'Sense and Sensibility' Costumes Blend 1811 History With Modern Edge — SkimNews
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- Grace Snell, in her first period film, structured costumes in chapters for the new adaptation, distinguishing the Devonshire-set "Barton Cottage" phase from the "London" phase where the sisters are presented to society in a different palette.
- Snell drew inspiration from 2000s family photographs (for sisterly intimacy), '80s and '90s runway looks, and period-accurate paintings, aiming to "knock down the wall" between period drama and modern audiences.
- The Dashwood sisters share and borrow clothing throughout the film, reflecting their age gap (Marianne 19, Elinor 16, Margaret 13), with reworked fabrics meant to suggest garments "have a life" through family use.
- Snell hired a dress historian for three weeks of research and prioritized historically accurate fabrics, techniques, and hand-sewing, while still pursuing a more accessible modern styling.
- The color palette begins with "shades of black" during mourning, shifts to blue for Elinor and Edward in London to reflect their disappointed situation, and reserves brighter colors mainly for supporting characters.
- Snell explicitly distinguished her film from Ang Lee's 1995 adaptation (costumes by Jenny Beavan and John Bright), saying it was "not a reference point" and that "it's time to have our version" for a new audience.
Why it matters: This new 'Sense and Sensibility' deliberately distances itself from the beloved 1995 Ang Lee version, which Snell calls a touchstone but explicitly not a design reference. The film bets that hand-sewn historical accuracy can coexist with 2000s-family-photo intimacy and shared-clothing storytelling to reach viewers who find traditional period drama's "pedestal" presentation alienating — making this a test case for whether Austen's audience can expand beyond the 1995 adaptation's footprint.
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