Keira Knightley's 'Expressive Fashion In The Film The Duchess'

In the article, “What's Wrong With Cinderella?”, mother and author Peggy Orenstein expresses utter concern for the increasing rise of the princess culture. From a personal stance (mother, feminist, and gender advocate) Orenstein forms valid assertions about the expansion of the princess image, and how it has influenced younger girls, including her three-year old daughters’. Moreover she displays negative impacts for the influential princess image and its capacity to affect the lives of younger girls in the future years, yet fails to acknowledge a personal stance. While correlating the princess culture into a larger context that singles out relevant points of gender awareness/equality, she degrades the princes culture, and

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.” (Fashion Quotes 1) The words once spoken by Henry David Thoreau are politically correct. People often look at Elizabethan‘s choice of fashion and ridicule everything about it from the hair, down to the stockings. As it appears, fashion has always been a broad topic of discussion in the world. Whether it is NY Fashion Week or a Macy’s fashion show, fashion is something that has always been an eye catcher. Fashion has been around for many years, and whether we know it or not, Elizabethan fashion has influenced the way modern fashion is today.

In dressing as Ganymede, she acquires a certain freedom to move around, give advice, and associate as an equal among other men. Breaking free of an external factor and gaining a sense of attachment. Thus her projection of control affects her sense of belonging by challenging the traditional sense of gender roles.

This beautiful velvet dress and jacket would have been worn for an evening on the town, as would this satin hat. The purple velvet dress below also is representative of the period. These photos are courtesy of the museum

Ironically, as a member of the aristocratic class, she “wore nothing but the oldest clothes” (pg. 64). According to Dashkova’s

A “bob” hat advertisement similar to this one would be a familiar sight to many women during the 1920s. During this time period, the bob hat or cloche became a classic. The cloche was bell shaped at the top and had decorative additions such as feathers, geometric shapes, and flowers, which would showcase a woman’s demeanor. As said on vintagedancer.com, there were other accessories that women wore on their heads such as wrapped turbans, short crown straw hats, and an array of different headbands. These hair accessories became popular during the 1920s because of the way it worked with new hairstyles such as the bob. A cloche’s structure would frame the face of the women who wore them. In many cases women would not leave a store without ensuring

Throughout the years, different forms of literature  have generally shown women as weaker than men. They have played archetypes such as the mother archetype or the lover which have traits less desirable than the roles that men would take. These archetypes tend to limit their personalities and they become characters that are solely there for inconveniencing the hero. Stereotypes for women have affected these archetypes, but throughout history many people have made efforts to change these archetypes and make them more desirable. Even though archetypes for women have been shown as weak, it has changed throughout the years.

Her dress was that of 18th century garments. The frilled cap was probably a Bavolette which “was a ribbon frill at the back of the bonnet. Its purpose was covering the neck, which was considered an erogenous zone in the mid-19th century” (History of Hats for Women). The Bavolette

The ribbon would be seen at the bottom of the crown, a ribbon and a brooch would be placed in the middle at the front. The brooches would be seen on top of the ribbon. A veil would also be added in black and it was made from netting and covered in spots. At the start of the 1910s the hats would have very deep crowns and large brims till 1911 when the brims decreased in size. Feathers, flowers and ribbons continued to be seen as decoration. Later the hats became a lot less heavily decorated then the Edwardian hats. In 1912 hats decreased in size and the crown would fit the head size. The brim was now a regular size and small feathers were seen on the hats pointing upwards. Straw would be used to construct the hats and it would be seen in colours such as dark orange, navy blue, brown and grey. The hats seen for sports would be made from velvet or tweed. Some hats that were like helmets due to their rounded shape, would be decorated with hussar feathers which were influenced by the military. In 1914 the hats continued to have regular brims and veils could be seen attached to it with rounded crowns. Flower and ribbon would be seen as decoration. The shepherdess hat was seen again in

The “princess phase” is first up for debate as Orenstein discusses the concept with fellow mothers at her daughter’s school. Each of the mothers justify the princess epidemic in a different way, one stating that it’s simply about dressing up and that the stories are not permitted in the home while another says that having a princess ideal gives her daughter a strong identity as a woman and as female -- a place were 1960s feminism erred, according to this same mother.

Alice clearly becomes decisive, strong and determined to face her fears for the advantage of Wonderland by the end of the journey where she sought her lost identity. Alice’s costume of a knight’s amour reflects and communicates her responsibility, presented in the polished and shiny finish of her amour. The metallic silver colour of the amour demonstrates she is on the good side, since the White Queen’s army of knights are wearing the same silver metallic amour too. Alice’s girly flare has been incorporated into the costume design with the skirt attached below the chest

Although Ms. White’s thoughts are never truly expressed in the film, she plays a huge role in the formation of the plot. Recognition of Ms. White comes easily for the fact that she is a woman, and she is of power. An important aspect of her appearance is her clothing, being that in every shot she is shown wearing formal clothing and more importantly; heels. The clothing and heels serve to portray her as an

“The Princess in the Suit of Leather,” introduces a beautiful, young princess, Juleidah, whose mother has just passed. After a year of mourning, the king, Juleidah’s father, decides to marry again; however, he insists that his wife’s anklet

The people who lived during the Elizabethan Era were not allowed to wear whatever they like or desired. Their Fashion choices had to be followed by a strict law! The English people chose to establish social classes by the colors they wore and this had an affect on costumes used in theatre. Queen Elizabeth I followed the sumptuary laws, which was only certain classes were consent to wear specific fabric and colors. Therefore in plays the actors could only wear certain colors for their costumes that displayed what role and class their character was in. The clothes worn during this era was a result of Queen Elizabeth’s sumptuary laws, which had an affect on costumes used in plays, and each color a person wore had a significant meaning.

Costume: Isabella usually wears the latest fashion, usually showing off her wardrobe and wigs. She wears stunning silk dresses, often in antique Renaissance style with necklaces of pearls and gold.