Even before the release of the film masterpiece Gone with the Wind, Walter Plunkett was well known and appreciated in Hollywood as a specialist in historical costumes. Plunkett reciprocated. He said that he loves working in cinema because directors rarely understand historical fashion and therefore usually do not interfere in the process.

Despite this, Plunkett each time treated the task with great responsibility. He already had to sew outfits from the time of the Civil War for the film "Little Women" (1933). However, before working on Gone with the Wind, he spent several months in the library revisiting the fashion of the period. In addition, he personally visited the state of Georgia and even met with the author of the novel, Margaret Mitchell (who, by the way, patronized a completely different fashion designer, Muriel King, for the film).

In the end, Plunkett did a titanic job, designing over 5,000 pieces of clothing for the film for 50 main characters and hundreds of extras. Moreover, he even sewed original underwear of that era for the actors! To their perplexed questions - why sew clothes that no one sees, Plunkett answered: “The main thing is that you yourself will know and feel that you are wearing it”.

Walter Plunkett at work.

The scrupulousness of the fashion designer is also clearly visible in the example of the dress in which Scarlett O'Hara married Charles Hamilton. According to the plot, Charles was about to leave for the war, and Plunkett decided to show firsthand the haste of the wedding. Namely, the fact that the bride had no time to sew a wedding dress and had to put on her mother's old one.
The fashion designer reflected this not only in the design (wide sleeves - a la "leg of lamb" - have long gone out of fashion), but also in the size of the dress. It is no coincidence that it looks a bit too big on the bride, because Plunkett specially sewed it on the actress who played Scarlett's mother.

With the help of clothes, Plunkett also solved other creative problems. For example, one of the problems of the film was ... the eyes of the main character. In the novel, more than once, the emphasis was placed on the fact that they are green.

“Broad-cheeked, with a chiseled chin, Scarlett’s face involuntarily attracted her gaze. Especially the eyes - slightly slanted, light green, transparent, framed by dark eyelashes.
... green eyes - restless, bright (oh, how much willfulness and fire were in them!)

But here's the problem - actress Vivien Leigh's eyes were blue. If the movie was black and white, it wouldn't matter. But Gone with the Wind, like The Wizard of Oz, was filmed using Technicolor, an innovative technology for 1939. Therefore, in order to achieve the desired shade of the eyes, the fashion designer most often used green in outfits.

The heroine Vivien Leigh had a lot of luxurious dresses. In the first half of the film, they are light, light and airy (one of the most charming is the muslin dress with green patterns on the skirt, in which Scarlett appears in Twelve Oaks), and in the second half, on the contrary, they are heavy, sewn from velvet and silk. very rich colors (a sort of contrast between a young carefree girl and an experienced wealthy woman).

Of course, the most famous dress (both in the novel and in the film) was the very green one that Scarlett sewed from ... a velvet curtain. Thus, the heroine wanted to hide the fact that she was ruined, and throw "dust in the eyes" of Gerald Butler. As you know, she did not succeed - her hard-working "non-aristocratic" hands let her down.

The writer herself recalled that original idea she was inspired by the velvet curtains in the house of her great-grandmother, Eleanor Fitzgerald. During the Civil War, when the Fitzgerald plantation (by the way, the prototype of Tara) was devastated and neglected, these curtains continued to hang as a reminder of past prosperity and dignity.

M. Mitchell "Gone with the Wind":
“She pulled the curtain sharply, so that the nails flew out, and the curtain, along with the cornice, collapsed to the floor.
- Come on, Mammy, run to the attic, bring me a box of patterns from there! I'll sew my own dress!
...Scarlett ran into Aunt Pitty's room to look in a large mirror. How lovely she looks! The rooster's feathers gave her a perky air, and the dull green velvet of her hat set off her eyes, and they seemed surprisingly bright, almost like emeralds. The dress was also of incomparable beauty - it looked extremely rich and elegant and at the same time noble! How wonderful to have again Nice dress.
... Ashley thought that he had never really met a more courageous person than Scarlett O'Hara, who decided to conquer the world with a dress made from her mother's velvet drapes and feathers torn from a cock's tail.

As you can see, the description of the dress was not particularly detailed, so Plunkett had to invent it almost from scratch.

Curtain dress sketch.

It took about 14 meters of fabric to sew. However, the most difficult task was to display the "origin" of the dress. This is how a belt appeared, resembling a rope with two tassels at the end. In addition, the designer exposed the fabric to sunlight to make it look as faded as real old drapes. However, the director's efforts were in vain. Due to the nature of early color cinema, the dress still came out bright green on screen.

