The Fashion Eras of Over the Garden Wall
I have seen a few posts that try to line up characters from Over the Garden Wall to their fashion era - the clothing that the characters are wearing throughout the series sort of implies when they died and ended up in the Unknown - or when their spirits ended up there. Most of them have at least a couple inaccuracies, though, so I thought I’d set things straight.
Wirt - Wirt is not wearing a Confederate soldier’s cape. He is wearing the cape to a blue greatcoat from the mid-1800s. It’s blue with red lining and gold buttons (this is actually important). Blue anything with gold buttons signifies a Union soldier’s uniform. The lining doesn’t really matter. You never really see the lining of a cape. His cape comes from a Union soldier’s uniform (American Civil War).
Beatrice - Beatrice’s gown (human form) is an empire dress from the Regency period. Her dress, however, has more lining and complexity; some frills down the middle. This was a more popular style in Britain during the early 1800s, but if I go along with my other OTGW theories - and keep in mind that the Unknown is a historical reflection of Wirt’s region/hometown to accommodate spirits from different decades - the people in Beatrice’s family wear clothing that don’t match each other. Her mother looks like a woman from the late 1700s and her father is wearing a bow tie and handlebar moustache - and that tells me he’s from the late 1800s. I’d say her parents either met as spirits and had children afterwards (somehow) or her mother maintained an old style and they all died around the same time, but the man who is her ‘father’ is more like a stepfather. I still think her parents met as spirits based on my theory. But, the showrunner(s) could always just be trying to make the time period ambiguous.
Greg - He doesn’t really have a style, but I thought I’d mention that the animal kids he meets in Schooltown Follies look like American industrial revolution-era kids. Long underwear, overalls, newsboy caps… just reminds me of Huck Finn and Oliver Twist. I reckon these animal kids were once actual people at one time, but the Unknown transformed their spirit.
Lorna and Auntie Whispers - I have seen some posts label Lorna’s attire as ‘prairie girl’ but I can’t sit back and let that continue. If you take a closer look at what she’s wearing, Lorna has a coif over her hair. She also wears an apron and her skirt is way too long to be frontier-era prairie-worthy. She looks very early American. I actually have a theory about her that stems from this; that she and Auntie whispers were (separately) tried as witches in the 1690s. The both of them wear very common clothing - and Lorna doesn’t even wear a waist coat or shift. But, I take it they sort of end up in the Unknown wearing what they wore when they died. She has cuffs on her sleeves, wears a coif and apron, and her dress is plainly colored but has no real pattern. Early colonial people, even if they were Puritans, were allowed some liberties with clothing. They could not wear vibrant colors, but muted and preferably dark colors were accepted. They wore aprons over their dresses and a coif over their hair. Also the two of them have a plot that sort of revolves around witchcraft. So. You know.
Mrs. Langtree - People keep saying her clothing style mirrors the Victorian era, but it doesn’t look very Victorian. The Victorian era had these branches of trickle-down styles. Langtree wore a plain, embroidered shirt and tucked her hair up in a fashion that resembles the common Midwestern, Southern, and Southwestern American school teacher from the 1850s - 1890s. Considering her accent, I’d say she’s a school teacher from a state in the Mississippi river valley (Missouri, Mississippi, Illinois, Arkansas, Louisiana). I’d pinpoint Missouri, though, as the state she’s from.
Quincy Endicott - I’ve seen posts that consider his suit, coat, and hat to be Georgian. I think, though, that he lived through the Georgian era and died during the Regency Era. Google Mr. Darcy and tell me his sideburns, tophat, high-waisted pants, riding boots, and tail-ended coat don’t remind you of Endicott.
Marguerite Grey - French Rococo. That’s all I have to say.
Woodsman and his daughter - honestly, they remind me of a father and daughter from the American industrial revolution. The Woodsman’s style is really hard to place or find images of, specifically. He wears a layered coat with a cape, high boots, a top hat, and sports sideburns (sort of). I’d say east coast and Poe-era, but it’s so hard to place. He almost looks like an 1890s patrol man - or someone that rides horses a lot. I don’t know.
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