Men wore white ties and top hats. Women topped off their beaded dresses with jeweled headpieces and fancy hats, fur stoles and opera-length gloves.
Guests at Rocky Mountain PBS's Masterpiece Costume Ball, marking the kickoff of the fourth season of "Downton Abbey," went to great lengths to put outfits together. Held at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion in Denver, the benefit featured a costume contest as well as a sneak preview of the first hour of the show a day before it aired on television.
Dave Barnes, left, joined event co-chairs Holly Kylberg and Charles Goldstein. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)
"Downton," for those who have been buried in a snow bank and not following the popular series, is about the lives, loves and losses of an aristocratic British family and their many servants who occupy a country estate near London in the post-Edwardian era.
The 2014 Denver crowd had fun stepping back in time for a night, and it made them appreciate how elaborate a ritual dressing once was.
Holly Kylberg, who co-chaired the benefit with Charles Goldstein, wore a silver gown with beaded fringe made by local designer Janet White. Kylberg's date, Scott Yenzer, donned a rented red military ensemble that looked like the one Prince William wore to wed Catherine Middleton. (Yenzer made it do double duty, as it was also his outfit for the "fairytale" New Year's Eve party Kylberg hosted at the historic D&F Clock Tower she owns and operates.)
"I now know why you need a lady's maid," said Janina Martin of her wardrobe preparations. Her daughter did her hair for the evening and she had tailored her elegant but understated vintage black dress to make it more historically accurate to the early 1920s, the period in which the show's current season is set. She won first prize for her costume.
Other winners were Matt Abraham, who dressed in a seersucker sporting outfit, and Eileen O'Brien, who put together an eclectic ensemble featuring a flower-bedecked hat, velvet jacket, scarf and beaded 1920s necklace she bought at a French flea market. O'Brien dug all of the items she was wearing out of her basement and said she was channeling Violet, the dowager countess of Grantham, played by Maggie Smith.
The volunteers got into the spirit of the evening as well, some wearing the uniforms of English maids, valets and cooks. Renee Marcellis said she ordered her white apron-front dress from the United Kingdom.
Adding to the vintage vibe was an exhibit of clothing and accessories from the Molly Brown House Museum. Deviled eggs and salmon rolls were among the retro treats passed by waiters, and the specialty cocktail was a Pimm's cup. Purnell Steen tickled the ivories upstairs while the downstairs crowd danced to Queen City Jazz Band tunes.
The event attracted 200 fans of the show, and they gained new members as well as raised money, according to Ryan Welch, director of major giving at RMPBS. Among the other PBS brass on hand for the event were Doug Price, president and CEO; Harris Ravine, chief operating officer; and Cynthia Hessin, executive producer.
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697, sbrown@denverpost.com or twitter.com/suzannebro
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