When, in 2010, they decided to remove this iconic outfit from the closet for public viewing, it was so damaged that the restorers doubted whether it was worth taking the job at all. However, painstaking work and 30 thousand dollars made it possible to restore the dress. But they were careful not to paint it again, so today “The Curtain Dress” looks even more faded than the fashion designer intended.

The real inspiration for creativity is the dresses of Scarlett O'Hara from the film Gone with the Wind.

The novel “Gone with the Wind” has been read and re-read by young ladies with rapture and bated breath for more than 80 years in almost all countries of the world. The film based on this book was a success - it won 8 Oscars and gained worldwide fame, which it has not lost to this day.

Despite the most interesting life story of the main character - Scarlett O'Hara, the story of creating a wardrobe, clothes for her is almost of the same interest. Dresses absolutely repeat the style and styles worn by ladies at the end of the 19th century and are included in the lists of the best, most reliable and expensive suits to the cinema.

Don't you remember how Scarlett got a green dress from velvet? What dress did she wear to her wedding to Charles Hamilton? After all, this dress gives the impression that it is big for the heroine Vivien Leigh and has long gone out of fashion. It turns out that this was intended to show the quick organization of the wedding, and the dress itself was sewn on Scarlett's "mother". And these small aspects, nuances and accents cannot be counted.

During the filming of the movie Gone with the Wind, the film director insisted that the actresses dress only in the fashion of the last century. To all the objections and disputes about the constant increase in costs, he answered very simply: "They must feel that era."

The producer of the film, David Selznick, added the finances that were missing to implement the ideas, which ensured the integrity and depth of perception of the picture. As a result, it turned out that only 31 outfits were made for Vivien Leigh. The actress was distinguished by a wasp waist, beautiful legs and a modest chest. And to add volume, dresses were sheathed with lace ruffles, and chest volume was given with cotton pads.

For all Scarlett's outfits, fabrics were selected very carefully. For a whole month, specialists chose and selected textures of fabrics, but modeling and making dresses took even more time.

Costume designer Walter Plunkett and Vivien Leigh on the set of the film

Walter Plunkett on the costumes of the painting

The outfits of the characters turned out to be stunning, as the director intended. Walter Plunkett, who was also a costume designer, said:

“I don't think it was my best film work or even the biggest thing I've done. But this picture, of course, will live forever, and the green dress too, because it makes history, it is probably the most famous costume in the history of cinema..

Scarlett O'hara green velvet dress

Currently, these dresses are stored at the Harry Ransome Center, which is located at the University of Texas.

However, time has a detrimental effect on everything, even on such bright, excellent and delightful dresses. Over the years, they have lost their original appearance. They are currently under restoration. To start it, the Center did not have the required $30,000. At the end of the summer of 2010, the Center turned to Gone with the Wind fans with a request to help and raise funds to update 5 outfits. People from 14 countries responded to the request, and before the end of August, the entire necessary amount was collected.
Before his death, Walter Plunkett independently restored Scarlett's outfits, which are stored in the David Selznick archive.

Nicole Villarreal, a graduate student at the University of Texas in Textile and Apparel Technology, spent more than six months researching Vivien Leigh's dresses. With the help of a microscope and reagents, all the subtleties of tailoring a dress, from seams to finishes, were studied. But, anyway, this did not help to save the details of each outfit and restore it. The veil and cap for the wedding dress are completely dilapidated and cannot be restored, because they were created from the finest materials that simply collapsed over time.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the release of the film, in 2014 the Center hosted an exhibition where all the famous dresses were presented.

New life for old Scarlett outfits

Burgundy Scarlett dress in velvet and ostrich feathers

The most famous green velvet dress

(You know that it was sewn from curtains - in spite of all life's difficulties?)

Dressing herself, without the help of Mammy, was difficult. But at last all the hooks were fastened, and, putting on a smart hat with feathers, Scarlett ran into Aunt Pitty's room to look in a large mirror. How lovely she looks! The rooster's feathers gave her a perky air, and the dull green velvet of her hat set off her eyes, and they seemed surprisingly bright, almost like emeralds. The dress was also of incomparable beauty - it looked extremely rich and elegant and at the same time noble! How wonderful to have a beautiful dress again. Scarlett was so delighted with her appearance - how good she is, how seductive! - that she suddenly leaned over and kissed her reflection in the mirror and immediately laughed at her own stupidity. She took Ellen's paisley shawl and threw it over her shoulders, but the colors of the old fabric had faded and did not match the moss-green dress, and Scarlett immediately looked somehow miserable. Then she opened Aunt Pitty's closet and, taking out a black cloak, which Pitty wore only on Sundays, threw it on. Then she put diamond earrings brought from Tara into her ears, and, throwing back her head, looked at what an impression it made. The earrings tinkled pleasantly - Scarlett liked it very much, and she decided to throw her head up more often when she was with Rhett. Dancing earrings always attract the eye of a man and give a woman a perky look.

