Costume seen on Helen Fraser as Mrs. Morland
Gainsborough Pictures
Duel of Hearts
Costume seen on Suzanna Hamilton as Harriet Wantage
Sony Pictures Video
TriStar Pictures
Princess Caraboo
Costume seen on Kate Ashfield as Ella
Costume seen on Toni Collette as Harriet Smith
Costume seen on Sophia Myles as Susan Price
Costume seen on an uncredited extra as a maid
Costume seen on Mary Roscoe as Hannah
This delightful costume was seen at least nine times from 1987 to 2011! It probably originated in the 1987 BBC adaptation of Northanger Abbey, where Helen Fraser wore it as Mrs. Morland. The dress was then seen in Duel of Hearts in 1991, worn by Suzanna Hamilton as Harriet Wantage. The '90s saw the dress recycled a further three times. 1994's Princess Caraboo used it for the part of Ella, played by Kate Ashfield, the 1996 Emma used it on Toni Collette as Harriet Smith, and the 1999 Mansfield Park found it worn by Sophia Myles as Susan Price. 2003 saw the dress worn by extras in both Byron and Eroica, and then in 2008 on Charity Wakefield as Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility. The last known sighting was in 2011 when it was spotted on the character Hannah, played by Mary Roscoe in the three-part BBC television adaptation of Great Expectations. The lighting in Great Expectations is so different than the other productions that the costume appears blue! However, the stripes and placement of the buttons clearly show it is the same costume.
Nicholas Rocker