All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Vita Virginia, debuting in theaters tomorrow, tells the story of the affair between the reedy British novelist Virginia Woolf (Elizabeth Debicki) and Lady Vita Sackville-West (Gemma Arterton), an eccentric and willful aristocrat. Theirs was a forbidden passion—not only were both women married but homosexuality was illegal in England at the time. And it was one for the books—literally. Sackville-West inspired Woolf’s gender-bending character Orlando (played by Tilda Swinton in the 1993 movie).
Vita Virginia’s script is based on actual love letters the women exchanged. Vogue market editor Anny Choi has here composed a valentine to the English country look, which is as much about lifestyle and homes as it is fashion. Gardening, riding, tea time, and playing dress up are elements that are wrapped up in its aura.
Between them, Woolf and Sackville-West occupied some pretty magnificent properties. The latter was born at Knole, a British National Trust property, and as an adult resided at Sissinghurst Castle, where she created lovely gardens with her husband, Harold Nicolson. Less grand was Charleston, the Bloomsbury group clubhouse that was presided over by Woolf’s painter sister Vanessa Bell.
Many of the pretty print dresses favored by today’s street-style set have a sort of Bloomsbury romanticism. Midi lengths, which are also trending, make ideal frocks for garden parties. The sporting aspect of country life adds a tailored and somewhat androgynous element into the mix; no English country wardrobe is complete without a bit of tweed, a crisp white shirt, and a well-cut blazer. The icing on the scone? Touches of Victoriana—and pearls of course.