Over the years, the dress has lost its color and former splendor. A lot of work of restoration masters was put in order to restore it.

The "life" of this dress still brings inspiration to fashion designers and puppet masters.

Dress "With love for Tara"

This gorgeous dress is sewn from 33 meters of cotton fabric, decorated with lace, the skirt has 8 levels, and the belt with an elegant buckle is sewn from red velvet.

Even today, this outfit is so popular that Scarlett fans sew similar dresses for themselves.
This dress, in the photo below, is taken from the site of fans of this style, where girls show and try on these outfits.

Ashley's Last Kiss Dress

Scarlett doll in Ashley's Last Kiss dress

This black dress Scarlett O'Hara, which she wore in mourning when she was widowed at a young age of 17 and found out that she would only have to wear boring black dresses, disgusting veils of the same color, and no more jewelry.

Some more beautiful outfits from the collection.

Today we will remember the famous novel "Gone with the Wind", which was a resounding success in world cinema. The screen image of the main character Scarlett O'Hara has found its new embodiment in magnificent dolls from world manufacturers Tonner, Mattel, Madame Alexander and many others. We will talk about them in this article.

"I'll think about it tomorrow," said Margaret Mitchell's famous novel Gone with the Wind, Scarlett O'Hara. The novel was published in 1936 and was a resounding success. The film of the same name, based on the book, was also an incredible success. The picture received 8 Oscars and worldwide recognition. More than seven decades have passed since the first screening of the film Gone with the Wind, and it is still considered one of the best in the history of world cinema.

Here is what the heroine of the novel Scarlett O'Hara appeared before us: “Broad-cheeked, with a chiseled chin, Scarlett’s face involuntarily attracted her gaze. Especially the eyes - slightly slanted, light green, transparent, framed by dark eyelashes. On a forehead as white as a magnolia petal - oh, this White skin, which the women of the American South are so proud of, carefully guarding her hats, veils and mitts from the hot Georgia sun! - two impeccably clear lines of eyebrows rapidly flew up obliquely - from the bridge of the nose to the temples.

The filmmakers had a hard time choosing the right actress. The heroine of the film Vivien Leigh was chosen from two thousand candidates. The screen image of Scarlett O'Hara, created by the actress,

found its new incarnation in magnificent dolls from creators such as Tonnerre, Mattel, Madame Alexandre and many others. The outfits were inspired by the costumes from the film of the same name.

Screen image of Katie Scarlett

Katie Scarlett doll from Tonner

Collectible doll Katie Scarlett from Tonner appears before us in a snow-white, cotton dress. Fluffy skirt foamy with flounces and lace. The red belt favorably emphasizes the wasp waist of the heroine. Short sleeves are also decorated with an abundance of lace and frills. Under the dress, the doll has a petticoat, pantaloons and lacquered ballroom shoes on her feet. A brooch with an ornament is pinned to the chest.

The Katie Scarlett doll bears a great resemblance to actress Vivien Leigh. Katie Scarlett's hand-painted face, green eyes, a graceful line of slightly surprised eyebrows. The thick, dark brown curls of the doll are styled in a hairstyle: the front strands are picked up at the temples and tied with red ribbons.

Screen image of Scarlett O'Hara barbecue at the Twelve Oaks estate

Collectible Barbie Scarlett O'Hara Barbecue at the Twelve Oaks Estate

Barbie doll Scarlett O'Hara Barbecue at the Twelve Oaks estate

Scarlett Flower by Madame Alexander

Collectible Barbie doll Scarlett O'Hara appears before us in an exact replica of the outfit that Scarlett wore to a picnic barbecue at the Twelve Oaks estate. It's luxurious White dress with a green floral print and the same dark green trim. The fluffy skirt of the dress favorably emphasizes the wasp waist of the heroine. A wide-brimmed, straw hat protects the face and curly dark curls from the scorching southern sun.

Dark Brown hair Barbie dolls are styled in their hair: the front strands are picked up at the temples and tied into small green bows.

