Upstairs Downstairs: a cardiview
Dec. 28th, 2010 02:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizbeeTwo things baggers and I appreciate very much: British historical dramas about aristocratic types in the first decades of the 20th century and ugly cardigans.
Upstairs Downstairs was full of both, and has thus won a place in our hearts.
We were afraid, at first, that it wouldn't measure up to Downton Abbey for lulz, for how could anything hope to compete with a series that had Maggie Smith locked in a battle to the death with Penelope Wilton (actual death not guaranteed) and Irish socialist chauffeurs. But we were won over by Keeley Hawes doing her usual Posh 'n' Brittle routine, Eileen Atkins and her monkey, and gratuitous Wallis Simpson.
(Note to fannish types: the Duke of Kent was actually IRL bisexual, so, y'know, you could totally write HRH/Sir Hallam. If, you know, you wanted. No, nevermind, I know no one's interested in the goings on between powerful aristocratic men who spend a lot of time in evening dress.)
Also, the trailer suggests the presence of the British Union of Fascists, which suggests Oswald Mosley, which suggests Diana Mitford Guiness Mosley, and the House o'Squid has always felt there was a lot of material there just begging for the BBC treatment.
But most importantly, there were many ugly cardigans. Here, we have selected a few highlights.
Rose Buck wears a lot of cardigans. Sadly, they all transcend ugly and wind up merely drab.
Fortunately, Lady Maud Holland is the cardigan queen.
Whether passing the family jewels onto her daughter-in-law...
Or pointedly closing the door on the greeting-the-servants ritual, she has a garish off-red cardigan for any occasion!
This one is by far my favourite.
Of course, it wouldn't do to discriminate against other, lesser forms of knitwear.
Lady Persie has some very nice jumpers. Well, two that she rotates heavily, not (yet) having as extensive a wardrobe as her well-married sister.
I'm a bit taken with this mustard one, myself. Not so keen on the table monkey, though.
Not to be outdone, Lady Agnes breaks out her own knitwear. I really love that assymetrical front panel. It stops just short of being a bit too Star Trek.
This eyepopping apricot number seems to combine the best of all worlds -- it's a jumper and a cardigan, and it has a scarf. This is probably what Joan Holloway's mother wore in the '30s.
Oh, and there was some kind of plot, and the best way to eject an unwanted Nazi from your house is to spill a tray of drinks on him. Which is, I think, a handy tip we can all use.
baggers and I appreciate very much: British historical dramas about aristocratic types in the first decades of the 20th century and ugly cardigans.Upstairs Downstairs was full of both, and has thus won a place in our hearts.
We were afraid, at first, that it wouldn't measure up to Downton Abbey for lulz, for how could anything hope to compete with a series that had Maggie Smith locked in a battle to the death with Penelope Wilton (actual death not guaranteed) and Irish socialist chauffeurs. But we were won over by Keeley Hawes doing her usual Posh 'n' Brittle routine, Eileen Atkins and her monkey, and gratuitous Wallis Simpson.
(Note to fannish types: the Duke of Kent was actually IRL bisexual, so, y'know, you could totally write HRH/Sir Hallam. If, you know, you wanted. No, nevermind, I know no one's interested in the goings on between powerful aristocratic men who spend a lot of time in evening dress.)
Also, the trailer suggests the presence of the British Union of Fascists, which suggests Oswald Mosley, which suggests Diana Mitford Guiness Mosley, and the House o'Squid has always felt there was a lot of material there just begging for the BBC treatment.
But most importantly, there were many ugly cardigans. Here, we have selected a few highlights.
Rose Buck wears a lot of cardigans. Sadly, they all transcend ugly and wind up merely drab.
Fortunately, Lady Maud Holland is the cardigan queen.
Whether passing the family jewels onto her daughter-in-law...
Or pointedly closing the door on the greeting-the-servants ritual, she has a garish off-red cardigan for any occasion!
This one is by far my favourite.
Of course, it wouldn't do to discriminate against other, lesser forms of knitwear.
Lady Persie has some very nice jumpers. Well, two that she rotates heavily, not (yet) having as extensive a wardrobe as her well-married sister.
I'm a bit taken with this mustard one, myself. Not so keen on the table monkey, though.
Not to be outdone, Lady Agnes breaks out her own knitwear. I really love that assymetrical front panel. It stops just short of being a bit too Star Trek.
This eyepopping apricot number seems to combine the best of all worlds -- it's a jumper and a cardigan, and it has a scarf. This is probably what Joan Holloway's mother wore in the '30s.
Oh, and there was some kind of plot, and the best way to eject an unwanted Nazi from your house is to spill a tray of drinks on him. Which is, I think, a handy tip we can all use.
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Date: 2010-12-28 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-12-28 04:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 06:07 am (UTC)I now want to see Mad Men flashback to Joan Holloway's parents....
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Date: 2010-12-28 08:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 02:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 11:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 06:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-06 11:17 pm (UTC)(You know what DS9 is short on? Yup - epic knitwear. This comment brought to you courtesy of the DS9 Fashion Picspam Of Epic that has lately eaten my brain. Upholstery fabric, coating wool, suedecloth, corduroy, velour, all manner of sparkly what-have-you... but not so much with the knitwear. *sigh*)