With two period pieces coming out this year, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and War & Peace, a starring role playing Cinderella and a breakout turn as cousin Rose on Downton Abbey, it appears as though Lily James might be experiencing a bit of turn-of-the-century typecasting. In an interview with WWD, however, during a break from the Television Critics Association tour, the English actress admitted that while it may appear as though she’s stuck in the past, her many retro roles have actually taught her a lot about style.
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James credits Downton Abbey as the biggest influencer on her wardrobe, saying that she believes due to the show, “My style really changed because I understood accessorizing, because every morning I’d go into my trailer and there’d be different necklaces and earrings and gloves and handbags, and depending on my outfit, I’d pick what I would wear with it.” But when asked what designers she’d love to wear for her next film, Lady Rose lists all the modern classics, enthusing, “I go for the British designers. I love Burberry, I love Dior, Chanel. I guess it would depend what I was shooting.”
When it comes to her personal style, however, the actress is more about comfy, laid-back classic rather than black tie pomp and circumstance, saying, “I keep quite a low profile and I wear jeans and jumpers and Converse. I’m the girl that wears her boyfriend’s jumpers most of the time.”
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But acting isn’t all ball gowns, Burberry, and baguette rings. When asked about her favorite day on set shooting War & Peace, James recounted a grisly day on set where her character was, “very, very sick, and a way of curing yourself then was to have leeches and they would suck out the impurity of your blood. The fake leeches looked [too] fake, so I had real leeches on my arm sucking my blood … I thought it would make me feel really sick and like I was dying and help with the acting, but really it just made me giggle.”
Good to remember that while the film’s 19th-century fashions might be to die for, we should also thank our lucky stars that we live in the 21-century and don’t actually have to (almost) die in order to wear them.
What do you think of Lily James’ period piece style? What look from Downton Abbey would you love to see her wear on the red carpet?
–Emily Kirkpatrick
