How One Elizabeth Taylor Costume Became The Biggest Dress Trend of the Fifties

Feature image: Paramount / mptvimages.com

When Hollywood legends collaborate, like when costume designer Edith Head and star Elizabeth Taylor worked together on A Place in the Sun, the results are bound to leave a lasting mark. In this case, one dress in particular became a notable sensation, spurring a trend in fashion that was impossible to ignore, and defining women’s formal style for years to come. 

At only 17 years old, Elizabeth Taylor was cast as socialite Angela Vickers in Paramount Pictures’ A Place in the Sun, a now-classic drama directed by George Stevens and based on Theodore Dreiser’s 1925 novel An American Tragedy. The young star was thrilled about being given the chance to work alongside Montgomery Clift, an actor she admired, and she took the opportunity to throw herself into preparations for the film, eager to learn everything she possibly could from the experts around her, including the film’s costume designer Edith Head. 

Edith was well-known and well-respected in the industry, helping to define the style of classic Hollywood with her striking work at Paramount and Universal and dressing stars like Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Lana Turner, Paul Newman, John Wayne, Steve McQueen, and Marlene Dietrich throughout her illustrious career. With ardent respect, Elizabeth gave Edith her full attention as they decided how they could best represent the debutante character via the costuming. Out of these discussions came a dress design that had a ripple effect on fashion that no one expected. 

For the first time we see Elizabeth as Angela on screen, Edith sketched an elegant white dress with a strapless neckline, a very slender waist, and a full skirt, referencing Christian Dior’s iconic New Look. Though Dior had debuted his New Look collection two years earlier and popularized the recognizable silhouette, Edith felt confident that women would continue to embrace the style for the foreseeable future. To further dazzle viewers, Edith worked silk flower accents into the design, placing them on the bodice and sprinkling them on the full tulle skirt. As she explained in her book, Edith Head’s Hollywood, “The dress became especially dramatic because I made the skirt exceedingly full, with yards and yards of tulle over a pastel underskirt, and the flowers made the bust look fuller. The combination of the full bust and wide skirt accented the waist, making it appear even smaller than it was.” Elizabeth loved the dress — and the opportunity to show off her figure. “Elizabeth prided herself on her tiny waist and was always willing to wear her gowns very tight to achieve a waspish look,” Edith wrote. “I can still hear her telling me, ‘Tighter, Miss Head, tighter.’”

Paramount / mptvimages.com

A Place in the Sun premiered in Los Angeles on August 14, 1951, and women everywhere immediately fell in love with Taylor’s costumes, especially the debutante dress. As a result, the design was swiftly knocked off, and manufactured widely. The design quickly became the most popular formal dress of the year, and continued to be a hit well into 1952. As costume designer David Chierichetti recalled, one fashion writer of the time commented of the dress: “Go to any party this summer, and you’ll see at least 10 of them.” Edith herself often stated in interviews that anywhere from seven to 37 girls had been spotted at the same party, sporting the same style.

Edith’s design ultimately earned her accolades as well as public adoration, and in 1952, she won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on A Place In The Sun. The debutante dress now lives at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, one of the key pieces in their costume design collection. Today, the design is a bona fide classic, epitomizing what many think of when they imagine 50’s style and continuing to influence new designs today.

Paramount / mptvimages.com