out some kind of Historical LookTM.)
Until next time, I remain
YOUR PAL.
OUTFIT DETAILS - MARY COSTUME:
Thrifted: Dress ($7.99)
Bought: Gloves ($16.99); dress trim (approx. $4 for 1 roll)
Borrowed: Clutch
Already Owned: Costume jewelry; hair comb; tights; boots (Diba, ca. 2019 or 2020)
TOTAL COST: $28.98
OUTFIT DETAILS - ANNA COSTUME:
Borrowed: Skirt (Covington, originally hers and given to me Many Years Ago - also ft. here); eyelet trim; shoes (from my sister)
Already Owned: Blouse; apron (Secretly A Pillowcase!!!); elastic for headband; socks
TOTAL COST: $0