Screen image of Scarlett O'Hara Emerald curtain dress

Barbie Doll Scarlett O'Hara on Peach Street Emerald Curtain Dress

Collectible Barbie Scarlett O'Hara on Peach Street Emerald Curtain Dress

The collectible Barbie doll is wearing an exact copy of the dress made of emerald velvet curtains, in which Scarlett tried to charm Rhett Butler and persuade him to give her money. The emerald green velvet of the dress contrasts with the more light tone green, long tassels from curtains serve as a magnificent belt.

On Barbie's head is a small, flirty, fringed hat. Scarlett's dark brown hair is curled into bouncy ringlets and pinned up at the temples.

Barbie Doll Scarlett O'Hara White Dress

The collectible Barbie doll is wearing a dress with long flared sleeves decorated with a black pattern, very elegant and befits a noble lady. This dress Redd Butler bought Scarlett during their honeymoon in New Orleans, where, as Scarlett promised, he bathed her in luxury, took her to French restaurants, spent big money on buying new clothes, and entertained her at balls.

The luxurious dress is complemented by a black lace shawl that holds a flirty, white, felt hat on her head and is pinned with a coral brooch on her chest.

Screen image of Scarlett O'Hara Red dress

Barbie Scarlett O'Hara Red Dress

The Barbie doll is dressed in the velvet dress Scarlett wore to Ashley's birthday, defiantly red and unforgivably luxurious. Scarlett knew that everyone would turn their heads, whisper and condemn her, but as usual she did not take into account the opinion of the public. The dress with a long train and a deep neckline is decorated with feathers and rhinestone embroidery.

This chic outfit is complemented by long gloves and gold earrings. Barbie collectible doll's hairstyle is inspired by Vivien Leigh's Gone with the Wind, with the front strands curled into short curls and laid with a "cap" on the head, longer curls are pinned up at the temples and at the back of the head.

Collectible doll Madame Alexander Scarlet O'Hara in mourning

Scarlet O'Hara wears an 1800s black widow's mourning dress. A black hat, mourning veil, black gloves and shoes complete her look full of charm.

Doll My Tara from Tonner

Green-eyed brown-haired Scarlett wears a luxurious green dress adorned with faux pearls and white lace. Green shoes and a straw hat with a green ribbon complete the look of the collectible doll. The image of the Tonner doll "My Tara" is the famous final shot of the film, depicting Scarlett in front of the family plantation.

) we talked about the dresses that Scarlet from the movie "Gone with the Wind" dressed up in her youth.

In the second part of the film Scarlett's outfits are getting more dramatic and less frivolous. The spoiled girl was left in the past, Scarlett had to go through too much, too much to face and overcome. She was already married, lost her second husband, saw the war, survived, fled Atlanta... She already understands herself a little more, knows her abilities and knows what she is ready for for the well-being of her family.

Mrs. Kennedy's red dress

We see this rather simple dress on Scarlett when she learns of the death of her second husband, Frank Kennedy.

Scarlett doll

But Scarlett's other red dress is much more famous - the very scandalous one in which she was forced to attend Ashley's birthday party. Right after rumors about their connection spread around the city.

This extravagant velvet outfit was decorated along the entire length with ostrich feathers, descending down from the bodice along the skirt, as well as large rubies. Complementing it were long silk gloves and an airy cape made of taffeta to match.

However, this chic dress was clearly not the best choice to go to Ashley Wilks' birthday ball.

If Scarlett wanted to mitigate the rumors damaging her, she would have to choose her wedding dress, in which she married Charles. The fact is that in those days a wedding dress was not worn only once, as today.

After the wedding, the dress was worn at various balls and other entertainment events, if the owner of the dress wanted to make a special compliment to the hostess. The logic was: “Your party is so charming that I chose mine for it. best dress!" So, Scarlett could show her respect for Melanie, at the same time emphasize her image of a married respectable lady with just one gesture - by putting on her wedding dress.

Dress "Walking along Peach Street"

These types of dresses were quite popular and their variations are found in many fashion magazines.

Scarlett chose him for the image of a respectable lady walking with her husband and child near her house.

portrait dress

Perhaps this is Scarlett's most paradoxical dress, since it is present in the film only in a portrait that hangs over the fireplace in Scarlett and Rhett's house.

Illustration from the Parisian fashion magazine Les Modes Parisiennes, 1855

Notice the blue dress. The first thing that catches your eye compared to the "prototype" is the extreme simplicity of Scarlett's dress. Compared to previous illustrations of fashion books from the 1860s, we can see that the dress in the portrait can be considered modest (except for the deep neckline and bare shoulders).

