Poldark style – Part 2 The Ladies

As we’ve moved through the series, in Poldark style – Part 2 The Ladies, the lead women’s fortunes have gone up and down and their clothes have followed suit: Demelza has gone from a ragamuffin pretending (most unsuccessfully, to my eyes) to be a boy, to a kitchen maid dressed in rough fabrics, to lady of the house in scarlet and gold, and Elizabeth has gone from lady of the house to lady of reduced fortunes who has to *gasp * wear the same dress to a ball twice. Even Prudie Paynter, the useless but rather appealing housekeeper has gone from filthy varmint servant to filthy varmint servant sleeping under a hedge, although it seems no change of outfit was needed for that.

Poldark style – Part 2. The Ladies, Verity and Some Weddings.

The BBC Poldark series drew to a close (but you can still catch it on iPlayer for a couple of weeks!), but I really wanted to talk about the outfits that the women wear.

In Poldark-style-part-2 sweet Verity also has a change in fortunes, by going from being her father’s drudge, to unexpectedly married and happy, although in the spirit of both the times and the secret nature of her elopement she doesn’t get a white wedding dress to be married in, wearing instead the clothes she stands up in. Which, luckily, happen to be her elegant travelling outfit and a very nice hat. So let’s start with her.

Poldark style – Verity

Although she’s supposed to be the plain and dowdy spinster sister and as such is often dressed by the costume department in clothes that really don’t suit her, in Poldark-style-part-2 I personally find actress Ruby Bentall’s huge shining eyes, tiny mouth and flawless skin lovely.

While she wears some very buttoned up dresses in mousy colours at home, Verity still gets to go to the ball in Poldark-style-part-2. Although it’s a shame that one of her ballgowns seems to be a slightly crumpled, simple cream cotton one. Could it really be cotton? And she doesn’t really suit the green one with the piled up hairdo.

It’s her streamlined silver travelling outfit in Poldark-style-part-2 that makes her stand out (and that sounds a bit space age – it’s emphatically not.) I wondered why she looked so nice it in, and it becomes clear when it turns out it is what she will get married in. The coat has a deep hood, and is made from a polished and textured grey damask cotton with a gentle gleam. It is fitted to the waist and flares gently to the knee. The back is a bit longer than the front to keep her warm while riding. She wears it with a plain grey skirt and a feathered grey straw hat, which sits angled prettily on her head.

 Another wedding (or two)

As I mentioned, white weddings were not the norm in the 18^th Century, you’d have to wait another hundred years for that. Most people wore their Sunday best, and it could be any colour. In Poldark-style-part-2, Elizabeth’s wedding dress was lovely, but Demelza’s dress was red and very simple.

Here’s a village couple Jinny and Jim getting married; her piecing blue eyes are perfectly matched with a charming wildflower headdress.

Poldark-style-part-2, And here’s the scheming Keren marring the hapless Mark. Mark tames a wild bird for Keren, but she’s a wild bird herself, and won’t be tamed. So he breaks her spine. Oh.

Next up – the rest of the ladies!

• Georgian