Season Four of Downton Abbey can't get to U.S. airwaves fast enough--but once the season wraps, how will fans of the Crawleys and their staff pass the time until Season Five airs?
Here's a suggestion: Costumes of Downton Abbey, an exhibition of costumes from the series, will open at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library just outside of Wilmington, DE on March 1, 2014, and will run through January 4, 2015 (just around the time the next season begins!).
Forty costumes and accessories worn upstairs and downstairs on the period drama series will be on loan from costume company Cosprop and displayed in Winterthur’s galleries.
Costumes of Downton Abbey compares and contrasts the fictional British world of Downton Abbey with the real-life American counterpart Winterthur in the first half of the 20th century. Among the highlights will be Lady Sybil's harem pants, Lady Mary's engagement dress, and Lady Edith's wedding dress. The servants' call system, H. F. du Pont's Saville Row evening jacket, and the du Pont family's 1874 Tiffany silver tea service will also be on display. Winterthur will host a wide range of lectures, workshops, and events, including programs for adults and families focusing on entertaining and country house life in Britain and the United States.
The exhibition will be organized chronologically and visitors will move through the times of day, both upstairs and downstairs. Visitors will enter past a working recreation of the bell system of Downton Abbey. Servants' uniforms and livery are contrasted with elegant tweeds, tea gowns, and elaborate evening clothes.
Winterthur Members will be offered special programs and times of exclusive access throughout the run of Costumes of Downton Abbey. In conjunction with the exhibition, Winterthur will republish, with all new color photography, its popular and out-of-print book, Life at Winterthur: A du Pont Family Album.
Photograph by Nick Briggs, © 2010 Carnival Film & Television Limited. All Rights Reserved.