There are many things I love about a character in whatever movie or TV show I am watching. From their bold personality traits to their bold personalities , there are just certain characteristics that truly make a great character. There is, however, something very special when it comes to a character’s costume. As someone who is a lifelong shopaholic, the first thing I look at is a character’s clothing and style. I believe that costumes not only make a character shine, but also gives the audience a sense of what a character is.
When it comes to particular types of accessories, there is something really cool about hats. Hats can be overlooked, but stand out when looking at a character especially from a period piece. Let’s look at these characters’ sense of style, hats and even wigs to see how they help make their personalities shine and come alive to the audience.
Miss Scarlet is a character who is strong, independent, (a Queen for real) and obviously very stylish. However, there is something about this piece of wardrobe that makes her stand out whenever she appears on the screen. Not only is her wardrobe always put together, but she is also very consistent when it comes to the type of hats that she wears.
Eliza wears many types of modified fedoras that not only match with the rest of her many stylish outfits, but also helps demonstrate the period in time in which she is living. I feel this not only adds to her already incredible style, but with Eliza Scarlet living in the Victorian era while also working as a private detective, she is living in a very male-dominated working world. Many of these men would wear hats such as bowler hats, a type of top hat that was used for outdoor wear. These hats help shape Eliza Scarlet’s outer character of being not only stylish but helping her incredibly smart and witty character stand out.
In this photo, Scarlet is wearing a blue and sensible outfit with (of course) a blue stylish side hat. In Masterpieces Designing Miss Scarlet: Q&A with the Costume Designer, Leonie Prendergast, the costume designer on MISS SCARLET explains why she chose certain looks and even colors to help create her character and make her stand out.
“She’s slightly different to everyone else around her, that was the thinking there. And then the blue kind of mirrors a police uniform, navies and blues are police uniform colors, and the details on the end of her skirt, there’s stripes, and a little chevron detail on the cuff of her sleeve just to mirror the stripes and chevrons on a police uniform,” said Prendergast.
“Not only is Scarlet an intelligent woman, but she is the one who likes to be in the spotlight. Wearing this color blue would not be a very dull, subtle, and common look for this time. Scarlet in someone who is confident and wants to be respected. Her hat is her finishing touch. While side hats may not be as common nowadays, they were certainly more popular back during the Victorian era. They were associated with class, high character, and elegance,” said Prendergast.
“Scarlet is all these things, but she is also much more. Her large side hat is a bold shade of blue, and just like her and the rest of her outfit, she is bold and is ready to take on any struggle that comes her way. The outfit helps make and show who she really is as a character. The blue is like her uniform and then when you have your hats, it kind of empowers you.”said Prendergast” Sheb is powerful and strong, which makes her a great detective and a great main character,” said Prendergast.
This time we are going to focus on the men, and how their different hat styles help play a part in showing the audience each of the characters’ personalities, as well as the style expectations for that period.
With ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL taking place in the early 20th century, it was very common for men to be wearing different types of more formal looking hats. In MASTERPIECE’s Tweeds, Jumpers & More: An Interview with All Creatures Great and Small Costume Designer,(put a link to this blog) costume designer Ros Little goes into the costume for each of the characters. “Generally, their clothes don’t change a lot, the men in particular, because it was the Depression. There wasn’t much money. It would be wrong for them to have lots of clothes.” said Little.
It is implied the men typically only wore hats when they were outdoors. Siegfried Farnon’is sometimes seen wearing a trilby hat, but only outside. This is supposed to represent a type of sophistication and class among many middle-class men during this time. Flat caps and tweed caps were also seen on many of the male characters. These hats were used for more informal events, such as casual meetings and just going outdoors. As opposed to the trilby hat or fedoras, they were used for more formal gatherings and events.
“The suits are fairly plain and sensible, lovely tweeds, and then we add quite a flamboyant handkerchief and a rich colored tie, and occasionally slightly eccentric things, bits of knitwear.” says little.
These hats added a nice touch to many of the men’s outfits, making them look sophisticated and well put together without being over the top. It was not only important for women to look the part during this time, but also the men, and it is seen that the better they looked, the more respect they would receive.
