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How to Be Lady Mary: Where to Find Downton Abbey Halloween Costumes

9/17/2014

3 Comments

 
One of the best things about Downton Abbey is the costuming. In fact Downton Abbey has been nominated for several Outstanding Costumes for a Series awards at the Emmys, BAFTA and other award ceremonies. Who wouldn't love to dress in the opulence of Lady Mary, or the sweetness of Lady Sybil? Downton Abbey characters inspire dreams of luxury.  I have searched around the web to find costumes that would make the perfect Downton Abbey DIY Halloween costumes. Many of these lovely gowns would also be perfect for a Downton Abbey style wedding!


Downton Abbey Halloween Costumes

Pre 1920 - Edwardian Fashion

Seasons 1 and 2 of Downton Abbey take place in the Edwardian period.Edwardian clothes was quite different than the preceding Victorian period. Clothes from 1901-1919s were design to accentuate a woman's figure with flowing, long lines and very detailed laces and trims. Of course daughters of an earl would be expected to change several times a day, as there were different outfits to be worn if one was walking, paying calls, or horseback riding. Of course everyone dressed in their finest evening ware for a dinner at the manor house. These dresses are floor length or perhaps just to the ankle.

Click on any gown or costume picture to see buying options.
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Lady Edith, Lady Sybil and Lady Mary, Downton Abbey, Season 1. 
These gowns are elegant representations of some of the dresses available online. Some are "costume" quality while others are elegant gowns that could be worn as evening wear. To find these online, try searching "Downton Abbey costume" or "Edwardian dress costume". Any would look great for unique Halloween costume party. 
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Custom Made Downton Abbey Dress
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Chocolate Vintage Look Tea Downton Abbey Dress - victoriantradingco.com
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Nataya 40163 Downton Abbey Tea Party Gown in Ruby Plum - romanceofyesteryear.com
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Black Lace Long Gown - modcloth.com
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Nataya 40007 Dress in Black/Coco
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Nataya 40163 Downton Abbey Wedding Gown in Pearl - wardrobeshop.com
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Downton Abbey Halloween Costume - Nataya 5901 Black/Silver Dress
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Geranium Dress form Victorian Trading Company
Christmas Special  - Season 2. One of the most beautiful scenes in the whole series was when Matthew and Mary were standing out in the lightly falling snow, and Matthew proposes to Mary. (oh why did you have to break our hearts and leave the show, Dan Stevens?)

Downton Abbey Couples Costumes

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Countess of Grantham Costume - Chasing-fireflies.com
Here is a true Downton Abbey costume - one of the few licensed ones,brought to you by chasing-fireflies.com.
Be the lady of the manor, Cora, the Countess of Grantham in this beautiful outfit. Hat sold separately. 
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Downton Abbey Maid's Costume
For the servants chasing-fireflies.com also has a couple's costume set for a maid and footman (or butler). 
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Little Girl Downton Abbey Maid Costume
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Earl of Grantham Costume - chasing-fireflies.com
To make this the perfect couples costume, chasing-fireflies.com also offers the Earl of Grantham 4 pc Halloween costume, which includes the jacket, shirt, knickers and cap. Boots sold separately. This would also work as a costume for Matthew. 
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Downton Abbey Footman Servants Costume
Men's Servants costume (go to site to view better pictures).
Great to team up with the Maid costume. 
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All four of these adult Downton Abbey costumes are also available in children's sizes.

Dressing Downstairs

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Ladies Maid Dress - LadiesEmporium.com
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Edwardian Day Dress
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Siobhann Finneran as Ladies Maid Sarah O'Brien
If you tend more towards Team Servants, there are more modest costumes too. This plain black dress would be perfect as a Ladies Maid dress, paired with black tights and shoes. 
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Kitchen maid Gwen at her job interview with the phone company. This style of dress was more fashionable in the period from 1900-1910. As a servant, they likely would not have had the latest fashions. 

Post War - 1920s

In the post World War I years the fashions became so much looser. Waistlines were dropped or non-existent. Embroidery and chiffon were often used as an over-layer to the silk or satin sheath shell underneath. Sequins adorned everything, especially 1920s "club wear". 
Lady Rose MacClare shows the brilliance of the flapper dress of the 1920s. The dresses haven't quite gotten "short" yet, but they are definitely quite opulent.  
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Blush Pink Flapper Dress - ebay.com
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Gold Vintage Flapper Dress - ebay.com
Anna-Kaci Embroidered Dress - amazon.com
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Bead Reproduction Flapper Dress - unique-vintage.com

