Blue – A Noble and Virtuous Color
Blue is a powerful color that can soothe the mind and the soul. It can make us feel a sense of security, trust, and reliability. It is also a color that peaks our imaginations as it’s the color of the seas and skies. It’s a color or noble characteristics, of good and virtuous characters.
The color Blue is equally favored by men and women and the color Navy blue looks good on practically any skin tone.
There’s a reason blue is the most popular color in world. That said, it can also be seen as cold, passive, which is why it’s used to depict sadness.
This page ranks the 10 best blue costumes worn by women in period movies. Blue costumes from fantasy/sci-fi movies and modern movies have their own unique lists. Teal Movie costume will get their own unique posts.
Articles of clothing, like undergarments, cover-ups, sleepwear, outerwear, swimwear etc are not included.
The costumes are ranked by aesthetics, memorability and how it suits the character/film. There is an honorable mention that that fits into all three categories. It’s so special, in fact, that it gets its own place of distinction.
List Subject to Change.
This is revised from my Hubpage article of the same name.
10. Maria from The Sound of Music (1965)
Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
Maria (Julie Andrews) wears this darling yet diaphanous dress twice in The Sound of Music. She wears during Edelweiss scene and during the gazebo scene. The soft romantic design of the dress conveys Maria’s feeling of love for the captain.
The dress itself is light blue with a flower pattern. The wide flutter sleeves complement the aline skirt and wide waist band. There is also smocking at the neckline and at the waist for a subtle soft design touch.
It’s a pretty dress that is meant to reflect the moonlight of the gazebo scene.
9. Paro from Devdas (2002)
Designers: Abu Jani, Sandeep Khosla, Neeta Lulla and Reza Shariffi
Based on the novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhy, Devdas is a tragic story of two childhood sweethearts who through bad decisions and their families are forced apart. The 2002 Bollywood adaptation of the story sees this intimate story as a big opulent film that is an extravagant experience.
The costumes of this version do not disappoint. Paro (Aishwarya Rai) is the childhood sweetheart of Devdas. While he does wish to marry her, he can’t go against his family’s wishes as she is a different social class. To spite Devdas’ family for their rejection of her daughter, Paro’s mother arranges for Paro to marry an aristocratic widower.
After the wedding, Paro wears a gorgeous blue sari when she goes to her new husband. This Sari is a Banarasi or a trousseau. During this scene she is told that while she is the lady of the house and the mother of his children the marriage is in name only as he is not over his first wife and presumably ever. Though this might have given Paro some solace as she is literally burning a lamp for her own love.
It’s rather a bitter scene as she has given up her love only to get no hope of love in her new life. The blue color of her costume represents Krishna who is likened to Devdas in the film but it is also a color of love.
The sari is in rich cobalt blue with a multicolor border embroidered trim. The long sleeves on the blouse have the same embroidery. The sari also has a gold star pattern print. She looks the part of an aristocratic lady who is wearing elegant attire though there is little joy in her new circumstances.
8. Elizabeth from The Sissi Trilogy (1955–57)
Designers: Leo Bei, Gerdago, and Franz Szivats
The first movie of the iconic Sissi Trilogy sees the young Princess Elizabeth (Romy Schneider) meeting Franz the Austrian Emperor. He is very smitten with the sixteen year old Sissi. He is supposed to marry her sister but nothing will deter him even his overbearing mother from marrying the one he loves.
The first movie culminates at a ball for the Emperor’s birthday where he asks her to marry him, she refuses and his mother is aghast. Sissi wears the very picture of a frothy romantic princess-like gown. It’s a bright light blue ball gown made with a large crinoline petticoat. The bodice is off-shoulder with a slight dip in the neckline with tiny puffed sleeves. On the sleeves, bodice and on the skirt is a beaded flower pattern in pink, green and silver.
The skirt has rows of sheer ruffles adding to the delicate and youthful look of the gown. She only wears a silver headpiece in her hair also marking her youthful and less sophisticated as the other noble ladies.
7. Lygia from Quo Vadis (1951)
Designer: Herschel McCoy
Quo Vadis is an epic MGM technicolor sword and sandals movie from 1951 that rivaled the biggest movies of the era. The movie had 32,000 costumes used in the production which was a record.
Very simply the film is about the prosecution of Christians in ancient Rome. Deborah Kerr plays Lygia, a devout Christian woman who marries a Roman commander. Of course, this is the early ’50s take on Ancient Rome, so the point of reference skews towards 1950s aesthetic and not the period of the film.
The costumes in this movie are very bright and sometimes gilded. For her wedding outfit Lygia wears a royal blue stola with gold elements. The neckline is softly draped and is v-shaped. The sleeves are short and split with a drape at the back that forms a cape.
6. Allie from The Notebook (2004)
There are fewer romance movies more beloved and iconic than The Notebook. Based on the book of the same name, the movie follow a pair of lover spaning decades. After prolog period of separate, in part due her mother keeping letters from her, Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah rekindled their romance in the now iconic rain kiss scene.
As it stand an iconic scene needs an iconic look and while Allie’s looks is unassuming it’s still suits the scene. Her iconic blue dress. Her very stylish blue bright light button down dress is vert pretty and charming. It made even prettier with the floral lining at the sleeves which match the neckline as well as the buttons.
5. Danielle from Ever After (1998)
esigner: Jenny Beavan
The Cinderella fairy tale is retold over and over again. It’s a classic story that is well suited to different takes and settings. One of the more beloved iterations is the semi-historical reimagining from 1998, Ever After.
The Cinderella character is Danielle (Drew Barrymore) an idealist, book enthusiast who in addition to being hardworking, caring, pretty, athletic and has a great-throwing arm is very strong-willed and just wants to be loved.
