Maid Marion Archery Dress

from

The Adventures of Robin Hood

I love to watch old movies and I rented this 1938 one from Net Flix.  I remember watching this movie on TV as a kid and I fell in love with it all over again, recently.

Watching the Archery Tournament, this dress really stood out.  I just love how it looks on her and the colors are beautiful.  I don't have the beautiful skin, color or figure of Olivia deHavilland but I would like to recreate this dress one day.  It's not SCA by any means.  I love it that Robin has sequins on his Jerkin!  Hey..this is Fantasy and Hollywood it's OK. The film was made by Warner Brothers for 2 million dollars but it's a classic and has more than paid for itself.

Sometime in the future, I hope to reconstruct this dress and so this site is the future home of a dress diary.

 
 
     
I've purchased a cheap DVD at 7-11 for $1.00 what did I have to loose.  It's the Sword of Lancelot and the time period is close to Robin Hood.  This dress of Marion's, from the 1930's, is so far the most superior and beautiful dress I've seen yet.  I have to find some fabric to match.

What They Wore in the 1100s.

This is a gestamate of the period dress, based on the statues shown below.

      
I watched the movie again (4.11.09) and I must say that her dresses are very close to Bliauts which is proper for this time period.  The Costume Designer did get some of the elements right and she always is wearing a veil.  Very proper for a Ward of the Crown.  I got more photos from the movie.  Not very good quality, the movie has not been restored. Statues from Chart Cathedrial in France      
We got a Bu-Ray player and so I purchased The Adventures of Robin Hood in HD glory.  It's unfortunate that I cannot do any caps since it is not on computer.  I don't have that capability on the new computer.  I did get more photos though.  I found it interesting that Olivia deHavilland had a say in the design of her dresses.  The time frame is 1180 - 1190s, so a bliaut is appropriate. An Illumination from the period      
Let's List all her gowns          
forrest gown Forest Dress        
Archery Dress Archery Dress (See Above)        
Maroon Court Dress Maroon Court Dress The bead work on the hat, arm bands and belt is really cool.  I believe the lining of the sleeves also is the same.  The fabric is heavily beaded and looks similar to the bayaux tapestry made in 1066      
black & silver Plan Dress Black & Silver Rescue Plan Dress This gown has the skirt pleated into the bodice at the belt.  The fabric is very different from the bodice.      
Stripes Gown Stripes Rescue Gown Got to love the 1930s, the make up is from that time period and all the dresses have some bling to them.      
balcony gown Balcony Dress        
white & yellow satin White & Yellow Satin        
On 5-14-10 another Robin Hood Movie will come out.   robin hood 2010