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 by 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. 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.
