Interestingly, it looks like there must have been two copies of this dress…kind of.

In the 1949 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, with costumes by Walter Plunkett (his second foray into costuming Little Women), he created two similar gowns. The first was worn by Mary Astor as Marmee, and the second is meant to look as if the first gown has been made over and adapted for wear on Margaret O’Brien as Beth.

Initially I considered since it was the same fabric, perhaps Plunkett was implying two gowns were made from the same bolt of fabric, which would be in keeping with the Mach family’s ingenuity in times of hardship. However, the cut and design along the shoulders of the gown indicate it literally is meant to appear to be the same exact dress. The 1994 adaptation of Little Women reuses costumes within the production as well, indicating reuse in times of hardship.

However, for filming purposes, two separate dresses were made, because the one worn by Mary Astor went on to be used in two additional productions over the years.

In 1955 it was worn by Jocelyn Brando as Corinne Michaels in Ten Wanted Men with an adjusted waistband.

The piece was worn again, and the adaptations removed to reveal it in its original form in the 1956 film 7th Calvary, where it was worn by Barbara Hale as Martha Kellogg.