This gown, first designed for Olivia de Havilland to wear as Catherine Sloper in the 1949 film The Heiress, is said in the movie to be “Cherry Red.” However, it was very common for black and white film costumes to not be the same color described, especially as red often appeared black on black and white film. Therefore, it makes sense that the gown would have been made a different color.

When the dress appeared again in the 1958 film Vertigo, the gown was revealed to be a light purple with gold accents. The costume was used numerous times in Vertigo, both on people and in one of Hollywood’s most famous props – the painting at the center of the film. Several paintings were made for the production, including an unused version with Vera Miles as Carlotta Valdes, where she is very clearly wearing the dress. The dress appeared in the final painting for the film, as well as the painting replica of Majorie “Midge” Wood, as played by Barbara Bel Geddes. The dress appears in person in the movie as well, worn by Joanne Genthon as a woman hired to be “Carlotta.”

After that, the gown went on to be used three times in Bonanza. It was used two times in 1961, first in the episode The Courtship, on Julie Adams as Helen Layton, and then in The Countess by Margaret Hayes as Lady Linda Chadwick. In 1962 it was worn by Nina Shipman as Trudy Coombs-Harker in the episode The Mountain Girl.

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