Season three sees diff erent actress-
es playing the sisters as they move
into middle age — Olivia Colman
and Helena Bonham Carter — and
yet another costume designer, Amy
Roberts, dressing them ‘60s and
‘70s style.Telling the Story
This series is a pleasure to behold,
even with the sound turned off. Ex-
ploring the exhibition Costuming the
Crown (closed in January) at Win-
terthur Museum, we learned those
jewels we’d been admiring on screen
were as close to the real thing as
you could possibly get, short of the
real thing.
“Costumes and jewelry are crucial
to not just the drama of The Crown
but the history itself,” says Kim Col-
lison, who helped curate Costum-
ing the Crown. “There are so many
stories in those pieces! So, they had
to be historically accurate.”
Two kinds of jewelry and costumes
appear in The Crown — the ones that
were photographed, documented,
and eventually became part of his-
tory, and the ones that were props
for background drama. The histori-
cal variety were carefully replicated,
mainly by a fi rm in London that
specializes in replicating royal jewels.
The rest of the costumes and jew-
elry — like the scenes that take place
in private spaces — were mostly
historical fi ction, based on actual
events in the royal family’s personal
lives but for the most part invented
as an extension of character and
styles of the day. What you see is
the kind of couture the aristocracy
could aff ord in mid-century Europe.
Costume designers for the show
have said they were encouraged
both to refl ect history and create
something new. “We all wanted to
try to do something that was not
just a historical document,” Michele
Clapton told the British Academy ofFilm and Television Arts. “The story
allowed you to do that.”
Jewelry worn in The Crown re-
fl ects the fashion of the times but
also the characters. Queen Elizabeth,
a young princess when we meet her
in season one, is modest and con-
servative, born for the life of gentle-
woman farmer and horse breeder.
Her sister Margaret, on the other
hand, is spontaneous, urbane and
chic, the life of the party.Gems and Jeweled
Wearables
If you’re watching the series, you
know pearls were everywhere in the
fi rst two seasons. By the '50s and
'60s when the fi rst season takes
place, no well-dressed woman, royal
or otherwise, went out without them.
Pearls also have a long tradition in
the British monarchy. Elizabeth I had
them sewn into her gowns and wo-
ven into her hair in the 16th century.They were also a staple for Queen
Mary, who layered them on Victo-
rian style. Elizabeth and Margaret’s
grandmother makes a memorable
showing in the fi rst season of the se-
ries. Sophie Millard, a London-based
vintage costume jeweler, supplied
many of the pearls seen in the show.
While the replicas look a bit gaudy
close up in bright light, the tiarasdesign
“Costumes and
jewelry are
crucial to not
just the drama
of The Crown but
the history itself.
There are so
many stories in
those pieces!”Aiguillettes, epaulettes,
and medals as designed for
Prince Philip’s character in
The Crown.MAY/JUNE 2020 59
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