35 thoughts on “Top 5 Films Set in the 1910s

    1. Yep: the “jump” dress is just about my favourite costume – ever. So I can definitely tell the difference! :) :)

      I was in high school when Titanic came out, so I am immune to the (well-deserved) criticisms of it being a melodrama – we were all obsessed with it! I don’t think I should – or could – watch it through now, however.

  1. You missed my favorite, “Somewhere in Time”, set in 1912, with incredible costumes by Jean-Pierre Dorleac, a master of Edwardian fashion! Dorleac received a nomination for Best Costume Design at the 1981 Academy Awards.

  2. ‘Teens fashion is my favorite! (Outside of medieval stuf, that is. I’m also very fond of 1950s-very early ’60s also. Works with my figure.) It’s flattering on just about everyone, can be very sleek, elegant, ‘modern, or very fluffy, feminine, frilly, etc. And all points between! I really love Margaret Schlagel’s black and white dress. And pintucks and insert lace- oh my. And Fortuny? Oooh. To have the figure to wear those pleated dresses! He also did some fabulous velvet tunics and coats- very geometric, very dramatic. And the Orientalism is fascinating!

    Count me in!

  3. oh, I am so glad that someone else has issues with Lady Mary’s dress – it is so veryvery off.

    1. Out of curiosity, what’s wrong with it? Is it because the waistline is so much lower? I do love the fabric.

      Also I notice that Edith’s gown in that photo has almost a Regency look to it.

      1. During the teens there was a conscious regency influence – they even referred to it at the time as “regency revival.” So Lady Edith’s dress is no accident ;o)

    2. Thank you thank you. Not only is it ‘off’, it’s hideous. It’s unflattering. She wore it so often during WWI??? Why??? It was so awful. So glad I’m not the only one to notice this awful dress!

    3. Lady Mary’s dress actually looks like a ballet costume. I don’t find it hideous at all, but it doesn’t look right.

      Many ballets of the post tutu-era variety have costumes in this style. It’s practical for dance (especially partnering), and looks vaguely historical enough for shows like Cinderella or Manon.

  4. The Music Man is set in 1912. Some of the women’s costumes are amazing for a ’60s movie, and the hats are stupendous.

  5. I love this period also. Not a huge fan of Titanic, but those hats are amazing. I love all five of those but I think Wings of the Dove has the best costumes of all. I remember there’s a scene in a blue room that was just stunning. I think it’s time for me to watch it again!

  6. When I was in London in the 80s, Liberty (the department store) had an exhibition of Fortuny clothing and I fell in love. It even included one of the Delphos dresses pulled through a wedding ring! I do like this time period because it’s so eclectic and the fabrics are wonderful.

    1. “Wings” has some of the best costuming ever, but the Fortuny gowns were also my favorites. (And really a pretty good movie overall.) Interesting that both the early 1800s and 1900s saw a rise in aesthetic and more comfortable dress for women.

  7. My favourite is Wings of the Dove closely followed by Titanic. I want all of Allison Elliot’s clothes (I’m a redhead, too) and Rose’s opening hat and heaven dress (end dress when she goes up staircase…) And Howard’s End and A Room with a View are tied with second.

    PS why don’t you both make Bonham Carter’s dress with the amazeballs hat? Take pics & have a contest on FrockFlicks…

  8. The 1910s is one of my favorite time periods. I love reading about history at that time, and the clothing styles are some of my favorites.

    For that reason, I’ll always have a soft spot for Titanic, even though I will readily admit it has a lot of problems, solely because it was the first movie where I noticed the costumes and it got me interested in researching clothes from that time period.

    So, I remember being in 4th grade and all the other girls were squealing about Leo, and I was like, “But Rose’s dresses!”

    1. Kate Winslet in Titanic is everything. To quote myself at the time “Leo? You mean there were men in Titanic?”

  9. Cheri is set during 1910-1913 or there about there’s a mention of WWI that Cheri either fought in or died in at theend of the movie.

  10. I loved Titanic when it came out for different reasons, and when I saw the rerelease in IMAX all I could think about was the dresses! (these days I only watch the first couple hours. Once the ship starts sinking, I’m out. I cried SO MUCH, every time… Yup, heaaaaavy on the melodrama, the sappy part of me loves it).

    A couple of WWI films I saw somewhat recently (Passchendaele and Testament of Youth) had decent costumes from what I can remember. Not going to watch them again any time soon because they were just so sad.

  11. I love all of these films (even sappy Titanic). But A very Long Engagement is my favorite after Howard’s End. At the end of Engagement, they showed black and white/sepia stained photos of their cast. All of them looked true to the time period, clothes, faces and body language. An amazing film.

  12. Has anyone else seen ‘The Last September’? Has Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Fiona Shaw, Keeley Hawes, David Tennant. Set in 1920, immediately post-war, on an Irish estate at the beginning of ‘the Troubles’. A _very_ late teens feel to it, and Hawes’ clothes are very much in that odd transitional phase. Actually, some of them are beautiful (I especially like one particular red dress).

    Warning though- it is not an easy movie to watch. Class, politics, interpersonal stuff, and a murder at the end that made me ill. But it is worth it. I saw it on Netflix, seems to be on Amazon too, and in 10 parts on YouTube.

  13. You missed my favorite: My Fair Lady. The film Is supposed to take place around 1913 when Pygmalion was first written.

  14. I LOVE this era. have you seen testament of youth with alicia vikander/kit harrington? the costumes in that are so very beautiful, i’d love to know the accuracy of them! x

  15. There was an exhibition of the Downton Abbey costumes at Winterthur in Delaware a couple of years back (one of the docents described the mood as “Disneyland for grownups!”), and the beautiful gold bodice of Lady Sybil’s Turkish trousers outfit was an actual teens piece. However, it was so fragile that the fabric was cracking in multiple places. Hence, her jaunty akimbo pose–holding her arms down at her sides would have exposed the big cracks in the fabric!
    Somewhere in Time!! Apparently the white beaded dress that she wears in the play (when she ad-libs that speech ending “I love you”) got stolen before filming had even finished! Mean people suck.

  16. Goodness, how could you leave off “SOMEWHERE IN TIME” …the most beautiful film set in the teens. And it was nominated for an Oscar, plus it won numerous other awards for the outstanding costumes.
    See it, if you haven’t yet.
    And then read all about the making of it in costume designer, JEAN-PIERRE DORLEAC’s wonderfully entertaining and revealing book, “THE NAKED TRUTH: An Irreverent Chronicle of Delirious Escapes” that is available as an autographed copy at http://www.jean-pierredorleac.com.
    For anyone interested in the actual making of many classic films and TV series, this is the book TO-GO-TO! Not only will you learn of behind-the-silver-screen antics and production problems, you will be entertained by the inside stories of numerous celebrities and have a wonderful laugh, on almost every page.
    Check out the dozens of five-star reviews it received on http://www.amazon.com. where it is also available for purchase.

  17. Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and Reds are all set during the 1910s Two of those revolve around the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

  18. Stunning era for beautifully crafted clothing that flattered tall, delicately boned women, albeit difficult to dress oneself and I often sympathize the hours of servant maintenance to keep them clean and ready to wear. That being said, visually stunning!

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