Whenever actors staged a play in the past like plays of Shakespeare and other plays in the theaters, costumes were used to display the message appropriately in the play. Today, costumes are still used in various plays as well as movies to show the kind of a setting that the directors intend, or the plot of the movie reflects. The film, “The Duchess,” was plotted in a way that reflects the culture of the English society and the characters had to dress accordingly.

Costumes in “The Duchess”

The garments are beautiful in all ways, and they perfectly seem to serve their purpose as they portray the period in which the movie was set. However, critically looking at the costumes, it is easy to notice that the dresses made the women feel uncomfortable. For instance, Lady Georgianna of Devonshire had to wear different kinds of the clothes to suit the different occasions that were developed in the movie plot. The way the corset was tightly fitted on her makes it feel uncomfortable, even though the gorgeous figure left by the dress was and the movie setting required it. The Duchess also had to wear high towering hair wigs that sometimes looked ridiculous, heavy, and painful to wear, making them look uncomfortable.

The kind of dressing displayed by the characters in this movie seems quite ancient, with an English origin. The people appear to wear several clothes all at once and in layers, and it is amazing how many layers are beneath the top gown. Given the time setting of the movie, the actors could seem to be dressed appropriately. Their way of dressing is quite distinct from the way majority of the societies today dress, and I believe that the undergarments are appropriate for that ancient period. However, today, these kinds of garments would feel uncomfortable, especially for the women who were required to wear several layers of the undergarments.

Men wear breeches that are made from thin linen, and they resemble short trousers that reach the knee level, similar to those worn by horse riders. Long pairs of socks with a simple ribbon to hold them at the knee are used to cover that part between the knees and the feet. A long shirt that reaches the knee level is then tucked into the breeches and a gown worn on top.

On the other hand, women in this film wore more complicated costumes and undergarments, than those worn by men. The top dress was designed in a way that it took the shape of the woman on the top side and broadened from the waist, downwards to look like a balloon. The first piece of clothing that the women wore was a simple dress that looked like a nightdress, which was white in color and was made from thin linen. There was nothing worn underneath this dress because the society thought that the women needed feel free and experience the free flow of air under their dress. Nevertheless, one or more petticoats were worn over this piece of the dress to keep the women warm and help to maintain the flouncy shape of the gown. A corset was then placed on top of this night dress-looking cloth to hold tightly the upper part of a woman as well as give the gorgeous V-shape. The woman had to wear some stockings, and a cage-like structure was placed around the waist, to create the balloon-like figure. Finally, a woman was said to be fully dressed when she wore the gown to give her the elegant look.

These costumes are the most appropriate to display the period and the culture of the English society; a setting that was amazingly depicted. As much as this dressing code seemed to distract some of the activities undertaken by the actors, I think they should not have worn any other kind of costumes. The costumes are perfect for this type of a movie, and they show us the culture practiced by the people in ancient England.

Conclusion

Given the time setting and the society being represented in the movie, the costumes were perfect for the film, and the actor wore the right garments for this kind of a movie. Moreover, the linen used to make the clothes, other accessories served its purpose in the film, and I believe that the actors did not require any other kind of costumes to develop the plot.