Well, I suppose if you're going to ban your husband from your bed due to your misguided love for another man, you might as well do it in fabulous mid-Victorian style. At least that's the approach our dear Scarlett takes in the movie version of Gone with the Wind, thanks to the sumptuous green velvet wrapper she dons for her infamous 'no more babies' scene.
Today the Doppelganger Dresses series tackles the period inspiration behind Scarlett's costume. Full-color fashion plates of the era rarely featured wrapper styles, but we've found a fashion plate that we think matches up well with the green wrapper from GWTW and we're excited to share it with you.
You'll find the fashion plate in question after the jump, as always. Does it look like Scarlett's wrapper to you? Let us know what you think!
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| Green wrapper. La Mode Illustree, 1867. |
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| Publicity still of Scarlett's green wrapper in Gone with the Wind. |
Screenshots of Scarlett's green wrapper in Gone with the Wind.
Editor's Note: The Harry Ransom Center has the original green wrapper from Gone with the Wind in its holdings. Be sure to check the site out a great look at the full costume.
Wow! The two wraps are so similar in the way they are cut (minus Scarlett's collar), especially the sleeves and the front. Scarlett's, of course, is much sexier - but what else would you expect? Notice Scarlett just chucks hers on over her underwear, while the model is wearing an under dress that buttons from neck to toe. I thought the idea of a wrapper was to have something you could just throw on quickly. I guess maybe the wrapper and under-dress might not have had to go together, or so the model wasn't dressed too revealingly.
ReplyDeleteJust a point of interest, in this scene in the novel Scarlett had just returned from the mill and was fully dressed. It was the first time she had been out since Bonnie was born and Lou had had to let out one of her dresses to fit her now 20 inch waist as she couldn't fit into any of her dresses. She had dressed for Ashley, and we know she always put more effort into her attire for him (though God knows why). The green velvet wrapper is iconic in its own right, and I think it would be fun to guess what dress she might've worn if the film followed the novel to a tee.