Fashion Friday #11: A Streetcar Named Desire

Vivien Leigh arrived back in the United States on August 1st, 1950, at the Idlewild Airport (now JFK), in New York. She was on her way to Hollywood to begin filming A Streetcar Named Desire. Vivien had originated the role of Blanche on the London stage and would now play her in the movie version. After meeting up with her new director, Elia Kazan, the two of them traveled by transcontinental train to California, stopping off in Wisconsin for a quick visit with her good friends, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

Vivien Leigh and reporters, August 1950

Vivien Leigh and Elia Kazan arrived in Pasadena on August 6th. Vivien stepped off the train, looking as young and relaxed as the day she started Gone With the Wind, with a huge smile on her face and white sunglasses in her hands. “Gadge and I have gone over the script line by line in New York and on the train coming out here,” Vivien told reporters. Gadge was Kazan's nickname.

Elia Kazan and Vivien Leigh

The outfit Vivien chose, to meet and greet everyone, was a two-piece silk ensemble, gray with yellow polka dots, with a full skirt and topped off with a jaunty little hat. She wore the same outfit on multiple occasions, a habit she started with the rehearsals for the London stage version of A Streetcar Named Desire.

When asked whether or not she and Olivier would be staying in the states for an extended duration, she replied,  “Our stay must be limited because we have to return to England to prepare for the great national drama festival, which is the centenary of one held in 1851. It is an event that will fulfill itself in all branches of entertainment, and we both hope to contribute to it as notably as possible. Therefore it will require much time and effort in preparation. Mr. Olivier could not accompany me, because he was concerned in England with the opening of a new play, but as soon as the London premiere is held, he will fly to Hollywood. I expect his arrival next Sunday. He has signed, of course, for a picture at Paramount, the adaptation of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie.”

Olivier arrived in Hollywood a week after his wife, on August 13th, accompanied by Vivien’s daughter, Suzanne Holman. Vivien and William Wyler greeted the pair at the airport. Olivier showed off his new mustache for his upcoming movie, Carrie. After embracing, Vivien told reporters, “I can’t get used to his mustache. He felt he had better wear it until Mr. Wyler had determined whether or not it would be right for the picture.” Olivier admitted to not liking the mustache. The couple also admitted to reporters that they “would like to tour America sometime on the stage…”

“I never see Larry when he’s writing and directing, so I’m delighted that he’ll just be acting in Carrie Ames for Willie Wyler and Paramount. Even with both of us busy, we may have some time together.”

Another person brought over from the play's Broadway production was costume designer, Lucinda Ballard, who would later receive an Academy Award nomination for her costume designs for the movie. One of the things I most enjoy about Blanche's clothing is that Lucinda seemed to have captured Blanche's very being with her designs. She used soft feminine lines with delicate layers of silk, chiffon, lace and ruffles, reflecting Blanche's fragile state of mind and flirty girlishness.

The first costume from A Streetcar Named Desire is this blue number. The blue chiffon gown has what appears to be a faded covering of pink chiffon, with a ruffled collar and cuffs. Blue silk trim runs through the ruffled collar, ending in a bow at the bodice. The trim also runs through the sleeves' ruffled cuffs.

Vivien wears this gown in several scenes throughout the movie. Here she's pictured with Karl Malden.

Here's another photograph of Vivien wearing the blue dressing gown, captured in a light-hearted moment during a break in filming. She's posing with Gary Cooper, whom I cropped out to get a close-up view of Vivien's costume.

The second costume from A Streetcar Named Desire is this pink dressing gown. This particular robe was auctioned off a few years ago as part of the Debbie Reynolds collection. The pink and ivory silk gown features embroidered silk flowers on the chiffon sleeves with a ruffled collar, cuffs and bottom trim. The auction's catalog noted that the gown was in very fragile condition and that its original color had been hot pink.

Here's Vivien wearing this pink gown, in a scene with Karl Malden. 

It's also the outfit she wears when she tells Karl Malden (in that incredible scene) she wants magic, not realism. I don't want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I do misrepresent things. I don't tell truths, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that's sinful, then let me be punished for it!

