By Jan Wahl–
Have you ever waited a week to see your favorite series episode?
I am going quite insane because of HBO’s The Gilded Age. It is something I watch twice: the first time for the characters and the drama, and then I watch it again for the sets and the costumes.
Costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone puts together over 1,200 women’s dresses, 1,000 men suits, 750 women’s hats, 400 men’s hats, 100 tiaras, and 4,000 pairs of shoes for the series. Creator Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey), keeps it all authentic to the actual Gilded Age of New York City from 1877–1900.
Maimone explained, “We looked at endless amounts of historical paintings, actual clothes from museums, and I was determined to create a distinct look for each character.”
The hats alone are the stuff of my dreams.
It takes four to six weeks to create one dress. Every sleeve, bustle, and bow are just right, and every button and fabric fit the time period. Aside from the dresses, no women of high society would dare be seen without intricate hats, elegant jewelry, stylish shoes, and long gloves.
It was a time of great political corruption and wealth inequality, but the rich really lived it up. There is old money versus new money and you will easily find your favorite character. Mine is Morgan Spector as George Russell, and I also like Carrie Coon (The White Lotus) as Bertha Russell. Cynthia Nixon as Ada Brook and Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn are sisters who bitch as much as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford did back in the day.
The series features a closeted gay man, Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson.). In Fellowes’ other hit series, Downton Abbey, there was Thomas Barrow the butler. While Barrow suffers and self-hates, Oscar van Rhijn is arrogant and self-interested. I hear he meets Oscar Wilde soon. Gay women, in turn, lived together and often wrote passionate poems to each other.
The disparity of wealth in Manhattan at this time, the late 19th century, is rather insane, with the extravagant living it up. But go along for this gorgeous and crazy ride! If you don’t have HBO, you can watch it on MAX, DirectTV, or Hulu.
I am also obsessed with Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Recently I didn’t move for two hours while watching Garbo (2005) hosted by TCM. Hollywood historian Kevin Brownlow, and narrator Julie Christie highlight this remarkable actress along with my friend, cinema historian Mark Viera.
I learned that Garbo was the most mystifying actress in film history and completely did it all her own way. We end up understanding why she had to turn her back on Hollywood. It’s on both Netflix and TCM.
Since it is summer, I head to my favorite author, William J. Mann, and his 1998 classic Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, about one of MGM’s biggest stars in the late 1920s. Haines played cocky, sympathetic wise guys, and everyone loved him. But he refused to hide his homosexuality and was thrown out of the studio in 1933.
Unlike many people, he had a fabulous second act—becoming an ultra-successful interior decorator. Mann links Haines’ story to shifting attitudes in the movie industry. There is also a beautiful love story of his companion from 1926–1973. This is one of those books you read more than once, like rewatching The Gilded Age, and every time get a new perspective.
Jan Wahl is a Hollywood historian and film critic on various broadcast outlets. She has two Emmys and many awards for her longtime work on behalf of film buffs and the LGBTQ community. Contact her at www.janwahl.com
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Published on July 17, 2025
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