Dressing up as all manner of historical, allegorical, and whimsical characters was an extremely popular form of entertainment before the First World War, which put a stop to such extravagance. The butterfly costume worn by Lady Olivia could be seen as a symbol of the fragility and transience of the upper class way of life depicted in the film.

The film centers around a group of aristocratic guests in a country house shooting party shortly before World War I. The pheasant shoot of the film's title foreshadows the slaughter on the battlefields of Europe. The fashionable narrow, tubular line of Lady Aline's evening dress was to give way to fuller, less restricting garments that were more practical for wartime wear.