Here's a screenshot of Vivien, again in the pink gown, and Karl together right before he turns on the lights! Both Vivien and Karl won Oscars for their performances: she for Best Actress and he for Best Supporting Actor.

Thanks for joining me for today's Fashion Friday post!



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Fashion Friday #10: House of Balmain

On Tuesday, October 25th, 1960, Vivien Leigh arrived in Cherbourg with her companion and fellow actor, Jack Merivale, aboard the Queen Elizabeth liner from New York. The two were fresh off the stage from co-starring in the play, Duel of Angels.  Vivien stepped off the Queen Elizabeth wrapped in a pale mink coat, with pearl and gold bracelets visible at the cuffs. Vivien’s fur baby, Poo Jones, also accompanied the couple.

Upon disembarking, the couple were asked about their romance.  You know I never discuss my private life, she said. John and I-- why, I've known him for 25 years, since we were both young things, struggling to make our names in London. He is a wonderful person. Jack was asked about a possible marriage between the two of them. Good heavens! That's very flattering, but I'm not going to say anything about it. The couple left Cherbourg for Paris in Vivien's blue Rolls Royce.

While in Paris, they stayed at the Hotel Raphael-- in separate rooms, of course. The couple visited one of Vivien’s favorite designers, Pierre Balmain. Her purpose in visiting was twofold: 1) Balmain would be creating her clothes for The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone and 2) she wanted something new for her personal wardrobe. At the House of Balmain, Vivien tried on approximately a dozen dresses. She finally settled on a dress with a matching coat, after Jack gave his approval of the outfit by saying, That’s the one, darling. You look wonderful.

Jack and Vivien attended the opening night of the ballet, La Belle Au Bois Dormant (aka Sleeping Beauty), on Thursday night. The play was produced by the Marquis de Cuevas and held at the Theater des Champs-Elysees. Cuevas was quite ill and attended the show’s premiere in a wheelchair.

Vivien wore her new ensemble from Balmain’s to the premiere, while Jack wore a classic tuxedo. Vivien's matching coat and dress were both made from the same red patterned, satin, material. The coat featured a collar with lapels, which ended just at the dress’ bodice. The coat’s sleeves were three-quarters in length. The evening dress featured a wrapped bodice, with a low cut V.

Jack and Vivien are pictured leaving the ballet. I know this isn't the best quality, but I wanted to share anyway, to show off the full length of the dress. 

Thanks for joining me for today's Fashion Friday post!

Fashion Friday #7: Gone With The Wind in Atlanta

In December, 1939, Atlanta fell under the spell of David Selznick's masterpiece, Gone With the Wind. The mayor of Atlanta, William Hartsfield, declared a three day holiday to celebrate the movie's premiere at Loew's Grand Theater on Peachtree Street. Three of the main cast members flew in from Hollywood, which included Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Olivia de Havilland. Other celebrities attending the premiere included David Selznick, along with his wife Irene Selznick, Laurence Olivier, Carole Lombard and Claudette Colbert.

On Thursday, December 14th, Vivien and other cast members attended the Junior League Ball. Vivien's dress for this event was specifically designed for her by Walter Plunkett, the costume designer for Gone With the Wind.

Vivien's black evening gown was made from lyons velvet, a stiff and thick velvet fabric fashionable at the time of the premiere. The dress featured a fitted bodice, trimmed in white ermine, and sleeves capped off by ermine and ermine tails. From Vivien's waist, the dress flared out into a wide, full skirt. Willard George designed her cape, made from ermine and their black tails. Paul Flato designed Vivien's jewelry for the evening, which featured a diamond butterfly clip for her hair, a diamond & ruby bracelet and a diamond bow ring.

Below is a formal, publicity photo of Vivien in her Junior League Ball gown, which really showcases the skirt.

Also in attendance at the Junior League Ball was Laura Hope Crews, better known as Aunt Pittypat, and Ona Munson, the film's Belle Watling. The two ladies came dressed as their characters from Gone With the Wind.

