Southern Belle Fashionistas

 

Below are images featuring my favorite costumes worn by two Southern Belle characters in fiction - Scarlett O'Hara from Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel and its 1939 movie adaptation, "GONE WITH THE WIND"; and Ashton Main from John Jakes' 1982-1987 literary trilogy and its 1985-1994 television adaptation, "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy:


SOUTHERN BELLE FASHIONISTAS

I may have mixed feelings about the 1939 movie, “GONE WITH THE WIND”, I cannot deny that I really liked some of the costumes designed by Walter Plunkett for the story's protagonist, Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler.  Here are my five (5) favorite costumes:

Wedding Dress - The dress that Scarlett wore when she married Charles Hamilton

Christmas 1863 Dress - Scarlett wore this outfit when she bid good-bye to Ashley Wilkes at the end of his army furlough around the Christmas 1863 holiday.

Wedding Announcement Dress - She wore this dress when she informed her sisters and the Wilkes about her marriage to second husband, Frank Kennedy.

Businesswoman Dress - Scarlett wore this outfit in one scene featuring her role as manager of her second husband Frank Kennedy’s sawmill.

Post-Honeymoon Visit to Tara Dress - Scarlett wore this dress when she and third husband Rhett Butler visited Tara following their honeymoon.

Sawmill Visit Dress - Scarlett wore this dress when she paid a visit to Ashley Wilkes, who was manager of the sawmill she had inherited from Frank Kennedy.

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I am a fan of the ABC adaptations of John Jakes’ “NORTH AND SOUTH” Trilogy.  Among my favorite costumes worn by the character, Ashton Main Huntoon Fenway, and designed by Vicki Sánchez, Robert Fletcher and Carol H. Beule.  Here are my favorite costumes: 

Mont Royal Ball Gown - Ashton Main wore this gown at the ball held at her family’s plantation during the summer of 1854.

Wedding Gown - Ashton wore this gown when she married her first husband, James Huntoon in 1856.

Richmond Ball Gown - Ashton Huntoon wore this ballgown when she met Elkhannah Bent at a reception held in Richmond, Virginia in July 1861.

Day Dress - Ashton wore this dress during her first visit to Elkhannah Bent’s Richmond home during the summer of 1861 and when she was married to salesman Will Fenway in 1866-67.

Huntoon Reception Dress - Ashton wore this dress at a reception she and her husband James Huntoon had hosted at their Richmond home in November 1861.

Evening Dress - Ashton wore this dress during an evening visit to Bent’s Richmond home in August 1862.

Travel Dress - Ashton wore this dress during a visit to her family’s plantation, Mont Royal, in August 1863.

Factory Visit Dress - Ashton wore this dress when she paid a visit to her husband Will Fenway’s Chicago piano factory in 1868.

"GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939) Review

"GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939) Review

Several years ago, I had come across an article that provided a list of old classics that the author felt might be overrated. One of those movies turned out to be the 1939 classic, "GONE WITH THE WIND". Not only did the author accuse the movie of being both racist and sexist, he also claimed that the movie had not aged very well over the past 73 years.

Did I agree with the author? Well, let me put it this way. I would say that "GONE WITH THE WIND" has managed to withstand the tests of time . . . to a certain extent. As the author had pointed out, the sexism and racism are obvious and rather off-putting. The slaves came across as too servile for my taste. And although the slave Prissy was not the only dimwitted character in the story (think of Aunt Pittypatt, the Tarleton brothers and Charles Hamilton), she had the bad luck to spout that unfortunate line that must have been the bane of actress Butterfly McQueen’s life - "Miz Scarlett, I know nothin’ bout birthin’ no babies.". And the sexism was no better. I found Rhett’s determination to view Scarlett as his own personal child bride rather distasteful – along with his act of marital rape. But if I must be honest, I have seen movies that are just as bad or even worse. I had once seen "GONE WITH THE WIND" at one of my local movie theaters when it had been re-released to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1989. The first half of the film struck me as being well-paced and filmed. The dialogue sparkled and Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable, and the rest of the cast could not have been better. I could not say the same for the film’s second half.

The real problem with "GONE WITH THE WIND" manifested in Part Two. Once Scarlett married Rhett . . . the movie simply fizzled. Oh sure, it had its iconic moments – Scarlett appearing at Ashley’s birthday party in the infamous red dress and Bonnie Blue Butler’s death. Unfortunately, it did not take me very long to fall asleep . . . even before poor Bonnie Blue’s death. I managed to wake up in time to witness Hattie McDaniel's brilliant monologue on the decline of Butlers' marriage. I do not think one can really blame the movie's credited screenwriter, Sidney Howard and the screenwriters who worked on the project. Margaret Mitchell's novel has the same problem as the movie. Namely, it started brilliantly and ended with me crying in despair for the story to end. I suspect that Selznick had decided not to risk earning the fans' ire by refraining from changing the novel's structure too much.

And the main reason why "GONE WITH THE WIND" threatened to fizzle out in the end? Quite frankly, the story seemed unable to maintain the same pace throughout the film. Even worse, this seemed to have turned "GONE WITH THE WIND" into a movie with conflicting genres. I do not know whether to list it as a historical drama or a costumed melodrama. Most of the movie seemed like a historical drama – especially the first half that ends with Scarlett’s return to Tara. But once Scarlett’s second husband - Frank Kennedy – was killed during the Shantytown attack sequence, the movie purely became a costumed melodrama. This change in genre not only made the movie seemed slightly schizophrenic, it nearly grounded its pacing to a halt.

But . . . despite its political incorrectness and the dull last hour of the film, "GONE WITH THE WIND" still managed to hold up pretty well. Despite being over 73 years old.

"GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939) Photo Gallery

Below is a gallery of photos and publicity stills from the 1939 Academy Award winning adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel, "GONE WITH THE WIND".  The movie was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming: 

"GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939) Photo Gallery