Revealing robes and sumptuous slashing: What Anne Boleyn wore to The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl forms part of the recent Tudor revival we have experienced in film and television. In this article I question how costume can conjecture a visceral tactility in heritage drama by analysing the television and film adaptations of the same source. This article will discuss how the different conventions of television and film approach Philippa Gregory’s positioning of dress through the ‘body natural’ versus the ‘body politic’ by specifically focusing on how Anne and Mary Boleyn are presented through costume. How do the individual versions of this tenuous Tudor tale allow for us to feel our way through history by following the evocative folds of clothing? From ‘cheap’ stock costume strategies of television to the more haute-couture fashion seen in Hollywood film, this article will determine the individual approaches towards costume that define The Other Boleyn Girl in terms of medium specificity.