If you’re having “Downton Abbey” withdrawals like I am, then you’ll be thrilled to hear about a new exhibit in Wilmington, Del. At “Costumes of Downton Abbey” in Winterthur Museum, visitors can take a close-up look at 40 costumes and accessories from the award-winning PBS Masterpiece series through January 4, 2015.

Borrowed from Cosprop in London, the costumes include day and eveningwear worn by the fictional aristocratic Crawley family and their servants at Downton Abbey throughout the show’s four seasons set in 1912 to 1923.

Maggie Lidz, one of three co-curators of the exhibit and Winterthur’s Estate Historian, traveled to London in July 2013 to handpick the costumes for display at Winterthur, the childhood home of Henry Francis du Pont. On April 11, I chatted with Lidz via telephone about the amazing early 20^th century costumes and how they were created.

What’s the relationship between Cosprop and ‘Downton Abbey’ costume designer Caroline McCall?
They collaborate. The costume designers only have seven weeks from the time [the show’s creator] Julian Fellowes maps out the next season to the time filming begins, and every person in every scene has to be outfitted. They have to work very quickly and rely on theatrical costumers [like Cosprop] who can rent them costumes and can whip things up pretty quickly. Some of the things are owned by Cosprop and some of them are owned by Carnival Films [Fellowes’s company].

How much of it is actual vintage versus custom made?
A lot of the costumes start off with a piece of vintage, often it’s a piece of vintage costume and then they build the dress around that .

. . Almost all costumes are a combination of both. Not all. There are one or two examples that are completely vintage and there are ones that are completely custom made for the show, but they are rare.

Of Lady Mary’s [Michelle Dockery] costumes, which is your favorite?
She has some of the best dresses. She has this beautiful ivory-colored silk dress that’s heavily beaded in a starburst or spiderweb pattern in the front.

Yes, I love that one. It’s so pretty!
The beading is so heavy that when they first put it on the mannequin, it tilted forward. It’s an amazing piece. It appears to be a vintage front and the back is made new. That’s a super glamorous dress. Early 1920s.

I love how Lady Sybil’s [Jessica Brown Findlay] harem pants are included in the exhibit . . .
It’s based on an outfit that made fashion history. Right before World War I, Paul Poiret designed these Orientalist pantaloons for women. Very shocking. And they used it to great effect in ‘Downton Abbey.’ It was very important that we use those pantaloons because there was fashion as part of the plot.

What’s one of the most interesting servant’s costumes?
For the footman Thomas Barrow [Rob James-Collier]. He was promoted from footman to valet, so we were able to use his costume. What’s really great is when you look at it in person, you see how every single button on the jacket and the vest are embossed with the Grantham coat of arms. The father [of the house], Robert Crowley [Hugh Bonneville], his title is Earl of Grantham. It’s amazing, you don’t see that on TV but you do see it in person.

That’s fantastic that it’s so detailed, even down to the buttons . . .
The wedding gown that Lady Edith Crawley [Laura Carmichael] wears, the cuff of the sleeve has gold threading on it to add a little bit of light as the actress moves. It’s really fascinating.

Then there’s the Dowager, Violet Crawley [Maggie Smith], whose style is more old-fashioned than the younger women . . .
She’s definitely conservative, very opulent. Her clothing is beautiful—velvet and all kinds of wonderful embroidery, lace and ornamentation. Yes, she definitely has that Edwardian silhouette in her clothes. They often come with a bustle to add padding. She definitely has a different silhouette than the younger women or her daughter-in-law Cora [Elizabeth McGovern].

What’s the most interesting men’s costume on exhibit?
We have Mr. Carson’s [Jim Carter] evening butler’s clothes. Looking at his clothes and Matthew [Crawley’s] white tie evening clothes, the parts of the clothing are not that different, but the fabric is very different. What I have on display is plain wool, that everyone can touch, typical wool that Carson would wear. It’s good quality wool, but it’s not the best. Then we have the best quality, something that Matthew would wear which is vicuña, the finest wool you can get in the world. You can’t buy it retail. It’s much more expensive than cashmere. If you want a coat made of this it would cost $20-30K.

I also love Lady Rose’s [Lily James] pink dress. Tell me about that piece . . .
She’s definitely the wild girl. She wears the most fashion-forward clothing right now. That pink velvet is just amazing. Really it’s quite aged when you look at it carefully in the exhibit. It has amazing crystal and silver beads all over it that look fantastic under the light and when somebody moves in it. In the exhibition it’s constantly glittering and glowing. It’s really one of the best pieces. It looks like it’s 100 percent vintage.

What’s your personal favorite in the collection?
A piece worn by Sybil—a sea green velvet dress that has vintage embroidery on the sleeves and the bottom of the hem. It started off as a dress that was just a rag. [‘Downton Abbey’ costume designer Caroline McCall] cut off the embroidery on the sleeves and the bottom and made a new dress. She believes it’s from a designer that was working in Paris in the 1920s, Vitaldi Babani. One of Katherine Hepburn’s wedding dresses was made by Babani. I’d never heard of the atelier Babani, but now he’s definitely one of my favorite designers. Fantastic stuff.

See more photos of the exhibit at 20 Photos of "Costumes of Downton Abbey."

“Costumes of Downton Abbey,” March 1, 2014, through January 4, 2015, Winterthur Museum, 5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, Del. Open Tues. – Sun. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., $20 adults; $18 students and seniors; $5 ages 2–11. Tickets valid for two consecutive days except for timed tickets to view “Costumes of Downton Abbey”; reservations for timed tickets must be made in advance of each visit. (302) 888-4600, winterthur.org. Click here for information about the “Downton Abbey” lecture series at Winterthur Museum.

Love the jewelry on “Downton Abbey?” Now you can purchase necklaces, earrings and pins inspired by the show in the Winterthur Museum Store.

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