Walter Plunkett designed this blue bed jacket for the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, where Vivien Leigh wore it as Scarlett O’Hara. The piece made a second appearance in 1946 on an extra in The Harvey Girls. 

One of the interesting things about this costume and its re-appearance is that the two films were produced by different studios. The 30s and 40s were still strongly considered the “Studio Era” when many costumers, actors, and other employees were contracted to work for a specific time at that studio only unless an agreement had been made to loan them out elsewhere.

Gone with the Wind was produced by David O’ Selznick of Selznick International Pictures, a relatively small production company compared to larger studios such as Warner Brothers and MGM. Because of his small studio size, Selznick could not finance the entire epic of Gone with the Wind himself. However, after many negotiations, MGM agreed to loan Selznick both the use of Clark Gable (who was under contract with the studio) and finance half of the film in exchange for distribution rights. Several other MGM employees also were allowed to work on the movie, including costume designer Walter Plunkett. This is how some of the costumes from Gone with the Wind would have ultimately found their way to the MGM costume warehouse.