Daisy Edgar-Jones Details Her “Undone” Sense And Sensibility Costumes

Marianne Dashwood may have super high standards for her future husband, but when it comes to fashion, she and her sisters are a bit more laid-back — at least in director Georgia Oakley’s upcoming Sense and Sensibility. Instead of the pristine Regency glamour typical of most Jane Austen adaptations, star Daisy Edgar-Jones (Elinor Dashwood) tells Bustle that this version — in theaters on Oct. 16 — serves a look that is stripped back and lived-in.

That rustic aesthetic was entirely intentional. At the film’s Los Angeles press junket, Edgar-Jones explains, “Georgia really wanted to bring nature into the film in a really interesting way,” noting that the director envisioned “a version of the Dashwoods that is a little more undone, a little more of the earth.”

The Secret To The Dashwood Sisters’ Earthy Style

Edgar-Jones describes the Dashwoods as “quite a bohemian family,” which explains why the production went completely raw with the wardrobe, relying heavily on natural dyes. “Marianne’s yellow dress is dyed with elderberries, and my lavender one is dyed with logwood. We had real blackberry stains [on] our clothes,” she says.

Costume designer Grace Snell previously shared that Margaret’s berry-stained look is one of her favorites in the film. Because the youngest Dashwood sister gets this particular ensemble wet, the wardrobe department needed to create multiple versions of the exact same look. “I had to match the berry stains on each of the dresses,” Snell said.

These subtle style choices reflect the characters in their current state. “When we meet them, the Dashwoods are without a man in the house. It’s really just a household of women,” Edgar-Jones says, adding that this dynamic deeply impacted “the way in which they present in their inner lives.”

That relaxed styling helped achieve what she calls “a real dissolving” of the barrier between Austen’s Georgian-era story and the present. “It’s set so long ago, but somehow through Georgia’s brilliant filmmaking, she manages to honor the period while making it feel really fresh and contemporary in an interesting way.”

Tossing Out The Regency Hair Rulebook

Another way that the Dashwoods appear more unconstrained is through their hair, which Edgar-Jones describes as “a little looser.” Even though some fans online have felt that having their hair down is inconsistent with the times, the film’s screenwriter, Diana Reid, previously said that was a deliberate choice from Oakley.

“She just wanted everything to feel really naturalistic and pared back,” said Reid. “We felt, especially characters like Marianne, even though it was probably the most decorous thing to keep your hair up, she’s not the kind of character who cares about that.”

With unpinned hair and clothes stained by the earth, the film swaps traditional Regency perfection for a style that feels entirely real, capturing the characters exactly as they are when left to themselves.