
It’s not widely known that productions will often reuse costumes from earlier productions. With all the Austen adaptations since 1995, plus other movies set in that era such as Vanity Fair, Becoming Jane, Miss Austen Regrets, and more, you’re bound to see some familiar garments if you’re an avid Austen or costume movie fan. Here are a few more that I didn’t mention in my main blog post on Sanditon.
Whenever a costume looks familiar, I know that a) I’ve been watching these films way too often and b) recycledmoviecostumes.com will confirm my sneaking suspicion I’ve seen it before.

I spotted this coat and knew I’d seen it before. Yes, rmc tells me, it was worn by Hattie Morahan as Elinor Dashwood in the 2008 production of Sense & Sensibility, and the next year by Jodhi May as Mrs. Weston in Emma. The Sanditon one isn’t on the website yet–I’m going to send it in, although sometimes the site owner has a backlog; I can’t believe I’m the only one to notice.

As soon as I saw the red dress above, I remembered Mary Musgrove wearing it in Persuasion (1995). It’s not on rcm yet, either, but I got the screenshot from Persuasion from there; the site says it was also used in 2007 in Northanger Abbey.

Vanity Fair (1998) originated this nice pink spencer. Spencers (those short little jackets) seem to be the main thing borrowed, to lend interest to the less-exciting cotton dresses–just as they did back in the early 1800s.

This embroidered spencer seems to have been cut from a Kashmir shawl. They wouldn’t have wasted the fabric this way “back then,” although they did make dresses out of them–less wasteful. This one is from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2015), which I’m not familiar with.

Lizzie Bennet, who had far too many spencers for someone on the Bennet family’s salary, can surely spare yet another of her spencers for Charlotte (who also should have fewer clothes as she does not seem to come from a very well-off family, and people had fewer clothes then):

That’s all I’ve gathered so far, with thanks to recycledmoviecostumes.com for confirming my suspicions and showing me some I didn’t recognize like the embroidered spencer! Who’s noticed others?
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Hi! I am so glad you want to keep up but I think you have to subscribe—I can’t do it for you. I think there’s a link on bottom of each post page. Also if you follow my Instagram curators_curio I’ll announce posts there.
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Diana Parker’s v-neck pink ball gown in Episode 8 is worn by Jane Bennet as a day gown in Pride and Prejudice (1995).
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Thank you! I need to catch up on the episodes, wrote the post after I think just 4. I’ll add this.
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Thanks for the excellent information. I’m a JASN member.
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Thanks and Yay me too! I’ll be speaking in Cleveland so maybe see you around there.
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I just discovered Curator’s Curio: what a treat! Of course, your observations are spot-on, but the way you deliver these comments is simply delicious! I am an instant fan. One note: it’s Lizzy not Lizzie Bennet. I quibble; but since my daughter Lizzy winces when her name appears as Lizzie, I decided Miss Bennet might care as well. .
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Thank you for your compliments and ouch, bad me on Lizzy, thank you! I normally pride myself on spelling and just NOTICING, and will correct that.
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