Edelweiss Patterns 
In June of 2011, Debbie Reynolds auctioned off her impressive collection of film memorabilia which included numerous “Sound of Music” costumes from the 1965 production. The auction took place at Profiles in History and reached enormous bids, with one movie costume selling for 4.2 million dollars! But for those who have never seen a “Sound of Music” costume aside from the screen, I wanted to post pictures of one of the only “Sound of Music” dresses that has actually been on display!
I was so excited to see an original “Sound of Music” dress up close, and I hope that through the notes I’ve taken of the dress you will be able to “see” it yourself.
If you watch “The Sound of Music” closely, you’ll probably notice that this warm-toned dress was sewn from one of the bolts of fabric that Frau Schmidt brought to Maria’s bedroom, stating that it was, “For your new dresses, Fraulein Maria – the Captain had these sent out from town.” And Maria’s response was, “Oh, how lovely! Oh, I’m sure these will make the prettiest dresses I’ve ever had.” Although I am the world’s biggest fan of the “Sound of Music” film costumes, I can’t say that this was necessarily one of the prettiest dresses (especially compared to her blue chiffon dress or silk shantung wedding dress!) But I have to admit that the Sound of Music costume designer did a superb job of designing this day dress, and it is masterfully pieced together for an unorthodox use of stripes.
This wonderful Sound of Music dress has panels of vertical stripes going down the front, with diagonally placed stripes wrapping around to the front where they are darted by two vertical darts on each side. In the back, the stripes are horizontal at the upper back, but the horizontal panel stops at a “v” shaped point at the waist. On either side of this panel are diagonal stripes till the end of the bodice. For the skirt, the stripes are simply placed vertically, though most of them are covered by the pintucked orange apron.
I had watched “The Sound of Music” so many times that I thought I probably knew every detail of Maria’s “Do-Re-Mi” costume before I actually saw it, but remarkably enough there were some differences from how it appears on screen. Nearly every serious costume fan would remember it as an orange, gold, and green striped dress, but while viewing it up close there were obvious light pink/lavendar stripes sandwiched between the warm, autumn colors! Not the nicest color combination, but it sure worked well for the “Do-Re-Mi” carriage scene! I think the bright sunshine when they were filming in Salzburg combined with the camera lighting probably changed the way that the colors came through on film. But of course the colors could have changed slightly since the Western Costume Company sewed this dress back in 1964, too!
Wow! that has so much detail on it that I didn’t notice before. I really like the way the stripes are lined up, so creative and pretty. It was fun to see the other colors on there too, I always pictured it in the autumn color scheme…never knew about the pink/light purple colors. Thanks for sharing.
Hello Brielle!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I really don’t know who would have combined pink with orange and moss green, but somehow it worked for the screen!
Happy sewing,
Katrina
How interesting reading your article on this dress. It’s one that not many people notice in the ‘Do-Re-Mi’ sequence, as there is so much happening on the screen with the singing and dance routines. I had to look twice! Great article Katrina, I loved it.
Hi Linda! I’m glad you liked the article! True, it isn’t one of the most famous “Sound of Music” costumes, and I think it is arguably Maria’s least worn dress in the film (as far as actual time on camera in an outfit). The second “least-worn” dress would be the green printed cotton dress which she came back to the Abbey in. (The dress earlier seen on the “new postulate” in the Reverend Mother’s office.) That one, however, sticks in people’s memories more because it is such a pivotal scene and there are quite a few slow shots of the outfit up close. Thanks again for the comment!
Katrina
[…] The original Sound of Music film costume is on display at the Planet Hollywood Restaurant, and is one of only four known Sound of Music costumes that can actually be viewed by the public. In this photo you will also see Gretl’s party dress and Marta’s party dress, both of which are darling little girls’ dresses. All three of these film costumes have softened up over the years, and don’t have the same cripsness that they did in 1964. They are still in excellent condition though, and I am so grateful that we can get a glimpse of them behind glass! To view the other Sound of Music film costume which is currently on display, click here. […]
[…] dress that was wandering about my brain. There is a very interesting post about the original dress here, and see if you can spot the one I mean in the […]
I love your website. I would love to stay in touch with what you write. I hope you continue this. The “Sound Of Music” was one of mine and my Father’s favorite movies. Thank you, Kelley Bates <3
Hello Kelley!
Thanks for the comment! I always love hearing from other Sound of Music fans, as it has been one of my biggest inspirations since I was a little girl. I’ve studied the Trapp Family history for years, but the costumes are my favorite part! I will be sewing another Liesl von Trapp inspired dress soon, so you might want to check back in a month or so when I have pictures ready. : )
So long, farewell!
Katrina
[…] Auctions, and is expected to go for around $10,000. However, I learned from the owner of Maria’s carriage dress that not one Sound of Music dress has ever sold for under $20,000 in […]