Accessories to finish the Look

To make the difference between looking like Lady Mary and just going on a night on the town, you need to concentrate on the accessories. Click on any photo to go to the product pictured.
Doing your hair in the style of the time is another key way to make it obvious you are dressing like an earl's daughter or wife. An upswept bun with light curls or waves framing your face will definitely give you am vintage look.
Amazing Hairstyles by Becky Porter will help you get the look you want!
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Amazing Hairstyles: From Easy to Elegant
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Long Elbow Black Silken Satin Gloves - ladiesemporium.com
Long elbow length gloves will probably make the biggest difference in your Downton Abbey costume.  Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary always wore skin tight gloves, often black satin. A pair of elegant gloves will definitely put the right look to your outfit.
Period shoes finish off the details of your Lady of Downton Abbey look. Some are cute enough to wear with slacks or a skirt to the office.
These cute kitten heel shoes would look great with a vintage costume. For a slightly higher heel these Mary Janes would look fantastic with your Downton Abbey Halloween Costume. 
The 20's flapper style headband and cloche hat will add extra sparkle to your costume, and complete your Lady Rose costume look!

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Lace Corset - ladiesemporium.com
The use of a corset was a fact of life for Edwardian women. It accentuated a small waist and made a woman sit quite upright. They are quite uncomfortable but really gives a period costume the right look. Every woman wore one, even the servants (even actress Lesley Nichols wore one in her role as Mrs. Patmore). By the 1920s the use of the corset dropped dramatically. 
3 Comments

Downton Abbey Water Bottle Debacle

8/16/2014

 
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By now you have probably seen this infamous photo that was accidentally released by Downton Abbey. A anachronistic plastic water bottle was left on the mantelpiece in this photo of Lord Grantham and Lady Edith.  It exploded all over the internet, because of course people to laugh at other people's mistakes!  


To the great credit of the cast and crew of Downton Abbey, they have used "Water-Bottle-Gate" as an opportunity to promote the charity WaterAid, an organization which works to help disadvantage areas obtain and sustain clean water and safe sanitation. A photo of the cast each holding a water bottle with a mock "uh-oh" look on their faces has been posted to the WaterAid web site to help raise awareness for a water cause that actually deserves attention.  Bravo, Downton Abbey. 



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Highclere Castle, more Monarch of the Glen than Downton Abbey

7/16/2014

 
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Highclere Castle, UK
The exterior and interior upstairs scenes in Downton Abbey is filmed at Highclere Castle, the ancestral home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon in West Berkshire, UK. The opulence and splendor we see on the hit British ITV drama belies the truth of how much of the castle looked just a few short years ago in 2009. This post in the Daily Mail shows dramatic pictures of some of the bedrooms that are literally crumbling to the floor.  
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It is so fortunate that Julian Fellowes, a friend of the Highclere owners Lord and Lady Carnavan, saw the potential in building an entire fictional world around this spendid home. He had done it once before with the Ardverikie Estate in Scotland, with the hit series Monarch of the Glen. In fact Monarch of the Glen, the story of a Scottish family estate trying to avoid bankruptcy by making the house a tourist attraction, actually tells the story of Highclere Castle much better than Downton Abbey does. Downton Abbey may be representative of Highclere's past, but Monarch of the Glen is a much better representation of it's present and future. 



Read more about it here in this 2009 story in the Daily Mail.
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Ardverikie Estate, Kinloch Laggan, Scotland, setting for the Monarch of the Glen show.

It's Downton Abbey Time Again!

7/15/2014

 
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Photo Credit: Alexi Lubormirski for Harper's Bazaar UK

Downton Abbey ladies at a photo shoot for Harper's Bazaar

Fans in Britain are gearing up for the new season of Downton Abbey (Series 5) that will air in mid-September. Rumour has it to be September 14th 2014 but it it not official yet.

The August 2014 issue of Harper's Bazaar in the UK features a photo shoot of all the Downton ladies, including the downstairs staff including Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes), Leslie Nichol (Mrs. Patmore), Sophie McShera (Daisy), Raquel Cassidy (Baxter, Lady Grantham's ladies's maid) and Emmy nominee Joanne Froggatt (Anna Bates). While we are used to seeing Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary), Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith), Elizabeth McGovern (Cora, Lady Grantham), and Lily James (Lady Rose) in amazing gowns in their roles on the show, they are still stunning in these modern designer gowns. 

The accompanying article has many fascinating clues to the "behind the scenes" world of Downton Abbey. The women have high praise for writer/creator Julian Fellowes. Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Lady Grantham, is quoted saying how Fellowes has a ‘sixth sense for character and… the politics of emotions, class, familial status’.

You can read the full article on line at Harper's Bazaar UK.


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Photo Credit: Alexi Lubormirski for Harper's Bazaar UK

How to watch Season 4 of Downton Abbey in the US in September 2013

8/20/2013

 
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We know how you feel.

