Costume Analysis for Tommy Shelby and Aunt Polly from Peaky Blinders

The Peaky Blinders is one of the popular contemporary historical fictions that interpret history. They are based in the era of the 1920’s - 30’s. It is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight which is set in Birmingham, England. The series follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family in the direct aftermath of the First World War. The fictional family is loosely based on a real 19th century urban youth gang of the same name, who were active in the city from the 1890s to the early twentieth century.

The Peaky Blinders, like any good criminal gang, has a uniform that inspires both admiration and fear. Over 5 seasons and a decade of history, their style (and 1920’s style in general) has come to influence modern fashion in many ways

Tommy Shelby and the Peaky Blinders in their trademark attire, with an unusual pop of colour

Unlike the bold fashion choices that came to represent criminal rivals of the Peaky Blinders, the understated monochrome palette lacked flash and austentation even as leader Tommy Shelby and his gang began to climb the social ladder. It’s also got a distinct appeal for the modern gent for its timeless look. Today let’s take a deeper look at the style of the Peaky Blinders, the history behind the gang, and how you can replicate their look in a modern way today.

Tommy Shelby on his wedding day

The Real Peaky Blinders

In Birmingham in the late 1880’s and 90’s, gangs ruled the streets in the midst of an industrial revolution that had failed to lift its many laborers from poverty. The show, based loosely on true accounts, is set 3 decades after the real Peaky Blinders operated as a gang. Their use of razor blades sewn in the peaks of their caps is unfortunately 2 parts myth and 1 part truth. As you can see below, the gang did wear their trademark caps, but disposable double edged razor blades weren’t marketed until 1903 and even if they could have afforded them, they wouldn’t have had the means to sew the thick metal blades into their caps.

The Real Peaky Blinders were decidedly less stylish than their fictional counterparts

The original Peaky Blinders were originally a single gang that later evolved a generic term for criminal youth in the area. They were known for their style, which included the peaked flat caps, ties, and bell-bottoms. They often used brass buttons on their jackets and just as today’s gangs are known for their symbols, the Peaky Blinders became identifiable for their style in the slums of Birmingham. However, the original was never able to rise to the same level of success and prominence as the fictionalized gang.

The Style of the 1920s

In retrospect, the style of the 1920’s was special because it represents an important inflection point in men’s fashion history. By the time the decade was running out, fashion had nearly completely transitioned away from stiff, Victorian styles and into the modern era.

Illustration from 1929 shows a dapper gentleman in a flat cap, an impressive peaked lapel overcoat, and a green suit that would all be wearable today

The tailcoat had all but disappeared for everyday wear, and suits were tailored with a loose, draped cut that enlongated the legs, compressed the waist and emphasized the shoulders. Even though nearly 100 years have passed, almost every element of the typical 1920’s (and the Blinder’s) wardrobe is wearable today – save for the starched, detachable shirt collars and the Albert watch chains.

Fashion in 1929 show three-peice, double breasted, and single breasted looks with draped, full cuts

That being said, though styles were becoming more modern, the environment the British public lived in was still harsh and required heavy, durable clothing. Central heating was years from being ubiquitous; industrial towns like Birmingham were coated in soot and grime; the impossibility of keeping clothes clean meant that almost all clothes were dark, heavy, and simple. Working class men owned only a few outfits, a single overcoat, and one pair of boots, all of which is reflected in the choices the Peaky Blinders make with their clothes.

Peaky Blinders Style: Subversively Class-Conscious

So what does the style of the Peaky Blinders say about them? It’s not always obvious on screen, because the Blinder’s crew is mostly to be found amongst friends that all choose to stick to the house style rules.

The monochromatic men of Peaky Blinders Season 1 wearing long overcoats and heavily worn boots

Tommy Shelby, his brothers and his crew all wear a uniform based on a three piece suit, oxford laced boots, a newsboy cap, a detachable collar shirt, and a heavy overcoat. Detachable collars were expensive at the time, so the secondary characters of lower means often wear shirts without the collar. Even though the gang has wealth and status, they deliberately choose to wear nicer (though not flashier) versions of what the poor members of their community wear. Newsboy caps are the symbol of their gang, so even when the can afford to buy expensive fur felt hats that the rich wear, they choose to keep their caps.

You can see lots of 8-panel newsboy caps in Peaky Blinders

The Peaky Blinder aesthetic is just one take on the style of the 20’s, and it neatly wraps together the gang’s sense of identity. Their style is clearly meant to separate them from equally wealthy English gentleman. However, their chosen mix of fashion works so well because the Shelbys are no gentleman. Instead, they are gangsters who want to use their clothing to underline their status in the industrial slums while rebelling against the authority of the traditional upper-class establishment.

Peaky Blinders in season 4

Tommy and his family members accessorize their basic outfit with single Albert chains and pocket watches, tie bars, and ties. Ties are usually tone-on-tone with the rest of the outfit, until later seasons. As the seasons have progressed, the Blinders have started evolving past solids and into the prints and stripes that will dominate the 1930’s.

In the Season 5 promo, the Peaky Blinders reveal subtle upgrades to their style

Style changes as time passes in the show are slow and subtle, and they consistently honor their working class origins by sticking with dark colors, subtle patterns, and garments characteristic of their hometown. While among the upper classes, Tommy and the Peaky Blinders make choices that openly flout class conventions of the time, such as wearing black gloves, which informs those around them that they have no interest in fitting in. As a rich man, Tommy can afford lighter colored gloves that were a visual indicator of higher class. Rather, they are there to challenge the establishment using their unique style as one of their many weapons.

