Rue de la Paix

Following our look at mourning fashions and our poster of the week selection, this simple collage of Rhett and Scarlett dancing at the Bazaar seemed like the fitting choice.

GONE WITH THE WIND by pixar on Polyvore.com  

Gone with the Wind: A Love Story Fit for Royalty

I'm not sure if you've heard anything about it or not, but rumor has it that there was a small wedding held in England today. I'm speaking, of course, about the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. But even truly royal couples such as Wills and Kate can find inspiration in one of the greatest love stories of all time--Gone with the Wind. 

You see, many years before Prince William and his bride were getting married in front of an audience of two billion people, they were just two university sweethearts who enjoyed doing normal, everyday things together: like going to the local pub with friends, cooking dinners in their flat...and dressing up as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara, as they did for a costume party during their senior year at the University of St. Andrews.

We briefly mentioned this charming tidbit about the royal duo on our Facebook page on the occasion of their engagement and, now just in time for their wedding day, we've got some new details on this cute story for you: 

"Now when someone suspicious showed up, [William and Kate's] friends nonchalantly ringed the couple to form a human shield... They used the same ruse at the May Ball and a couple of weeks later when they showed up at a costume party dressed as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara. "Will wore a mustache and looked very dashing," a partygoer recalled, "and Kate was swanning about saying, 'Fiddle-dee-dee.' I was hoping he'd say, 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn,' but I doubt if he really knew that much about Gone with the Wind to begin with."

--excerpted from William and Kate, by Christopher Anderson

Isn't it kind of fun to think about the future King and Queen of England dressing up as Rhett and Scarlett? We think so. Anyways, congrats to you William and Kate--not only did you look fabulous today, but you've got great taste in love stories!

Poster of the Week

Rhett and Scarlett scandalously prepare to lead the Virginia reel in this poster from GWTW's 1968 re-release. 

Image from moviegoods.com.

How to Ease Out of Victorian Mourning in Fashion

"A widow had to wear hideous black dresses without even a touch of braid to enliven them, no flower or ribbon or lace or even jewelry, except onyx mourning brooches or necklaces made from the deceased's hair.  And the black crepe veil on her bonnet had to reach to her knees, and only after three years of widowhood could it be shortened to shoulder length."

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter VII 

It's fair to say that "dutiful widow" was not an epithet long attached to Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton (or Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy for that matter, but I digress). Thanks to the irresistible allure of a green bonnet, we of course know that Scarlett opted for a scandalously short period in widow's weeds. But what was the conventional path she should have followed to ease out of mourning? Today we're exploring the answer to that question with a look at mourning fashion from the early 1860s.

But before we look at the fashion plates (always the best part!), we'll first get acquainted with the three stages of Victorian mourning dress. There's just one important caveat before we jump in, though: it's important to note that customs for mourning dress tended to vary from region to region throughout the United States. In fact, as late as 1886, Harper's Bazar observed that nothing was "more undecided in the public mind than the etiquette of mourning." This point bears mentioning because the general guidelines for mourning, as described below, are somewhat more lenient that what Margaret Mitchell alludes to Gone with the Wind. So it likely would have taken Scarlett longer to progress through the full stages of mourning dress, which we now bring you without further ado.  

Stages of Victorian Mourning Dress for Widows

Full or deep mourning: Full or deep mourning generally lasted for one year and one day following a husband's death. During this period widows wore all dull black clothing, along with a widow's cap and a knee-length weeping veil of black crepe. Crepe also served as the most common fabric for mourning dresses, thanks to its lusterless appearance. No jewelry was allowed, except for jet. In winter, however, it was permissible for widows to wear dark furs.   

Second mourning: Following a period of deep mourning, widows then progressed into second mourning, which typically lasted for a period of nine months and gradually eased the restrictions of full mourning. Weeping veils could be exchanged for shorter ones and the widow's cap could be dispensed with altogether. A widow could implement fabric trim and mourning jewelry back into her wardrobe. Silk fabric could once again be worn. And while a widow's dresses were still expected to be dull and lusterless, she was allowed to slowly incorporate color, moving away from all black into the acceptable shades of gray, mauve, lavender, and white. No bright colors were yet permitted.  

Half mourning: The last stage of Victorian mourning was half mourning, which generally lasted from three to six months. Richer fabrics could be incorporated as dress trim and all forms of jewelry worn. Following the process started in second mourning, a widow could continue to ease more and more color back into her wardrobe--until she was at last free to resume wearing normal attire and fully reenter society. 

Thus ends our overview of Victorian mourning dress. So knowing this, what dresses should Scarlett have worn to ease her way out of mourning? After the jump, we've collected two second mourning and two half mourning styles from Godey's Lady's Book to give you an idea of the appropriate sartorial path Mrs. Hamilton should have followed. Check them out and let us know what you think. Can you envision Scarlett wearing any of them--or are they simply too dull for Scarlett to entertain? 

Rue de la Paix

Continuing our Spring theme here on the blog, this week's collage offers a very bright and sunny look at Scarlett O'Hara at Tara.

Pink-Green Scarlett to carol@themovies by ~Lotti~ featuring high heel shoes

 

Grow Your Garden with Scarlett and Rhett

Today we bring you a post fit for the season, i.e choke-full of pretty flowers. Inspired by this particular finding, the Scarlett and Rhett winterberry hollies, blogger iso combed the internet for more plants who were named after our favorite heroes. And sure enough, she found plenty, from cacti to pretty lilies. Most of these names play upon the Scarlet/Scarlett theme, so unless you're really fond of the color red in all of its variations, think twice before deciding upon a GWTW-inspired garden (or go with some of the plants featured in our Scenery & Greenery posts, always a safe bet!). Also, knowing our heroes, does it surprise anyone that some of their botanical namesakes are poisonous or have thorns?

But enough caveats. If you still want the perfect windie garden, or are simply curious as to what these plants look like, here's a selection of the flowers that are named after Scarlett (and there are plenty): 

Echinopsis Hybrid 'Scarlet O'Hara'

Paeonia 'Scarlet O'Hara'

Scarlett O'Hara Morning Glory

Yazoo 'Scarlet O'Hara' Daylily

Sinningia 'Scarlet O'Hara'

Pieris Japonica 'Scarlett O'Hara'

And these are their more masculine counterparts (for, after all, how do you turn a lily into a really manly flower? Why, you name it Rhett, of course): 

Savanna's Rhett Butler Cape Primrose

Hemerocallis 'Rhett Butler' Daylily

Louisiana Iris 'Rhett'

Poster of the Week

With Easter right around the corner, this week we have a very pastel and Spring-like poster from France, showing Rhett and Scarlett against the background of Tara, along with Scarlett with the Tarleton twins for good measure. 

Image from movieposterdb.com.