Norma Shearer Marie Antoinette screen-worn dress. ...

Description

Norma Shearer Marie Antoinette screen-worn dress. (MGM, 1938) Vintage opulent black velvet and lace 2-piece period gown worn by Norma Shearer as the title character in the period epic Marie Antoinette. Trimmed in gathered black and silver bullion lace along neckline, lace tiered sleeves and hem with velvet ribbon details at shoulders. Silver and black ribbon brocade ornamentation cascades down the front of the voluminous skirt with tiered lace at bottom front hem, and severe bustle measuring a full 38 x 20 in. with internal lattice boning armature. Bodice and skirt with hook and eye back closures. Interior silk lining present and intact with some separation at seams. Exhibiting a 2 in. separation to right back sleeve at shoulder. Some wear and rubbing where bodice meets skirt, and sensitive, nearly undetectable repair to some areas. The lavish production of Marie Antoinette was extravagant, with a multi-million-dollar budget and some 2,500 costumes. More than 50 women were hired to produce the hand-embroidered and sequined gowns seen on screen. The understructures for the gowns, some more than 6 feet wide, were made in the studio's machine shop, and many of the fabrics used to create the costumes were commissioned and woven in Lyon, France. Designer Adrian began his research into the period with a journey to the Royal Archives in Vienna. Effectively, he recognized that the French court during Antoinette's reign was a gilded menagerie for gaudy fashions and he was determined to recreate this magnum opus in frivolity to its last detail on celluloid. To this end, Adrian designed literally thousands of costumes - most of them very cumbersome to maneuver in, with 34 being worn by Norma Shearer alone. Purchasing mass quantities of silk, embroidered velvets and gold and silver lace, Adrian also hired a small army of French seamstresses to recreate the patterns worn by the real Antoinette, and employed a milliner from Russia's Imperial Opera Company to provide guidance for hats and headdresses. Weighing in at just under 110 pounds, Shearer's wedding dress in the film - with its 500 yards of hand-embroidered white satin covering a steel-wired harness specifically manufactured for the occasion, added a staggering 108 pounds to her 5 foot 3 inch frame. This regal black gown, of vintage materials, some no longer existing, is showcased in the scene when Marie learns that the King is dead and she is now the Queen of France. In vintage fine condition.

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