Laura Hope Crews wore a gray taffeta [dress] with grey bengaline shoes, black silk stockings, blue net scarf, blue mittens, blue lace and ivory fan and a gray lace and blue velvet cap. To complete her outfit, Miss Crews topped her natural hair with Aunt Pittypat's blonde wig. The mittens referenced are the fingerless gloves Laura is seen wearing in the photo below.

Ona Munson also wore her Belle Watling red wig, which complemented her outfit made from cerise taffeta ...[with] silken folds under the skirt. Her four petticoats were embroidered eyelet, hooped and plain. She wore pantalets and a bustle. Her accessories were roses, gold bells, a purple net scarf and a pair of bell earrings. Bell earrings for Belle!

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard also attended the Junior League ball. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a description of Carole's outfit. They are pictured with Atlanta Mayor William Hartsfield and his daughter, Mildred, who was lucky enough to sit next to Gable for the evening's festivities. Mildred's dress was heavy yellow moire taffeta striped with gray, featuring a square neck and long sleeves. Both the neck and sleeves were trimmed with old cream lace. The dress had a tiny waist and full skirt worn over crinoline petticoats. She wore an old gold necklace with pendants and gold drop earrings. In  her hair she wore yellow ribbon bows and on her shoulder she wore yellow orchids with red throats. Black lace mittens, black velvet bag and cape completed her costume. Wow, she's got a lot going on! 

The next evening, December 15th, saw the premiere of Gone With the Wind. Once again, Vivien chose to wear a Walter Plunkett gown. This lamé gown was a brilliant gold, perfectly setting off Vivien's dark brown hair with its hints of reddishness. As with her Junior League gown, publicity portraits were taken of Vivien in her gold dress.

The gown is of gold lame, draped in Oriental fashion, with harem hem line and draped girdle accenting the small waist. Girdle and the short sleeves are quilted in rose pattern and studded with gold sequins. Vivien's jewelry featured an acorn and leaf design, fashioned from topaz and diamonds. The matching necklace and bracelet resided quite nicely in its gold setting as did the princess cut topaz ring on her pinkie.

Vivien's unofficial date for the evening was the sharply dressed Laurence Olivier, recent star of "Wuthering Heights." Olivier's tuxedo was made from a dark coloured wool, with stripes only a shade lighter than the suit. The top coat featured tails, pointed lapels and a left breast pocket. The matching pants came with a five button fly.  His tux was specially created for him by Roche and Pollock in September, 1939. 

Also, in attendance at the premiere, was author Margaret Mitchell. She wore a fashionable pink full skirted tulle gown, a full length white velvet evening coat, a pink bow in her hair, and a camellia corsage given to her by the producers. (Atlanta History Center) Below is a photo of Mitchell's full length coat, along with a picture of her wearing the coat while speaking to the crowds. One can get a slight glimpse of her long skirt as the pink tulle dress plays peek-a-boo with her evening coat.

Mitchell's dress featured a fitted bodice, with off the shoulder sleeves. She's pictured seated, in between Jock Whitney (financial backer of GWTW) and her husband, John Marsh (wearing the glasses).

Carole Lombard, aka Mrs. Clark Gable, also attended the premiere, on the arm of her man. She wore a medieval cape of blush satin with a train, [which matched her gown]. Blush is in the pink-color family. I love Carole's netted hood. It must've been quite striking against her blonde hair.

Here's Ona Munson as she arrives at the premiere and poses for photographers. Ona's wearing a dark, green velvet, evening gown with a fur jacket and corsage.

The two ladies, in antebellum costumes, next to Ona are twin sisters, Virginia and Charlotte Starr. They were two of the thirty girls selected to act as hostesses for Gone With the Wind's premiere.

Finally, here's Olivia de Havilland, arriving at the theater with Jock Whitney, whom she also sat next to throughout the show. Olivia wore a black velvet evening gown with an ermine fur jacket. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a full length photo of Olivia in her evening gown.

Thanks for joining me for today's Fashion Friday post!


Unless otherwise noted, all italicized dress descriptions are from Herb Bridges. 

