Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2002 - 60

Ben Thompson as Lady Bracknell in a wig
made from draped buckram, A-B
Lady Bracknell's bust improver, made of a plastic light

cellophane, pipe cleaners, curled ribbon,

protector and shrink wrap.

and a little bit of nylon "hair."

comfort and artificiality: with corsets compressing the torso, "dress improvers" on the
buttocks, bust improvers for the under-endowed, artificial hair to plump out one's
hairdo, high-heeled, high-lacing boots (that
now would qualify as fetish gear), stockings
and garters, under-drawers (bloomers) and
camisoles under the corset, corset covers and
one to two petticoats over the corset, then
topped off with a dress (also boned for stiffness), gloves and a large hat. If this were not
enough, wealthy, fashionable people like those
in Earnest would often change their clothes
several times a day. Wilde parodies this kind of
excessive wardrobe extravagance in this exchange in Earnest, where we see the quantity
of clothing Algernon requires for spending a
week relaxing in the country:
Merriman. Mr. Ernest's luggage, sir. I have
unpacked it and put it in the room next
to your own.
Jack. His luggage?
Merriman. Yes, sir. Three portmanteaus, a
dressing-case, two hat boxes, and a large
luncheon-basket.
Algernon. I am afraid I can't stay more than
a week this time.
Previously he told his manservant, Lane,

to pack "my dress clothes, my smoking jacket,
and all the Bunbury suits." Even for walks in the
country or the park, fashionable English people
maintained these standards. Servants, like Lane
and Merriman, were obliged to wear formal
semi-uniform dress in order to advertise the
consequence and fashion of their employers.
In the fashionable world of the 1890s,
clothing was used to demonstrate one's wealth
and freedom from work. The principles of
Conspicuous Consumption and Conspicuous
Leisure are best demonstrated by an excess of
clothing that inhibits the wearer from engaging
in any kind of manual labor. (For more on this
see Thorstein Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class, especially chapter seven, "Dress as
an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture.") Conspicuous consumption could be achieved by
wearing lots of clothing (like all the layers and
items described earlier), by changing the
clothing often (as Algy clearly does), and by
having clothing made out of expensive or fragile, high-maintenance materials.
The characters in Earnest inhabit a surreal
reflection of the real world of 1890s London
society. They carry this notion of style over substance, and fashion over common sense until
their efforts to live up to an "ideal" image of

a more perfect world cause them to deny reality completely, as illustrated in the following exchange between Cecily, Algernon and
Gwendolen.
Cecily: Gwendolen, your common sense is
invaluable. Mr. Moncrieff, kindly answer
me the following question. Why did you
pretend to be my guardian's brother?
Algernon: In order that I might have an opportunity of meeting you.
Cecily: (To Gwendolen.) That certainly seems
a satisfactory explanation, does it not?
Gwendolen: Yes, dear, if you can believe
him.
Cecily: I don't. But that does not affect the
wonderful beauty of his answer.
Gwendolen: True. In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital
thing.
For me as the costume designer of The
Importance of Being Earnest at University of
Alaska, Fairbanks, the final sentence of this exchange sums up the main characters' attitudes
toward life. They are so thoroughly enamored
with the form of being, that they make form
and style "being" itself. It is as though they see
all of life as a play, and themselves as more or
less valuable insofar as their appearance is
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2002