Design by Abby Wilt
Actress Brittany Joyner said she is “obsessed” with the delicate and fussy frills that come with the clothing of the Edwardian era (1901-1914).
While clothing is considered vintage when it is between 20 and 100 years old, the clothing that Joyner loves is over 100 years old, meaning it is antique and incredibly delicate — making it impractical to wear.
Her solution, she said, is to make it all herself.
“Everything [I wear] is almost entirely made by me,” Joyner said. “Once you start getting to the Edwardian Victorian era, that stuff is gonna fall apart on your body if you buy that from that time period. The material is not meant to last that long.”
Clothing of the Edwardian Era is characterized by ample curves, created by the S-bend corset and Pigeon silhouette. According to FashionEra.com, this corset set the trend for fashion-conscious women until 1905; and an Edwardian outfit was not considered complete without a hat, gloves and a parasol.
Costuming vs. Personal Style
While Joyner said she loves historical “costuming,” it is not the only type of clothing she wears.
“I’m not in the clothing all the time,” Joyner said. “I mean, I’m not going to the gym in a corset.”
While it may not be her everyday attire, it is an art she said she loves, and it allows her to have fun with history.
“I’m always going to grab the thing with the delicate embroidery and lace trim because that’s already my style and my taste, which is influenced by historical clothing,” Joyner said. “But I wouldn’t say that my personal style is 1912.”
After joining Costumer’s Guild West, Joyner said she attended their Costume College event, an intensive four days of “non-stop workshops, classes and learning historical techniques of sewing and hatmaking.”
“That’s an art form in itself, learning all the techniques,” Joyner said, holding up a white blouse with a smile. “Just with this shirt, I got a perfect flat-felled seam, and there is nothing more pleasing than a beautiful hem that’s done and looks like a professional did it. And that was me. I did that.”
Joyner loves the idea of creating clothing to fit her body and its shape rather than trying to change the shape of her body to fit into specific clothing. She has scoliosis and said the curve in her spine means her measurements are asymmetrical.
“Everything needs to be made custom-tailored to my specific body, and I’m not going to find that off the rack or even off the historical rack,” Joyner said.
The Historic Difference
One of the biggest differences between modern and historical clothing is the way the clothing is intended to fit, Joyner said.
Modern clothing, she said, requires people to have a certain body type to fit the cultural norm. Historical clothing, however, shapes your body to the norm by creating the illusion of an hourglass body shape using corsets, bustles and underclothes.
When women desired a specific silhouette, it was created with padding and lacing and illusions of the eye, Joyner said. And, while corsets may have been uncomfortable in the moment, they did not require permanently changing your body shape to fit a trend.
“You could still feel lovely and feel like you were entrained or fashionable,” Joyner said. “But the clothing is doing the heavy lifting rather than you at the gym.”
She feels this is a much healthier way to view fashion, Joyner said.
Brittany’s Eras
Joyner said she is in her “Edwardian era.” Before Edwardian, it was Regency.
“A lot of people call it the Titanic era,” Joyner said. “It’s just a small period of time, right after the Victorian era and before we’re getting into the twenties and the Jazz Age.”
Joyner said she feels inspired by the exploration and adventure that were happening at that time period, like the Egyptologists who were spreading Egyptomania across Britain.
“I made these Edwardian bicycling pants, and it was very much like an adventurer. They would have the boots on and stuff,” Joyner said.
Though Joyner said it takes her “weeks and weeks and weeks” to create one costume, it is worth it and brings her joy.
“It makes me feel fun and whimsical, and I think if we have more whimsy in our life, we are better people for it,” Joyner said.
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Contact Marley Penagos via email: marley.penagos@pepperdine.edu