Tommy Shelby’s Style

Tommy Shelby in a navy pinstripe suit with a black overcoat and a knit tie

Tommy Shelby, played brilliantly by Cillian Murphy, is the stylish, yet muted kingpin of Birmingham. Even though he sticks with the Peaky Blinders uniform, his look is differentiated in several ways. He is typically the only male character who wears an overcoat with a black velvet half collar. His high-and-tight is swept forward over his forehead, rather than back like the rest of his gang. He occasionally wears pinstripes, but in general, he doesn’t need to use his clothes to project authority when his actions do it so clearly.

A classic look for Shelby he adds a casualness by forgoing the tie

In the early seasons, Tommy’s most typical look includes the detachable collar, three-piece tweed, and no neckwear. Tommy eventually evolves to wear more neckwear, most notably knit ties, tone-on-tone ties, and eventually the stripes and neats that would become popular in the 30s.

According to the costume designer,

As we move through the timeline with Peaky Blinders you can really see the reflection in the character’s costumes.

For example with Tommy, in season four, he’s getting into politics, so that’s conveyed through the sharpness of his hat, his suit, the colours and the textures.

His woollen coat also really represents that power of his character.

It’s all conscious. I’ve also included a move into bluer tones to reflect the fact he’s getting into higher society now.

Tommy also gets glasses in series four – Cillian loved that idea – and I used Scottish glasses company Iolla for the frames.

I had found an original vintage pair that I loved for him. I liked the size, I liked the shape, but the colour was off ever so slightly. I’d heard about Iolla, and I love supporting small, entrepreneurial companies and also like to bring it back to Scotland.

So I contacted them to see if they could help out, and they were able to manufacture several pairs for the show. Because you can’t just have one old vintage pair that are hanging on for dear life.

They’re great, though, because they’re a replica of the actual vintage piece. But what was great was that they could adapt them specially for Cillian’s face.

Aunt Polly’s Style

A higher status can bring with it a certain connotation when it comes to dressing – that of which the peaky blinder head honcho Polly Grey or ‘Aunt Polly’ adheres to. Her position as the unofficial head of a criminal organisation finds her draped in a gamut of bespoke garments fit for a queen. While living the high-life at social functions, Polly layers layers of sumptuous furs and silken fabrics in the form of tailored overcoats and party dresses. Her apparent love of colour presents itself through vivid ruby and sapphire hues and dense printed patterns seen on her clothing. Even Polly has to get her hands dirty at times. She has been seen encased in very business-like outdoor attire such as a navy overcoat featuring a silver pinstripe and black and white polka dot cravat.

According to the costume designer,

So with Polly, she’s becoming a lot stronger, a lot bolder and that’s really reflected in her costumes in season four and five.

I really loved the idea of putting her in trousers and a suit just to make a real statement. “You can really see the transition in Polly from season one – each season and costume designer has added something to reflect her growing wealth.

Now the whole family is at the height of money, of course, and Polly is really embedded in that wealth and power and that really projects now, with the fabrics, the colours, the intricacies of the materials.

There’s really a portrayal of status now projected through their clothes.

But it’s also reflected in the set – you can see their wealth in their homes, their possessions, their art. There was a coat I actually found in Paris and we adapted it with the fur. Fur is really a statement of wealth in the 1920s. The dress was an original piece, which was slightly falling apart, so we had to restructure it, and added the appliqué on top and the belt.

Certain problems with the portrayal of The Peaky Blinders

On the outside, it may seem harmless. After all, the way people dressed in the 1920s was elegant compared to today’s standards: fancy dresses and three-piece suits are hardly as commonplace as they used to be. Peaky Blinders takes this one step further by establishing a trademark style of an undercut haircut and a flat cap. However, while this may seem fashionable, it is easy to forget that this is a way of dress popularised by gangsters who, let’s face it, aren’t exactly the most savoury of people.

Furthermore, the gang was never entirely fictional, and in the show, their iconic caps are used to conceal the hidden weapon of a razor blade. This is where the name comes from; by using their hats to blind their enemies by slashing at their eyes, which we see more than once on screen. While this in part stems from local urban legend, the criminals that Peaky Blinders are based on went on to become “the most feared gang in the country”.

Apart from the violent and criminal aspects of these characters, they are very much products of their time: one in which men and women had distinct gender roles and liberal thoughts were discouraged. As a protagonist, Tommy Shelby is the typical “bad boy” archetype – chauvinistically treating women like objects and looking good while doing it. Of course, this is not the first time that a character like this has gone on to be a fashion icon – just look no further the Mad Men’s Don Draper or the various incarnations of James Bond. Although they make fascinating characters to watch, their life choices aren’t something to be imitated.

But then one has to raise the question: where is the line between appreciating the sense of style and identifying with the character? If it was Tommy Shelby alone who dressed like this, there would not be as much of an issue. What causes the controversy is that, while incredibly dapper, the Peaky Blinders style is essentially a uniform for a criminal organisation. As we live in a world where the likes of Prince Harry and Paul Hollywood have to publicly apologise for wearing a certain other uniform, should we not treat the Blinders look in the same way?

Regardless of historical accuracy, the style promoted by Peaky Blinders romanticises what is the essentially the fashion sense of street thugs, albeit from a century ago. No matter how glamourous they appear on the small screen, the actions of the characters should not be condoned, and perhaps we should start by not imitating how they look.