Fashion Friday #6: The Woman In Fashion

In 1949, Doris Langley Moore published The Woman In Fashion. This book featured clothing and accessories from Moore's private collection covering the years 1800 to 1927. Moore gathered several famous ladies (actresses, ballerinas, society ladies, editors and opera singers) to model her collection. Some of the models for the book included: Rachel Kempson- with her daughters Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave, Googie Withers, Margot Fonteyn, Beatrice Lillie, Sally Ann Howes and of course, Vivien Leigh.

Doris Langley Moore

Doris Elizabeth Langley Moore came into this world on July 23rd, 1902. One internet bio of Moore states that she grew up in South Africa and returned to England in the early 1920s. She became a fashion collector and historian, scholar, author, Lord Byron authority, co-founder of the Costume Society, wife and mother.

Ms. Moore founded the Museum of Costume in Bath (now known as The Fashion Museum), in 1963, though she'd been planning a fashion museum for decades. In an interview she gave in 1938, Moore said that at the end of each year, she was putting away at least two dresses (evening and day), with accessories, for her future museum. Her idea behind doing this was so that people of the next century may have a perfect picture of changing fashions, year by year.

Below are the descriptions of the dresses that Vivien wears in The Woman In Fashion. The descriptions are quoted directly from the book.

From 1877,  here's the first dress modeled by Vivien Leigh in The Woman In Fashion:

This bottle green gabardine tunic, trimmed with intricate embroidery and coloured fringe and worn over a black half trained skirt was the beginning of my collection. Bought in Paris by a woman accustomed to spend substantial sums on dress, it was preserved among family relics until it ultimately made its way into my possession.  The dress... is buttoned nearly all the way down, a style which was revived -in very different shape- during the First World War under the name of the coat frock. In the eighteen-seventies it was called the matinee and was described in The Ladies' Treasury as the proper costume worn when ladies enter the billiard room for the purpose of playing billiards or bagatelle.

It has sleeves of comfortable width, terminating a little above the wrist, but lengthened in this case by a black chiffon frill, pleated and ruched, which falls over the hand. The neck-line... is fairly high, but not, as in the years to come, actually covering the neck. The future trend is indicated, however, by the black velvet ribbon on which hangs a locket. The bustle has greatly diminished in size. A mere pad now suffices to effect the desired protuberance.

The little round topped hat, worn towards the back of the head has a straw crown and a turned up satin brim. By a compensatory impulse, the forehead was invariably more or less covered with a fringe. Aesthetic ladies had their fringes cut straight and despised curling tongs, but almost no one committed the defiance of completely exposing the forehead.

From 1883:

We see in this gold coloured brocade evening dress the last phase in the transition between the tied back costume and the revival of the large bustle....

The back drapery of Miss Leigh's dress is lined with gold satin, and a kilting of the same material appears at the bottom of the skirt between the deep indentations of the satin bound border.  The front drapery is of lace in a dark yellow shade, and is drawn up a la blanchisseuse or a las laveuse [washerwomen].

The bodice is laced down the entire back opening, surely the most inconvenient of all nineteenth century modes, for it meant that the dress could not by any possibility be fastened except with a second person's assistance, and even then not rapidly.

The decolletage is of very moderate depth and is square in shape. There is a trimming matching that of the skirt. The lace covered sleeves reach to the elbow- a length that wouldn't have been permissible with full evening dress a few years earlier.

The fan is of an entirely new design recalling a very old one, and is made of the natural feathers of the scarlet ibis set off by white swansdown and a humming bird.

From 1898:

A black velvet jacket, relieved with white and embroidered handsomely with steel beads and a half-trained black broche skirt appropriately trimmed make a carriage toilette suitable for visits of ceremony. A certain sense of formality is conveyed by the sable and velvet bonnet, now a little suggestive of ancien regime. The bonnet was, in fact, persistently worn, after it was otherwise outmoded, by those who sustained the character of grande dame.

To judge from the prevalence of lorgnettes in the smartest nineties fashion plates, they were sometimes used rather as an attribute of stateliness-- a counterblast to the undignified modern sporting girl- than through any epidemic of myopia.

