#babington

Clue 1: As Esther was walking down the aisle we could catch a hint of a pink hat and sleeve on the groom’s side right in the front, the front is reserved for family members, that’s why Lady Denham sits alone on a bench on the other side. When leaving church, the same pink colour can be found on the lady with the grey hair.

Clue 2: Her dress is very en vogue and the colour quite expensive, so it’s obvious she’s wealthy without being stuck in the past like Lady Denham (but really, wardrobe departments putting older women in 40 year old fashion in Regency series and movies is a whole other discussion) but she also wears a very fine hat that is from before the 1790s, signalling that she’s always been wealthy. Wealthy and trendy and on the right side to be Lord Babington’s family? We could be looking at the OG Lady Babington before Esther came in and stole her boy and her title. We can also see two other figures: an elderly man and another woman dressed in blue, I’ve watched the scene a million times but couldn’t get a better shot. This could be his father and his sister. The man looks to be a bit older than Lord Babington, so he cannot be a brother of Lord Babington because that would mean Lord Babington isn’t a lord (only the oldest son inherits that title I believe). So either we’re dealing with the father, an uncle or an older cousin, but given that he’s right next to who is probably the mother, I’d say he’s the father. We never get a shot of the lady in blue’s face so we only know she’s a woman sadly enough.

Now really, fuck Mark Stanley because as he and Esther walked out of church he walked right in front of his guests, preventing us from getting a closer look of the others on his side. At least Esther was polite enough to grant us a view of the people standing on her side. But we can assume the man and the two women are more important because they are on the flight of stairs. The only other people on them are Mr. Crowe, Lady Denham and Arthur. Now, except for Arthur these are all very important people to the bride and groom. Eliza, Charlotte, Georgiana and Diana are all standing close-by but are on the ground level throwing petals.

I can provide another close-up of an arm to show off the very fine quality of her clothes, she’s clearly wealthier than many others in Sanditon. The only other coat with such nice detailing is Charlotte’s baby blue one and although Charlotte is by no means poor, it’s a lot finer than it should’ve been (I think Charlotte’s baby blue one better suits the wardrobe of Emma Woodhouse than of a girl with two dozen siblings).

Clue 3: Now I cannot prove the importance of the Lady in blue and the man. BUT I have another piece of proof for the woman in pink. During Charlotte’s conversation with Sidney, we can see her walking and talking with Lady Denham in the background. Now if I was in the wardrobe department and I was smart, I would definitely give the aunt of the bride (her only family member present) and the mother of the groom both a hat with pink feathers and I would both put them in a pinkish colour. They’re even dressed alike (However, I think there might’ve been something of a dress code because Eliza, Charlotte, mommy Babington and Lady D are all in pink, that’s a lot of women in pink.). It’s a stretch, but the only other older woman we see Lady Denham walking with is coincidentally the only other older woman that has been pictured during the wedding, and is shown on the groom’s side. And during the conversation, Lady Denham and the older woman appear to be walking towards the group of Mr. Crowe, Esther, Lord Babington and Eliza, so towards the married couple.