Unlike previous versions of the story, Danielle gets to know her Prince, Henry, over time and bonds with him over books chiefly Thomas More’s Utopia. In one part of the movie Henry takes her to a library at a monastery. On their way home from the outing the two share their first kiss after she rescues him.
The gown she wears to the library is a lovely light blue jacquard gown. The fabric has a floral pattern that looks silvery. The cut of the gown is high-waisted and the bodice has a gathered inserted under-panel at the center with thin blue ribbon ties as closures.
The sleeves are detached and the upper part is doubled puffed with the forearm being a tighter fit with a gather. There is a gold trim on the sleeves and bodice with braided trim at the waistline made with the same fabric as the gown. Her chemise can be seen at the shoulders and at the neckline.
The skirt is long and a slight train that pools in the back. She also wears a double strand headpiece that goes over her forehead with a light blue teardrop shaped bead at the center.
Originally this gown was designed to be Danielle’s ball gown but the production decided to go in a different direction with the ball gown. Ultimately the “Breathe gown” was designed and this gown was used for Danielle and Henry’s library date.
4. Mei from House of Flying Daggers (2004)
Designer: Emi Wada
House of Flying Daggers is a wuxia romance. Wuxia means “martial heroes,” which can combine period drama with martial artistry and memorizing stunt work.
Set in 859 AD, House of Flying Daggers is about a rebel group who battle a corrupt government. Two police officers are tasked with killing the leader of the group but no one knows who that is. One of the officers is assigned to arrest the suspected daughter of the rebel leader, a blind dancer named Mei (Ziyi Zhang.)
When Mei is first introduced she is brought before the officer who is prosing as patron. He questions her about her blindness, her name and her dancing. Her costume in this scene traditional Chinese long sleeve dance costume. The super long sleeves are used like ribbons while she dances. The costume is two tones of blue. The main fabric has a scroll-like floral weave. The bodice is white with a gold flower on it. The trim has a painterly quality to it. The underdress also has a lovely ombre dye that goes from dark blue to white at the hem. She also wears turquoise earrings, necklace, gold crown with dangles,
It’s stunningly beautiful and looks amazing as she dances.
3. Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil from Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Designer: James Acheson
Based on the book of the same name, 1988 Dangerous Liaisons follows the cruel idle rich of the French aristocracy who delight in the ruin of others, However since they are members of the upper echelons of French society they do have gorgeous costumes.
The costumes of this version are done in the 1760 style rather than the 1780s as that is the iconic 18th century look.
During a concert, Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) wears a stunning gown that was clearly inspired by François Boucher’s 1756 painting of Madame de Pompadour. The movie costume is in a dark blue color with a high sheen. The dark color is wonderfully contrasted with the bright pink fabric flowers of the trim and the bows on the stomacher as well as the sleeves.
2. Marie Antoinette from Marie Antoinette (2006)
Designer: Milena Canonero
The Rococo period of the 18th century is often considered to be one of the loveliest in western fashion history. The 2006 movie of Marie Antoinette took the essence of this period and stylized it with bright candy colors that made the film look more like a fashion editorial spread than a mirror of the period.
In the scene prior to this costume, the young Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) is stripped and given her French wardrobe. This pale blue outfit of her’s is worn very early in the film when she arrives in Versailles. The blue color is symbolic of not only royalty but of France.
The outfit is a Caraco with a skirt. A Caraco is a jacket bodice with a fitted back and is made from silk. The costume has sheer white pleated trim along the neckline, cuffs and hem. Matching fabric covered buttons go down the center front of the bodice. She wears a bow necklace with a tricorn hat that matches the look. She looks youthful, regal and slightly out of her depth in her new country.
1. Rose DeWitt Bukater from Titanic (1997)
Designer: Deborah L. Scott
The idea of the fashions for Rose in Titanic is that they are in vogue as she just spent time in Europe, presumably Paris, so she is the picture of a stylish society young lady. However Rose is not satisfied with her life and her costumes reflect this narrative.
Rose (Kate Winslet) starts off wearing very fashionable clothes that suit societal expectations of what a young woman in her position should wear. They are more angular and restrictive; however as she falls in love with Jack her clothes soften and her hair comes down.
The day of the sinking Rose wears a blue outfit that is very soft and uses softer fabrics. She wears this costume during a few key scenes, mainly learning that there are not enough lifeboats for all the passengers, Jack confronting her about being trapped and when she and Jack kiss on the bow of the ship at sunset.
This costume is often referred to as The Flying Dress because of the bow scene. It is one of her more casual outfits in the film. The color of the majority of the costume is a deep lapis blue. The fabric of the jacket is velvet. There are satin panels with a floral motif, the wide waistband is also made from satin as well as the lapel collar. The jacket has some tassel details at the hem. Her bodice is made from a white antique lace inset.
The skirt is made from satin and has lovely asymmetrical draping and a floral pattern at the hem. She styles this look with white gloves with flower embroidery, a green burnout velvet shawl, a simple necklace, pearl earrings and her dragonfly hair comb which was seen earlier in the film when it was recovered from the wreckage of the ship.
Honorable Mention: Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Dsigner: Gilbert Adrian
The Wizard of Oz has no specific time setting. It could the 1930s or the turn of the 20th century. There’s no clear answer and that vagueness actually adds a sense of timelessness to the early, sepia-toned scenes before Dorothy (Judy Garland) lands in Oz.
Thus, Dorothy’s blue gingham jumper more or less fits all three of the movie categories: it’s super iconic and her ruby slippers add a great pop of contrasting bright color.