The Woman In Fashion is a lovely book for those interested in fashion. The book is 184 pages in length, containing 108 black & white illustrations and one color illustration.


A list of other works, fiction and non-fiction, by Moore:
All Done By Kindness
The Child in Fashion
The Technique of the Love Affair
Pleasure: A Discursive Guide Book
My Caravaggio Style
Marie and the Duke of H
Fashion through Fashion Plates, 1771-1970
The Museum of Costume Assembly Rooms Bath, Guide to the Exhibition and A Commentary on the Trends of Fashion
E. Nesbit: A Biography
The Great Byron Adventure
The Late Lord Byron
The Late Lord Byron: Posthumous Dramas
Lord Byron
Lord Byron Accounts Rendered
Ada, Countess of Lovelace
Pandora's Letter-Box: Being a Discourse on Fashionable Life
The Pleasure of Your Company: a Textbook of Hospitality, co-authored with June Langley Moore
The Vulgar Heart: an enquiry into the sentimental tendencies of public opinion
Doris Langley Moore's Book of Scraps: New Verses for Old Pictures
A Game of Snakes and Ladders
Not At Home
The Quest (a ballet)
Carlotta Grisi by Serge Lifar, translated by Moore
Gallery of fashion 1790-1822 from plates by Heideloff and Ackermann (contributor)
Victorian Jewellery by Margaret Flower with a contributing chapter by Moore

Fashion Friday #4: Shakespeare's 400th Birthday

To mark William Shakespeare's 400th birthday in 1964, Vivien Leigh and her good friend, Robert Helpmann, attended an outdoor celebration for the Bard. The party took place on an overcast day at the partially finished Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford.

In addition to Robert Helpmann, Vivien was joined by Michael Redgrave (who would star in the theater's opening play,  A Month In The Country with Ingrid Bergman, in 1965) and Diana Wynyard, (who sadly passed away from kidney failure three weeks after this picture was taken).

For this special occasion, Vivien chose to wear a hot pink, two piece outfit. The boxy shaped jacket featured five buttons down the front, pocket flaps and side buttons. Vivien accented her outfit with a fur stole around her neck, gloves and a black velvet hair band a la Alice In Wonderland.

Michael Redgrave and  Vivien Leigh

For their part of the celebration, Vivien and Helpmann recreated one of their scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream, titled Ill Met by Moonlight.  The two had co-starred in the play twenty-six years earlier in late 1937 to early 1938, as Titania and Oberon, respectively.

Vivien Leigh and Robert Helpmann as Titania and Oberon

Here's part of that scene:
Oberon: Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.
Titania: What, jealous Oberon! Fairies, skip hence:
            I have forsworn his bed and company.
Oberon: Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy lord?
Titania: Then I must be thy lady: but I know
            When thou hast stolen away from fairy land,
            And in the shape of Corin sat all day,
            Playing on pipes of corn and versing love
            To amorous Phillida.

Vivien Leigh and Robert Helpmann

Then Vivien recited the Quality of Mercy speech by Portia from The Merchant of Venice. Since the theater wasn't completed yet, they stood on a platform built into the scaffolding.

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there.

This next picture of Vivien was taken at another event. She's wearing the same outfit, but this time we get to see her ensemble in color. Note how vibrant the pink would have been in person.

A side view of Vivien, at the theater, with Helpmann looking on:

Members of the audience included several swans, from the River Wey, who came ashore to enjoy the tribute to Shakespeare :)

Thanks for joining me for this Fashion Friday post!

Fashion Friday #3, On the Golf Course

Today's Fashion Friday outfit comes from the 1937 comedy, A Storm In A Teacup. 

If you haven't seen A Storm In A Teacup, here's a very brief synopsis for you: The movie stars Vivien Leigh, Rex Harrison, Sara Allgood, Cecil Parker and Scruffy the dog. Vivien plays Victoria, the daughter of the local provost (similar to a mayor) played by Cecil Parker. Rex Harrison's the reporter who's come to town and stirs up trouble. Sara Allgood's fur baby, Scruffy, is at the center of all the trouble. The movie is based on a play, which was about the politics of the time, specifically dictatorships.

