PHOTOS: These holiday movies’ wardrobes have a sense of style
In “The Young Victoria” (in limited release Dec. 18), about the first years of Victoria’s reign and her romance with Prince Albert, the costumes are not only exquisitely detailed (think Victorian-era silks, flower headdresses and exact reproductions of coronation robes and crown jewels), they also highlight a generational divide between the young royal (Emily Blunt) and her mother, the Duchess of Kent (
The duchess is in league with a British nobleman, scheming to wrest power from the 18-year-old princess and heir to the throne. The duchess wears old-fashioned, off-the-shoulder dresses with exaggerated sleeves that suggest an old regime defined by political unrest, and the clothes stand in stark contrast to the princess’ youthful style. (Liam Daniel / Apparition Films)
After she becomes queen in 1837, Victoria’s silhouette becomes more streamlined and sophisticated, and she wears brighter colors (because new dyes were being developed at the time).
“[The change] was a backlash against the 1830s, which was about putting as much stuff as you could on a dress,” says costume designer Sandy Powell, who was able to study several of Queen Victoria’s gowns at
