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Dress: Anthea Crawford x Downton Abbey chiffon
Belt: HellBunny via That Shop patent, elastic
Heels: Nine West suede, patent leather
Clutch: Blue Illusion tweed, faux pearl, bead embellishment
Bracelet: Precious Stones Jewellers mesh, silver, onyx, marcasite
Ring: Precious Stones Jewellers silver, onyx, marcasite
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As an Anglophile who utterly adores period dramas, Julian Fellows novels, the Roaring Twenties & all things connected to Lord Carnarvon & the discovery of King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, it wasn't a stretch to discover that I absolutely adored what some would consider to be one of television slowest, most nuanced & beautiful shows of all time, Downton Abbey, which ran for 6 wonderful series.
A kind of upstairs/downstairs scenario that details the trials & tribulations of the Crawley family & their servants & the pervasive British social hierachy & issues of succession of the early 20th century... against the sumptuous backdrop of their Yorkshire estate, Downton Abbey, that - in real life - is not only called Highclere Castle & situated in Berkshire but is also the "ancestral pile" of the Earl of Carnarvon. As many of you may know, the 5th Earl was well-regarded as an amateur Egyptologist who sponsored excavations of noble's tombs in Thebes in 1907 & in 1922 financed & accompanied Howard Carter's discovery of the aforementioned "Boy King's" tomb in 1922... only to die a mere 4 months & 7 days later of an infected mosquito bite, a turn of events that many attribute to a supposed curse on those who interrupted the mummy's slumber. In fact, Highclere has an "Egyptian Exhibition" in the cellar of the castle filled with artefacts & pictures pertaining to the expedition & the myths & hysteria surrounding it.
But I digress.
I was elated to discover that not only was there going to be a Downton Abbey film but a clothing collaboration with my all-time favourite fashion designer, Anthea Crawford... a series of beautiful garments with nods to the 1920s & early 1930s, made from crepe, embroidered & sequinned mesh, chiffon & jacquard. The beautiful dress pictured above was one of the items featured in the collection & the ideal thing to wear to a socially-distanced movie-viewing party with a dear friend who lives overseas. A beautiful monochrome floral chiffon, the dress is cut on the bias & has delightful floaty sleeves & underbust darts for a nipped-in waist that I have exaggerated by adding a wide black patent belt from HellBunny via That Shop & a just-below-the-knee hemline that I have mixed with a pair of black suede stiletto mules with patent straps from Nine West to elongate my frame. When it came to accessories, I carried a black tweed clutch, heavily embellished with faux pearls & beads & wore a beautiful art-deco-inspired silver mesh bracelet with marcasite centre & matching onyx & marcasite ring from Precious Stones Jewellers that my parents generously gifted me for my recent birthday to evoke the era.
Scroll down to see the outfit without the belt...