Vivien Leigh shows up fashionably dressed on the golf course. For this scene, Vivien wears a checked tweed skirt in red, green and fawn. She tops the skirt off with a green suede jacket, along with a green felt hat. Vivien's feet are encased in brown suede shoes with buckle straps and fringed tongues.

Above are a couple of shoe advertisemnts from 1937. I don't know the particular shoe brand that Vivien wears in this golfing scene, but these shoes are somewhat similar to what she wears in the movie. I think it's kind of fun to see the styles that were popular when the film was made.

This photo is a colorized image for one of the film's lobby cards. It was normal for photographers to take publicity pictures in black and white. Once it was decided which pictures would be used for the lobby cards, those pictures would then be colored in by hand. As you can see, the photo specialists who colored this in, imagined her coat, socks and hat in red.

Thanks for joining me for today's Fashion Friday post!

Fashion Friday #2, Beaded Gown by Lanvin

In 2003, one of Vivien Leigh's dresses went on the auction block at Sotheby's. This stunning evening gown was created by Lanvin and sold for 1,320 GBP, inclusive of the buyer's premium.

This white silk evening dress is only a size two. Vivien was tiny! The fitted bodice features embroidery and beading in an intricate pattern, while the floor-length skirt flares out into a tulip-shape. Vivien wore a purple wrap with this dress.

The evening gown was designed by Antonio del Castillo for Lanvin in 1957. The House of Lanvin was created by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889, when she was just twenty-two years old. Jeanne began her career at sixteen, as a milliner, and later moved into dressmaking. After Jeanne's death in 1946, her daughter, Marie, hired Castillo to design for the house. Castillo had been working for Elizabeth Arden when he left them to join Lanvin in 1950. Castillo also designed costumes for the stage and screen, winning an Academy Award in 1971 for Nicholas and Alexandra.

A peek inside Jeanne Lanvin's House

Though the dress was designed by Castillo, the bodice's beaded design was created by Francois Lesage, an embroiderer with his own workshop, Maison Lesage. Lesage's skills were utilized by several Parisian fashion houses including Balmain, a favorite designer of Vivien's.

Sotheby's website gives the following description: shaped and boned bodice with elaborate amethyst chenille and floss silk embroidery studded with blue and pink pastes and faux pearls, with matching deep purple stole, bust 86cm (34in), waist 66cm (26in). 

Vivien wore this gorgeous dress on at least three occasions in the 1960s. The first two times were in 1961, when she attended the ballet and a revival showing of Gone With the Wind. On both occasions, she's wearing the floor-length purple shawl as seen in the first image on this post from Sotheby's. The pictures above and below are from the Gone With the Wind showing.

Vivien also stepped out in this Lanvin number for a performance at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. She attended the opening night of the Leningrad State Kirov Ballet's season. She accented the dress with a three strand pearl necklace with a diamond drop pin, which she also wore to the GWTW revival. 

Vivien at the ballet (Photo from Alamy)

The third time we see Vivien in this Lanvin dress is at a party for Tovarich in 1963. The party was held at the Americana Hotel to celebrate their first night on Broadway. Vivien is pictured below with her co-star, Jean Pierre Aumont, and a gigantic cake complete with candles for the occasion. 

Below is another detailed shot of the bodice. Francois Lesage was a complete genius when it came to beading and embroidery. To see some of his other beautiful creations, click here for an article on him originally published in Elle Magazine.

Lanvin made several of these dresses for their clients. These detailed images are from one of those dresses; the difference being ownership and size.

Vivien Leigh loved to wear French designers. In the spring of 1957, it was reported by the newspapers that she had just spent $4,500 on clothes from Paris, which is about $40,000 in today's money. 

A lot of women will tell you that the most elegant person in London is Vivien Leigh, and I see what they mean. Miss Leigh is one hundred percent the perfect modern woman. -Leonard Mosley

Thanks for joining me for today's Fashion Friday post!