Daisy Edgar-Jones is using the Sense and Sensibility press tour to reference the late-18th-century world of Elinor Dashwood, with corsetry, lace and period-inspired details appearing throughout her wardrobe.
Edgar-Jones stars as Elinor Dashwood in Georgia Oakley’s new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, alongside Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne Dashwood and George MacKay as Edward Ferrars. The film arrives in UK cinemas on 25 September.
Working with stylist Dani Michelle, Edgar-Jones has carried elements of the film’s period wardrobe into the press tour. Rather than recreating Elinor’s costumes, the pair have looked to details including corsetry, lace, puffed silks, florals and brocade to connect contemporary fashion with the character and period.
Costume designer Grace Snell placed the film loosely between 1795 and 1799, using pared-back silhouettes, antique fabrics, natural dyes and practical clothing. Elinor’s wardrobe reflects the responsibilities she takes on following her father’s death, with pieces including waistcoats and workwear appearing as the family’s circumstances change.
That wardrobe has provided a starting point for Edgar-Jones and Michelle during the film’s promotion. The clearest connection came at the Sense and Sensibility world premiere in London, where Edgar-Jones wore a custom Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood gown.
The champagne silk duchesse dress featured corseted construction, draping and bow detailing at the shoulders. Westwood’s longstanding use of corsetry made the label a natural choice for a press tour drawing on historical dress.
The references continued through Edgar-Jones’s jewellery. She wore a Boucheron locket dating from 1877 on a velvet ribbon and a cameo ring from the same year.
Other appearances have taken a less literal approach. During a London press appearance, Edgar-Jones paired an ivory McQueen military-style jacket with jeans and pointed shoes. The military-inspired construction brought a period reference into an otherwise contemporary look.
For a special Sense and Sensibility screening in London, she wore a black floral-lace Shushu/Tong dress. Lace was one of the details Michelle identified as part of the wider approach to connecting the press wardrobe with Elinor’s world.
At the Irish premiere in Dublin, Edgar-Jones moved further towards contemporary eveningwear in a white silk Stella McCartney gown.
The bias-cut slip dress featured ruffled detailing on the straps that extended down the back. Unlike the corseted Westwood gown, the Stella McCartney look did not make an obvious historical reference, showing that the press-tour wardrobe moves between period influences and contemporary fashion rather than following a strict method-dressing formula.
The costumes behind the references
Snell’s costumes provide the foundation for those references. Clothing is used to reflect the Dashwood family’s changing circumstances, while Elinor and Marianne are given distinct wardrobes within the film’s late-18th-century setting.
Antique materials, natural dyes and hand-finished elements contribute to the film’s pared-back approach to period dress. Edgar-Jones and Michelle have translated that idea rather than reproducing the costumes themselves, moving between direct references such as corsetry and subtler details in otherwise modern looks.
The result is a press-tour wardrobe that keeps Elinor Dashwood in view without turning every red-carpet appearance into a costume.