In MISS AUSTEN, we are going back in time to the early years of Jane Austen with this show taking place in the early 1830’s. In moving away from the 20th century, we see not only a major change in hat wear, but also in full outfit attire as well. Looking more at period clothing, the hats that the women wore were bonnets and regency era caps which were notably worn in mostly in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.
Most of the time these hats were worn by women while they were outside or traveling from place to place. They were usually matched with a pelisse or matching outer coat that would make the outer outfit and character very elegant looking. It is also important to note that many of the women in their era rarely, if ever, wore their hair down in public, as they would always have a bun or twist in their hair. We see this a lot with the sisters, especially Cassandra as she usually wears a very put together hair style. This was not just for modesty and practicality, but this was also a part of the fashion during that time. It was thought that it made women look more mature and feminine.
Other than bonnets and caps, many women were also seen wearing other items in their hair. For example, the Austen sisters would also be seen wearing flowers or even feathers in their hair for more formal and indoor occasions such as afternoon tea and parties.Feathers could be seen as “dramatic” which helped many of these ladies stand out.This was also a good representation of wealth and status among many women during this area. These hats reflect more than just the girls’ elegance and place in society, but are a signal of their intelligence, particularly Cassandra’s courage and determination to protect her sister’s lasting legacy.
Now going really back in time, we are not only switching centuries again, but also switching regions and class as we look at the French royalty of the 18th century. This was a time when many of the wealthy people dressed in very over the top outfits and beautiful silks. While there were hats in France, there was something else that seemed to be much more popular, especially in MASTERPIECES MARIE ANTOINETTE . That is, wigs! In Marie Antoinette’s Iconic Hair & Wigs: History, Style and Influence, Ashley Sierra, Associate Editorial Manager at Brafton, talks about how wigs for both men and women made a big impact on the story telling as well as character representation in the show.
“Sometimes called a Marie Antoinette wig, this type of fashion quickly became a status symbol in the young Queen’s time. Even after more than two centuries, these wigs inspire visual storytelling on stage and TV — and even at costume parties.” said Sierra.
Sébastien Quinet, Chief Coiffeur for MARIE ANTOINETTE, talks about the process of making these wigs, as well as how they are prepared to look well on camera.“It takes about three weeks to make a wig, and sometimes up to one or two days of styling, with drying times between certain steps in wig ovens for that era,”said Quinet.
Many wealthy women of this era had distinct hair styles including the ship, the poof and the hedgehog. These hair styles were big and bold. It is obvious that not only were these hair styles absolutely fabulous, but they were very large and stood tall on these ladies’ heads. For the show, these hair styles would be made from wigs, as there needed to be so much hair as well as a lot of to make them. “We use HD tulle on the front because cameras are very high-quality today. The rest involves implantation secrets and specific hair qualities unique to each workshop.”Says Sébastien Quinet.
While women wore great wigs and hair styles, the men were also not opposed to this as well. Many men during this time and in the show, were seen wearing powdered wigs, to show their class and wealth. If men did not wear wigs however, they were usually seen having longer hair, usually tied up and pulled back with a ribbon with curls around their face. Though seen as a bit of a feminine look nowadays, this was the complete opposite back then, as this was a sign of masculinity and power.
While wigs and grand hair styles were a big part of the show, there were still notably some hats for the women. These hats were bigger and much grander compared to the other hats referenced previously.
Since we are only looking at the wealthiest type of people in France in MARIE ANTOINETTE, it is important to note that most people did not wear items that the royals did. The hats the royal women wore were very big that sat on top of their hair or wigs decorated in flowers and lace. These hats, like many others, were really only used when one was traveling and when they were outdoors. The hats and wigs seen in MARIE ANTOINETTE not only accurately show the style and wealth of the French royals during this time, but also gave the audience a great visual picture of what their status was really like back then.
While looking at hats, and sometimes wigs, they not only stand out when watching a character on screen, but they also help the audience get a better understanding of the show’s time period, social status of characters and overall personal persona of a character. Ultimately, these hats are far more than accessories, they are powerful storytelling tools that shape character identity and strengthen the sense of each show’s particular moment in time. This is why I enjoy fashion as it tells us so much about the characters and how they express themselves to the world. I hope you enjoyed learning about some of these characters hats just as much as I have!