I’m not sure I’m right, but I’m pretty sure that many women have “a dress”.  A dress that represented something powerful to them - whatever it may be.  A dress that remains in their thoughts and memories.  Perhaps it was one they owned, or perhaps it was from a movie they say.  Perhaps it is the perfect fairy-tale dress, or perhaps it was an avant garde piece of art that challenged boundaries.

Some even have written about the best dresses in films.  This writer clearly is an example of the yearning for a particular dress that represents something about them. 

Whatever it meant, there’s usually a dress.  And this is my dress.

In the movie, “Meet Me In St. Louis”, Judy Garland wears a red velvet dress in the final Christmas Party scene.  It is the dress I’ve always remembered the most. Sure, since I’m into costuming, I’ve got more than one dress in my list - the black gown from Legend is quintessentially wicked, and the white dress from Labyrinth defines my ideal fairy princess. 

But the red velvet dress is THE DRESS for me.  These are the best photos I can find of it, since the movie isn’t well documented on the web.

I cannot find anyone who has reproduced this dress, a pattern for this dress, or even historical information for this dress.  I don’t even really know what era to look in.  I originally tried looking for something that fit the era of St. Louis World’s Fair, but I’m not sure Hollywood was that accurate at the time.  It’s the richness of the red, the silhouette of the dress. 

It could be a different color and I’d still be happy.  But the red velvet dress itself is just my strongest memory of a dress.

 (for that matter, the green dress is also quite lovely.)

Photos below: