Most memorable dresses of the Big Screen

Often films are made by the costumes just as much as by actors and plot.

Here is a list of the five most memorable dresses worn by some of the most equally memorable actresses of the twentieth century.

 5) Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress

This dress featured in Blake Edward’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Hepburn, of course, wears it as Holly Golightly.

It was designed by Givenchy. The necklace worn with it was designed by Roger Scemama, who worked for Givenchy.

At first, the dress was considered too revealing, and the lower half was redesigned by Edith Head. Her creations did not survive long after the shooting of the film.

The two dresses that survive are Givenchy’s first creations. The hand-stitched original is archived. Hepburn had two copies that she brought to Paramount.

One is on display at the Madrid Museum of Film. The other was auctioned at Christie’s in 2006.

Movie posters do show the original Givenchy dress which reveals Hepburn’s legs, though the dress in the photos upon which there is the Edith Head design.

4) Judy Garland’s blue Oz dress

The iconic gingham dress worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (1939) is expected to sell for £180,000.

Garland rehearsed the film in several dresses, so that the producers could decide which costume would best suit her part.

3) Rita Hayworth’s black dress

This dress was made famous in the film Gilda (1946) and the scene where Gilda sings ‘Put the Blame on Mame’ in particular.

The dress has become a symbol of the femme fatale, suggesting a powerful and dangerous sexuality.

It was created by Jean-Louis, inspired by a portrait of a young socialite by John Singer Sargent named Portrait of Madame X. The dress was valued at $60,000, an enormous figure for the time.

2) Scarlett’s green dress

The green gown worn was Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the wind (1939).

She uses it to seduce Rhett Butler, and it is the centerpiece costume of the movie.

In the story, the dress is made from green curtains.

It was designed by Walter Plunkett and sold at auction in Beverley Hills for an astonishing $137000.

1) The white Monroe dress in The Seven Year Itch

Of course, Marilyn Monroe’s iconic garment is top of the list. It was designed by William Travilla.

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The image of Monroe standing over a subway grating in that dress has become one of the most powerful and recognizable images of cinema.