Daisy Edgar-Jones’s Bodice Dress May Look Timeless, But It's Actually From the 1990s

In the lead-up to Sense and Sensibility, Daisy Edgar-Jones’s style has been bending time. Her red carpet wares have hinted at the Jane Austen adaptation’s Georgian England style while maintaining a very modern appeal. Take her slinky remix of corsetry or her mixing of opulent ruffles with daring sheer, for example. On Wednesday night, she furthered her case with two back-to-back looks that took her from Regency-era eveningwear to 18th-century lingerie.

For the film’s premiere in Los Angeles, Edgar-Jones added the 1990s into the timeline. She plucked a classically romantic look from Chloé’s spring 1999 runway. The satin frock featured a creamy floral-embellished bodice, sheer scalloped sleeves, and a blue mermaid skirt that cascaded behind her. Sourced by stylist Dani Michelle from Raffe Vintage, the archival ensemble exuded Jane Austen-worthy fantasy. Fashion nerds will remember that Chloé’s spring 1999 collection was the third from a young Stella McCartney (and might be even quicker to remember that Phoebe Philo was working behind the scenes as McCartney’s right-hand woman).

Hours later, however, Edgar-Jones switched up the mood by trading soft, feminine draping for edgy, structured skin-baring. Her after-party minidress, from British bad girl Dilara Findikoglu’s recently launched bridal collection, was full of sturdy boning and severe lace-up lining across the back. Unlike her polished Chloé pull, it was trimmed with layers of raw-hemmed silk, for a tattered effect and a subtly subversive finish. Together, both contrasting looks captured the famously complex nature of Austen’s leading ladies.

Edgar-Jones, who plays the beloved Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, was not alone in her approach to retooled period dressing. Her co-star Esmé Creed-Miles, who plays the middle Dashwood sister Marianne, wore a pink Simone Rocha confection that exaggerated period ruffles. Caitríona Balfe, who plays Mrs. Dashwood, updated the traditional Prada column dress with a custom black train that added a dreamy touch.

After kicking off the Sense and Sensibility tour with a sculpted Vivienne Westwood gown, Edgar-Jones has been using each promotional appearance to modernize lace, corsetry, and brocade styles. As the film hits theaters on October 16, the star is reaching the end of her red-carpet run. But with her most recent outing, she again proved that period dressing takes more forms than one.