The Original White Christmas Costumes, Next to our Pattern!

Every year, the White Christmas costumes continue to inspire me almost as if I’d never watched them before.  The rustling skirts, fitted bodices, and artfully draped sleeves remind me of why I fell in love with 1950s fashions in the first place.  In 2013 I first recreated a dress inspired the blue “Sisters” dress on the blog, and we later released the pattern for this design in sizes 6-20.

It’s always so inspiring to see the photos of the dresses you make from Edelweiss Patterns designs, but this year I was particularly delighted to learn that dresses sewn from the 1950s Sisters Dress Pattern were in such close proximity to the original costumes worn in White Christmas!

Kelsey emailed me earlier this year, with photos of two dazzling dresses she had sewn from our 1950s Sisters Dress Pattern.  The first one caught my eye because it’s a photo shoot with not one but two of the dresses.  These ladies look they just stepped off a film set!  And her work is just fantastic.

The second photo has perfect composition, and four beautiful blue dresses – the two sewn by Kelsey, and the two White Christmas costumes worn back in 1954 for filming the song and dance numbers …  Talk about goosebumps!  Kelsey writes, “We had a wonderful time all dressed up at the exhibit!  People kept asking where our feathered fans were.  I said making the dresses was enough!  Gloves and fans can be phase 2!”

What happened to the White Christmas costumes?

It was (tragically) common practice for film studios to reuse what are now considered classic movie costumes for other productions, essentially putting them back into “circulation” to be used or even altered for other projects down the line.  (I suppose that in the 50s, Hollywood had no idea which films would be considered iconic 70+ years later.)  As a result, they were not preserved as we all wish they would have been after filming concluded on this production.  But the fact these two dresses have been reunited after decades apart is wonderful!  The Rosemary Clooney House Museum acquired these two dresses separately.

1. According to a documentary on the special features of the White Christmas dvd, the dress worn by Rosemary Clooney came without the sheer overlay on the skirt, and they replaced that portion.

2. According to this same documentary, Vera Ellen’s dress came with the bodice cut down to strapless, but the skirt was in good condition.  You can see the difference between the dress on the right in the 2008 photograph vs. the 2023 photo below. It would appear that someone recreated the sleeves and upper bodice out of a different lace, and added it onto the surviving gown after Paramount Pictures filmed the footage at the museum in 2008.  (The new lace collar is not the exact same style as the scalloped lace on the original, being more of a band collar than a lace “v”.)

Here’s a close-up angle of the film costumes taken by Kelsey when she saw them on display last year.  You can see the color difference towards the neck area of the dress on the right.  Note that in all photographs, Rosemary Clooney’s lace bodice faded more than that of Vera Ellen’s, which retained something closer to its original color.

I can’t thank Kelsey enough for sharing her these photos and White Christmas experience with us and graciously allowing me to post them here!  Her work is so beautiful, and to see these gorgeous dresses made from our pattern next to the costumes that inspired it is truly a full-circle moment!

Our 1950s Sisters Dress Pattern is available in paper format which ships within the USA, and as a digital download you can print at home instantly from anywhere in the world.

To read about our other White Christmas costume replicas, click here.

As the old song says, “May all your Christmases be white!”

Love & Happy Sewing,

Katrina Holte

All stills from the documentary “Rosemary Clooney’s Old Kentucky Home” are copyright by Paramount Pictures.  Our pattern is not an exact replica of a movie costume, but is inspired by these timeless styles.