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mimicofmodes · 5 years

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Sanditon, episode 5 part i

When we open, Charlotte is in her Georgiana pelisse, so we can guess something’s up! She’s bringing Georgiana a book, but from their manners as she hands it over in front of Mrs. Griffiths, this is clearly a ruse. Georgiana claims to be shy about reading in front of other people in order to get her minder to leave, which Mrs. G believes for some reason.

They make a nice contrast, both in gowns we haven’t seen before, I think. Although Charlotte is wearing the same habit shirt as in episode 4. Georgiana is impatient to get out and just see Otis for a little, but Charlotte counsels patience.

Esther is also doing the thing she was in the last episode, wearing a sleeveless gown without a shirt or chemisette under it, which they’re playing as informal ... but this is an anachronism, probably. You’d be more likely to wear a cotton print gown or a loose jacket with a petticoat, or something like that. All I can think is that she’s going to sweat into it!

Lady Denham turns up, antiquely dressed again, and the three Denhams are tied together visually with dark reds. Lady Denham’s there to tell Esther that she has accepted Babington’s attentions on her niece’s behalf, so go get dressed and put your hair up and head out to see him.

Tom Parker’s brown palette similarly ties him to the workmen and their purpose most of the time, but I realized that I’ve never talked about neckties. Tom’s is always white while Stringer’s is always a printed cotton. White neckwear was fashionable in the period (finer material, harder to keep clean, etc.) but prints were serviceable. As Tom walks away with Charlotte to see the river, she looks back at Stringer and grins broadly! <3 (He’s very pleased to get away as he’s being badgered some more about making payroll.) Stringer brags about her interest in architecture to his colleague.

Ugh, I love this gown. It’s so perfect for her. Esther is on edge because Edward is talking like her marriage to Babington could never happen, but she’s starting to consider it. Edward isn’t quite sure what to make of this change - I think he’s questioning whether she’s serious or just trying to make him jealous.

At the river, the Parkers are playing/watching cricket. Even Arthur is engaging, and Diana is ... smiling?! We’re all happy. They’re preparing for the upstairs vs. downstairs cricket match, which sounds like it will have the subtext of Sidney vs. Stringer for Charlotte. It’s a bit unlikely for Mrs. Parker to be in short sleeves in the morning/outside, however - by the late Regency (as I think this is supposed to be, given the 1820s-ish fashions that keep popping up; I’d assume they were thinking 1817-1818 to coincide with the writing of the text) you wore long sleeves in morning dress/informal undress, and short sleeves were reserved for full dress.

Charlotte rushes back to Georgiana to suggest a plan for her and Otis to meet during the match, which is clever.

Crowe (not Crouch, sorry) still sucks, but his loud waistcoat is great! It would be better for the 1820s, but see above. Same for the coat, I think, although I’m not as up on my coat-cuts. The funny thing that’s just occurred to me about Sidney always dressing in black is that to the audience, it says “bad boy, dangerous, dashing,” but in-period it would have said “sober, possibly a professional.”

Sid has come back to tell Tom that they really, really can’t get any more money for the building projects. :/ He and Charlotte have a very intense non-conversation where they’re both clearly simmering with rage.

Stringer, in a much better hat, tells Tom that they really, really can’t keep working without pay, and Tom promises to cough up some money in two weeks. Hmm, where does he plan on getting it?

I don’t tend to pay much attention to Mrs. griffiths’s clothes as they’re deliberately boring, but it’s good to show them once in a while. The color of this gown matches the wallpaper and wainscoting, a signal of this being her house, or possibly of her being a domestic, indoors person. Sidney has turned up to let her know that he’s going to leave Sanditon for the rest of the summer (isn’t his occupation supposed to be bringing people to the town in order to boost its profile?), so she’s fully in charge of Georgiana.

The Misses Beaufort also match Mrs. Griffiths/the wallpaper, so that’s where this color story is going. Georgiana contrasts and clashes. (Left Beaufort has some great Gothic detailling in the Van Dyke/dent de loup zig-zag edging of her spencer(?).) One thing I haven’t mentioned yet, somehow, is the long curl Georgiana is always given ... this is usually a thing they do in 18th century films/shows, and you may recognize it in Poldark, where Elizabeth pretty constantly has one. It’s an inaccuracy, though - when longer curls were the thing, they were paired, with one on each side, and more usually multiple. I don’t know why they decided to do Georgiana’s hair this way.

The cricket match is being held on the beach. Charlotte is dressed in a Georgiana-blue, fantastic early 1820s spencer (the round puffs over the sleeves, the lowered waistline), likely because she’s enacting a plan for her friend.

Mrs. Parker’s pelisse is so familiar but I can’t think what production I know it from. Anybody else?

Georgiana is in a turquoise/teal spencer, definitely a new color for her and this show! She really stands out from her group.

The Gentlemen (I’m giving them a team name) are all in dark coats with light waistcoats and trousers, a combination that was quite fashionable but, given the fact that the characters generally don’t dress that way, comes off as a sort of uniform or “athletic dress”, which is anachronistic. I’m not 100% sure of the intent here. The Workers are late, which is making Tom lose it - they had threatened not to show, which would make it clear to everyone that they hadn’t been paid and that Tom was in financial difficulties.

[insert comment about Lady Denham’s anachronism here] although I will say that this is an interesting new color for her. Her hat is like ... Edwardian? Clara’s spencer is very cute.

Esther is also stuck in the 1770s/1780s today, with her own over-the-shoulder curl and that little tricorn hat. What on earth? Babington comes over for a conversation in which Lady Denham provides all of Esther’s responses, and afterwards she lectures her niece about needing to put some effort in. Clara obliquely taunts her a bit more and Esther leaves, her usual response.

Just as the Gentlemen are about to call it, the Workers arrive, led by Stringer. Charlotte wishes him good luck and they’re super cute and flirty, then wishes Sidney good luck in a cranky way. And the game begins!

#sanditon #austen #jane austen #regency #1810s #19th century

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