19 thoughts on “The Only Semi-Scandalous Lady W

  1. What’s the deal with the really hippy bum/hip pads, though? Why do they turn up in everything, why do so many people think they’re a good choice?

    Can’t wait to see this movie!

    1. I think it’s a holdover from (modern day) 16th century costume… I think people think it’s just the same crescent-shaped roll!

  2. The capelet might reference the military hunting frock, worn by irregulars in the British Army and many American revolutionaries. Wildly popular with reenactors because it’s relatively easy to make or cheap to buy. .

  3. I’ve seen the film on YouTube. What impressed me was the riding habit created from the portrait. It got a solid thumbs up. I lurved the riding habit.

    Lord Worsley was a bastard of the first-water. I keep on wanting to feed him to Drogon.

    As a fan of Ms. Dormer, I thought she was perfect as Seymour. However, I wanted her to ditch the Frodo clone and upgrade to either a Mr Darcy-type or a Percy Blakeney-type.

    All through my viewing of the film, I kept thanking Ghu that women are no longer subjugated to their husbands. What Worsley ‘convinced’ her to do was beyond reprehensible. Really liked how the men she shagged, were more on her side, not his. I’m waiting for the DVD release in US.

  4. I loved the riding habit, but was annoyed by the messy back and side-listing hair. The story seemed fairly sympathetically covered but I would have loved them to continue it into a two-parter and cover her later life too, rather than the endnote.

    The actor playing Bisset gets a lot of work in British TV – he was recently Richard III in ‘The White Queen’!

    I’m looking forward to your takes on some of the stuff that’s been shown over the past month or so here – Frankenstein Chronicles, Dickensian, And Then There Were None, Sherlock, Harry Price Ghost Hunter, to name just a few. We get a lot of costume drama here in the UK :)

    1. Yes, more on Seymour’s later life would have been good! You get most of the good costume drama over there, we are constantly trying to get our hands on those shows! We’ll be talking about a lot of those as soon as we can — I’ve seen one episode of Dickensian so far.

  5. I don’t understand why you think someone (even a wealthy woman) might not have the same outfits for six years. Clothing was very expensive and worth keeping.
    My mum put outgrown children’s clothing into a trunk for the next bunch to reach that size.
    I still have some clothes from my trousseau 48 years ago, and a lot of my clothes are a decade old.

  6. I remember that a local stitchin’ witch showed up at a Rev War event in that riding outfit; it was impressive. I can’t remember her name, but I believe she had her own line of patterns and that was one of them.

  7. I really would love to know how long, on average, stays lasted for women wearing them every day, more hours than I wear mine (3-4 days a week during the season, mostly to give shape and force me to stop slouching, assuming I’m in my fur-trade era post; Diederot is wrong under my 1825 settler gown) and I’m already getting wear. Even with modern reinforcements on the lacing holes and modern material (no one can see the details, but the shape of my 18th century garments with versus without them is dramatic, so I wear them.)

  8. As the costume designer on The Scandalous Lady W, I would like to let you all know that the striped moire costume Lady W wears in the courtroom is NOT the same as the costume in Poldark or Gallows Law, it was made especially for Natalie for the courtroom scenes, The fabric is from the same company but a different colour, The hat was made especially to match the hat. (I will say the costume maker also made the other costume for Gallows Law). AND, yes, the budget was very small, in fact the smallest budget I have worked on for years, I did my best. Very pleased with all the positive comments and pleased people have recognised the research that has gone into my work, James Keast, Costume designer The Scandalous Lady W

  9. Are you open for movie suggestions for your 18th-Century Quest?
    I haven’t seen the 1976 movie “The Slipper and the Rose” reviewed on this site yet.
    Now, I know you can’t review every single period movie, so I won’t feel bad if you don’t want to/can’t see it, or if it takes a while until you have the time;)
    It’s just one of my fav 18th century movies, and I would just like to share it with the world.
    (Oh, and is it possible you’ll ever write a costume post for “The Abduction Club”? I know you wrote a couple of sentences about it years ago, but that wasn’t about the costumes)

  10. Was Natalie Dormer still filming Hunger Games at this time? Cos she had her hair shaved on one side for that, and the wonky do to one side could be trying to cover that very-unperiod gap.

  11. I’m actually extremely reluctant to watch this movie because Natalie Dormer has always struck me as too… modern. Like Sienna Miller in Casanova.
    And believe it or not, her side lip thing bothers me even MORE than Keira Knightley’s pout!! (It’s unfortunate Keira gets picked for literally EVERY big budget period film! *Rolls eyes*
    The only thing that saved her in “The Duchess” was her heartbreaking portrayal of a mother loosing her newborn baby. I still cry every time I see that scene, and I’ve seen it many many times. But still she was a terrible choice for the role)
    But honestly, these modern quirks drive me up a wall! I think it’s becasue I have unfairly high standards on how a period era woman should carry herself.
    In fact, I thought Holiday Grainger would be a gone case in the Borgias. Then I watched the first season and boy was I wrong about her.
    And it could be that the lousy, outrageously modern TV show “Tudors” has contaminated my mental image of poor Natalie.
    But god was she adorable in Casanova. She deserved more screen time in my books!! Looked like an absolute 18th century angel!
    I think I’ll give this movie a chance given your complementary review! Thanks!

  12. Please don’t crap on Natalie Dormer’s “side lip thing.” That’s the shape of her face, not an affectation, and she has no control over it. She talked about it in an article with the Sunday Times back in 2014.

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