Week 2: Corsets Can Be Worn Regardless Of Gender
March 17, 2023
(Still don’t have any Jane Eyre-related finished illustrations to use for the banner image, so until I do please enjoy these random personal artworks of mine)
Hello again, and welcome to week 2 of my project! In today’s issue, I’ll be talking about the time period Jane Eyre is set it.
A Little Historical Inaccuracy is Necessary for Aesthetics
Jane Eyre is thought to be set in the Recency period (1811 – 1820) — a time when George, the Prince of Wales, governed England as “Regent” in the place of his mad father, George III. This is supported by a quote in the book:
“. . . you must fancy you see a room in the George Inn at Millcote . . . such prints, including a portrait of George the Third, and another of the Prince of Wales (Brontë 95) . . . “
During that era, it was the convention to have both the King and the Regent’s portraits hanging.
However, most movie adaptions of the book have chosen the 1830s and 1840s as their setting. This is because Charlotte Brontë herself worked as a governess during that time period, and Jane Eyre is thought to include many autobiographical elements (the book was published in 1847).
I too will be following in the examples of other adaptions and setting my Jane Eyre after the Recency years. Because frankly, Regency clothes are too trendy for Jane. The fashionable Regency dresses (characterized by low, wide necklines, short puff sleeves, and empire waistlines) make no sense on our super unremarkable and somewhat scrawny Jane. Therefore, I went with the slightly more uptight style of the 1830s and 40s, featuring lower waistlines, higher necklines, and long sleeves.
Designing Jane’s LBD (Little Black Dress)
I wanted Jane’s costume to enhance her traits, such as her
- Extreme Modesty And Plainness
- Somewhat Stiff And Uptight Composure
- Skinny Figure
As for her hair, I stuck to the conventional bun worn by Jane in almost all the movie adaptions.
Keeping these in mind, I designed the following look for her:
Corsets Aren’t Just For Girls
Of course, I need to talk about what our first male lead, Rochester, will wear. The daywear of a high-class man in that era typically consisted of a white dress shirt, skinny trousers, and a patterned waistcoat. Outerwear was a frock coat, and a neckcloth was often tied around the high collar of the dress shirt.
The ideal figure for a Victorian man was a broad chest with a cinched waist and slim hips. For reference, here are some Victorian fashion illustrations:
And guess what! The men would wear corsets to achieve this figure!
I haven’t gotten around to designing Rochester’s outfit yet, but I’ll be back next week with those sketches as well as designs for all the other characters!
Sources & References:
- Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Signet Classics, 1962.
- File:Dandys 1830.Jpg – Wikimedia Commons. Https://Commons.Wikimedia.Org/Wiki/File:Dandys_1830.Jpg. Accessed 17 Mar. 2023.
- linnetmoss. “Jane Eyre On Page And Screen: Costumes And Hair.” Linnet Moss, 27 July 2016, Https://Linnetmoss.Com/2016/07/27/Jane-Eyre-On-Page-And-Screen-Costumes-And-Hair/.
- Svenska: Hatt; Plymer; Klänning; Frack; Pantalonger; Hatt; Resilja; Band; Blommor; Frisyr; Flor. Nordic Museum, Wikimedia Commons, Https://Commons.Wikimedia.Org/Wiki/File:Magasin_f%C3%B6r_konst,_nyheter_och_moder_1836,_illustration_nr_20.Jpg. Accessed 17 Mar. 2023.