I have no qualms about repeating outfits. If I feel confident and fab in a particular ensemble, I’ll happily wear it over and over again. I’m not sure if there’s a connection, but I’m also that way with books and movies. I love to revisit old favourites. It’s true that you lose most of the suspense the second time around. There are no more unexpected twists around every corner, no new characters to meet, but that leaves more room to home in on the details. The first time, I’m usually very focussed on plot. Eager to find out what is going to happen next, busy digesting all the story lines and getting to know the characters. Rewatching allows me to savour the story more slowly, and suddenly I notice all kinds of things I had missed before, the smirk on an actor’s face, a cool turn of phrase, a designer chair in the background.

This Fall I plan to watch season 1 and 2 of Downton Abbey again. I do love a good period drama, and this series set in post-Edwardian England has all the right ingredients: wonderful acting, drama, romance, intrigue, an unprincipled scoundrel everyone loves to hate… And then there’s the costumes, of course. I thought that Lady Mary and Lavinia’s wardrobes were especially divine. Plus it’s fascinating to see how much effort has gone into creating clothes that accurately capture the period. From the ornate evening frocks of the dowager countess, and the white tea gowns of the young ladies to the servants’ liveries, each outfit reflects rigid social rank and the changing sartorial customs, such as the shift towards more simple designs and fabrics during the First World War. You bet I’ll be studying every single outfit even more closely this time.

Do you also like to revisit favourite books and movies, or do you prefer to always explore new titles without looking back?

Now in YLF Books

Downton Abbey, a period drama set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of  the same name, follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V. In this grand home, the Earl and Countess of Grantham and their three daughters of marriageable age live under the watchful eye of the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith). Their secure and ordered world, and the social hierarchy are rocked as their lives are shaped by the great events in history, romance, heartbreak and ambition. The first series spans the two years before World War I beginning with news of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The second series covers the years 1916 to 1919.