Poor Matthew is dead, Mary is a widow with a baby, and Tom is trying to keep the Abbey in business. Yet the producers of PBS insist on making us wait 4 months later than when Downton Abbey is shown in the UK. In the meantime the spoilers fly around on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr and the surprises get ruined anyway. 

But what can you do besides move to Britain for 8 weeks in the fall?

There are ways to catch the latest episode of Downton Abbey online after it airs in Britain. We told you about some last year, but we have found a much better alternative.

Expat Shield

Expat Shield is a nifty little software package than can assign your computer a UK-based IP address. The assignment is only temporary and can easily be turned on and off. This allows you access to the itv player where you can watch Downton Abbey after it airs in the UK. 

How to install Expat Shield

Expat Shield is simple to install. Simply go to the Expat Shield homepage and click on the Download button. The software will install and put a shortcut on your desktop. 

To use Expat Shield:

1. Open the shortcut from your desktop.
2. Your default browser will open and Expat Shield will launch. Wait for it to launch until you see Connected in the window. 
3. Open another browser window and go to the ITV player or the ITV Downton Abbey home page
4. Find the episode you want to watch, and open it.
5. When you are done watching, simply launch the Expat Shield shortcut again, and click Disconnect. If you don't disconnect you will find you are brought to the UK version of sites like amazon.com and google.com.

Is Expat Shield Legal?

We do not offer any legal advice on this page.  

 Here are some links to help you decide for yourself. 

Expat Shield Terms of Use 

How to watch BBC and ITV 

Expat Shield for Brits Abroad

Other Alternatives

Tunnel Bear is an Expat Shield type software program. Read more about it here. 

This Facebook page, Downton Abbey Series 4, may have links to watch episodes after they air.  This page WILL contain season 4 spoilers when the season starts. 

Yes, there are other alternatives too, such as illegal 'torrents'.  We do not recommend these because, apart from the moral issues, they usually involved registering email addresses, allowing cookies and other downloads of software that could be malicious. 

When does Downton Abbey Season 4 start in the UK?

There is a tentative date of September 15, 2013. The official date has not been announced yet. 

The series will air on January 5, 2014 on PBS in the United States. And we'll all be watching then, too!
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New Featured Book: A Pocket Guide to Edwardian England

2/11/2013

 
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Downton Abbey Fans!  If you have a desire to learn as much as you can about Edwardian England, this little pocket guide can give you a history of the every day life of that time period, which lasted roughly from 1890 to the early 1920s. The Pocket Guide to Edwardian England includes a review of the events of the day, with brief but informative discussion of the important events of that time period. There are also chapters on life in London, life in the countryside, the social etiquette of the day, and much more.  A great little gift for any fan of Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, E.M. Forester, and other works depicting Edwardian England. 

New Downton Abbey Inspired T-Shirt choices and another Black Friday Coupon Code

11/23/2012

 
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We have begun to offer some of our designs to RedBubble, to be able to offer the most variety possible. Click on the images above to see some of our designs on t-shirts and stickers. There are many t-shirt styles to choose from, and the choice of having it printed on the front OR back of the t-shirt.


RedBubble is offering 15% off all products on Black Friday!  Use code TGIBF 

Black Friday Deals on Gifts for Fans of Downton Abbey! 

11/22/2012

 
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Save 20% off Tote Bags!
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Save 30% off Mugs!

Check out the Black Friday Deals below.  

Use Coupon Code BLACKFRISALE


  • 60% Off Wrapped Canvases, Posters & Photo Prints                                                                                                                                                                         
  • 50% Off Cards, Invites, Postcards, Photocards & Ornaments                                    
  • 30% Off Mugs & Calendars
  • 20% Off T-Shirts, Messenger Bags,Laptop Bags & Tote Bags
  • $10   Off Cases & Sleeves                                    
  • 15% Off Everything Else                                   

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Downton Abbey Coming Back to the US!

11/21/2012

 
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The countdown has begun! Season 3 of Downton Abbey will be here on January 6, 2013! To help us get ready for Season 3 PBS will be airing Downton Abbey Revisited this Sunday, November 25th. The episode will feature great moments from Seasons 1 and 2, plus interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.  Watch the preview here:

Watch Downton Abbey Revisited - Preview on PBS. See more from Downton Abbey Revisited.

Veteran's Day Sale! Save 15-50% off! Everything is on sale! Ends Monday! 

11/8/2012

 

Thank you to all our Veterans who have served our country, and particularly to those families that have lost a love one in the service of our country. You are remembered and respected. 

This weekend enjoy the Veteran's Day Sale in our store!  Use code 50VETDAYSALE


50% off Calendars
50% off Cards and Invites
40% off Ornaments
30% off Mugs
20% off T-shirts
15% off Everything else!

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