In those days, rich, even excessive decoration of outfits was in fashion, everything went into business: lace, ribbons, flowers, frills.

Scarlett's blue portrait dress is so modest that it could even be considered unfashionable (such models could be worn five years earlier)!

But the main charm of this portrait: an amazing combination of deep velvet blue with a light airiness of lace and Scarlett's alabaster skin. The apparent simplicity of the dress only emphasizes the brilliant beauty of Scarlett.

Curtain dress

But perhaps the most memorable for all the spectators was the dress sewn from the green curtains of Scarlett's mother. Not only is it a beautiful work of Plunkett's genius, but even such a unique outfit has its own "prototype" in the fashion books of the 1860s.

However, it was not enough to come up with a sketch, the embodiment of this outfit required a lot of effort. So, for example, velvet fabric had to be artificially aged beforehand so that it looked like curtains that had faded in the sun. Although now, after so many years, the dress looks much more dilapidated.

Gone with the Wind Costume Restoration Fund dress

This dress perfectly expresses the nature of Scarlett, who finds any reserves so far untapped in order to achieve her goal, for the sake of the future, she does not regret the past.Wax figure of Vivien Leigh at Madame Tussauds

Do you have a favorite Scarlett dress?

Photo: iso (gwtwscrapbook.blogspot.ru), scarletonline, Harry Randsom Center

Gone with the Wind is a true classic. We have all read this book and sincerely admired it. The film, based on the book of the same name, also turned out just wonderful and even won several Oscars.

The main character Scarlett, played by Vivien Leigh, wears elegant and stunning dresses. They fully reflect the described era and are often included in the ratings of the most beautiful outfits in the history of cinema. Who doesn't remember the history of the green velvet dress? And the wedding, in which the heroine married Hamilton? The wedding ceremony outfit looks a bit old-fashioned and big for a skinny young girl. As it turned out, he was sewn on the actress who played the role of Scarlett's mother in order to emphasize the haste of the wedding. And there are a lot of nuances of creating beautiful outfits in the film!

The creators of Gone with the Wind dressed up the female part of the cast exclusively in the fashion of past centuries. To the exclamations about the increase in the budget of the film “But the underwear will not be visible!” the director replied that the actors needed to fully get used to that era. David Selznick, the producer of Gone with the Wind, dutifully paid for even the wildest ideas associated with his film.

31 dresses were sewn for the main character. Vivien Leigh had a perfect thin waist, slender legs and small breasts. Frills, lace were sewn to the dresses, and cotton wool was stuffed into the bosom. The fabrics were selected very carefully, several weeks for one dress. A special group dealt with this matter both day and night. And for a long time they chose not the color, but the texture.

The costumes came out unsurpassed and made a splash, in fact, as Selznick wanted. “I think that it was not my best work in the world of cinema. But this film will live forever and the green dress I created will live with it, because it creates history. This is one of the most famous dresses in the history of cinema,” Walter Plunkett, costume designer for the famous film, once said. Some time before his death, he restored several dresses for the archive. But after decades, once luxurious dresses began to look not in the best way. Today, these outfits are preserved at the University of Texas at the Harry Ransom Center.

They have recently been relaunched. The Center had financial difficulties. In 2010, the Center turned to the fans of the film and announced a fundraiser for the restoration of 5 dresses. The necessary $30 thousand were collected very quickly, the money was sent from 14 different countries. University of Texas textile and clothing technology graduate student Nicole Villarreal spent more than six months researching Scarlett's dresses. The seams and finishes of the dresses were examined using a microscope and reagents. Alas, not all things could be restored, for example, a cap and a veil for a wedding dress. For the 75th anniversary of the painting, the Center held an exposition, which included famous dresses.

We invite you to see what dresses the Center worked on and the process of work itself.

Scarlett's burgundy dress

Luxurious green robe

Blue robe with black fox

Wedding Dress scarlett

Scarlett's famous green dress

(was sewn from curtains)

Over time, the dress faded and was in a deplorable state.
It took a lot of painstaking work of restorers to restore it.

Scarlett dress "With love to Tara"

It was made from 33 meters of 100% cotton fabric, decorated with lace on an 8-tiered skirt. Red velvet belt with buckle.

This dress is so popular that many girls (fans of the film) continue to make similar dresses for themselves.

Scarlett dress "Ashley's farewell kiss"

Funeral dress Scarlett O'Hara

The girl became a widow at seventeen and found that she was now forced to wear exclusively black dresses without decorations.

And some more gorgeous dresses.