Wine, Wealth, and Sophistication
Much like brighter shades of red, burgundy and darker shades of red enjoy passionate energy, but because there’s a mix of other colors—like blue or black—darker reds have a timeless sophistication. Burgundy also has connotations of wealth and power.
This ranking is all about costumes that are darker red, but not purple. Colors include burgundy, maroon, crimson, oxblood, claret, carmine, and red-magenta. Think wines, not tomatoes. Bright red costumes have their own rankings.
This ranking only considers costumes from period movies. Burgundy costumes from modern and fantasy/sci-fi movies have their own separate rankings.
Undergarments, cover-ups, sleepwear, outerwear, swimwear etc are not included. The costumes are ranked by aesthetics, memorability and how well it suits the character/film. And subjective options could have some impact on things.
List is subject to change.
10. May from The Age of Innocence (1993)
Designer: Gabriella Pescucci
Based on the book of the same, The Age of Innocence is considered to be Martin Scorsese’s most brutal films by Scorsese’s own admission. The story depicts a period of time that is often romanticized but only through the lens of nostalgia.
The two lead females of the movie are foils for each other as well as cousins. May (Winona Ryder) is the embodiment of the perfect young proper lady of the period she knows every social grace but is ignorant to the way the world outside of polite society even though she does.
May’s costume are very demure and proper throughout the movie. She wears a richly woven burgundy day dress with white lace trim when she informs her grandmother of her engagement. She looks ever the picture of young Victorian young lady.
While the dress is dark and barely seen in the movie it still a lovely dress that reflect May’s astute yet seemingly guileless nature.
9. Isolde from Tristan & Isolde (2006)
Designer: Maurizio Millenotti
Based on the medieval romance that was in turn based on a Celtic legend, the 2006 movie Tristan & Isolde is a gritty, realistic take on the story. The story is about a pair of lovers from Ireland: Tristan (James Franco), a Cornish knight, and Isolde (Sophia Myles). Though they are in love she has to marry the Cornish King.
Set in 5th century Britain after the fall of Rome, the costumes have a more fantasy-like approach since it is hard to research the period for accuracy since there isn’t much recorded history from that period or surviving garments. The costumes do have a medieval, Anglo-Saxon look.
Her coronation costume is a long sleeve burgundy-ruby color dress with a sleeveless fur overcoat with antique silver brooch closures. The fabric of the under-dress has a sheen and is heavily beaded with shiny black beads. It’s a very regal look that looks like a good approximation of what could have been worn in that time and place.
8. Dolly Levi from Hello Dolly (1969)
Costume Designer: Irene Sharaff
Dolly Levi (Barbra Streisand) is a very competent lady about town. She very good at managing people and getting stuff done. All this is laid out in the opening musical number “Just Leave Everything To Me.”
For this opening number which introduces us to the titular Dolly, Dolly wears a gorgeous burgundy outfit. Burgundy fabric make up the jacket and skirt. Both are is trimmed in lavish gold lace which matched the blouse. Her skirt is shades of burgundy fabric with paisley designs.
It looks rather bohemian but also very refined.
7. Jo March from Little Women (1994)
Designer: Colleen Atwood
There are many adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, Little Women, and after the 2019 version came out it seemed like the version you preferred was an indicator of your personality. And while much was said about the 2019 costume choices, the 1994 version had more of an understanding and appreciation for period costuming and the March family.
The March girls’ costumes are all very suited for the setting and the family’s social standing. The costumes are in style but not over done and have humbleness while considering the girls’ personalities and connections. Jo (Winona Ryder) and Meg attend a New Year’s party where Jo meets Laurie and the two bond.
Her dress to this party is a striped cranberry color. The stripes run vertical and are muted orange and green. The neckline is a soft rounded scoop with a white lace trim. The sleeves of the dress are about three-quarter with lace soft ruffle cuffs that are most likely from an under-layer.
The skirt has some tiers and is not super full as it doesn’t have a crinoline but there is some petticoat underneath, which speaks to the March’s financial status, the March’s values and Jo’s less formal personality.
Her jewelry is simple as she wears a gold pendant on a black satin ribbon which was fashionable yet understated.
Later in the film Beth wears this dress showing the hand-me-down dynamic of families. And we see this dynamic again when Amy wears Meg blue dress.
6. Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair (2004)
Designer: Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
Based on the book of the same name, the 2004 version of Vanity Fair blends the Regency period with the opulence of Bollywood aesthetics. Becky (Reese Witherspoon) is an ambitious social climber who uses her charm to seduce upper-class men. However she does secretly marry but that leads to her husband’s disinheritance.
At a ball in 1815, Becky wears a deep ruby gown. It has the silhouette of a regency gown with its empire waistline and train descending from the waist but it is much more ornate in its details than would have been standard the period. The bodice and front panel of the over-skirt have a fringe beaded application that is very eye-catching. The beaded detail also makes up a standing collar at the back.
The short sleeves have a pointed hemline which repeat the jaggedness of the fringe. These harsh yet pretty details reflect Becky’s maiden name of Sharp. She wears some knotted silver jewelry, darker red fingerless gloves and a rather impressive early 19th century hairstyle.
5. Hypatia from Agora (2009)
Designer: Gabriella Pescucci
Agora is set in the 4th century in Alexandria, Egypt and is a depiction of Hypatia of Alexandria (Rachel Weisz) who was Greek philosopher and mathematician. In many scenes of the movie as well in the film’s promotion Hypatia wears a muted burgundy tunic with different stolas. The tunic is most likely made from linen. It is pleated with some inserted trim along the neckline and the waistline.
During a scene when she conducts an experiment on a boat she wears this tunic with a muted maroon wool stola that has subtle yet lovely floral embroidery. The costumes of this movie look more in line with what would have been worn at this point in time with the fabric and color choices and yet they are still very pretty.
4. Anna Karenina from Anna Karenina (2012)
Designer: Jacqueline Durran
Much can be said about the creative liberties and the highly styled approach to the narrative of the 2012 version of Anna Karenina but it is memorable. In all fairness the costumes are more akin to the 1950s with some flourishes of the Late Victorian period rather than the 1870s. Love or hate them, the approach definitely makes the costumes of this version instantly recognizable.
The most iconic look of the film as it was heavily used in the film’s promotion was Anna’s (Keira Knightley) dark red, jammy-carmine gown. She wears this gown when she is at a party and makes a spectacle of herself flirting with her lover, basically wearing her mental status for all to witness.
This is the opposite of her earlier scene when she wears black to a ball positioning her as a mature lady whose role is chaperon and not to stand out from the marriageable ladies. This costume looks like it is made from two-pieces, the bodice and the skirt looks like they are made from silk. Two piece outfits were the norm during the depicted period.
The look has a lot of asymmetrical details which again speaks to her mental state. The neckline is off-the-shoulder and a little askew in the placement of the shoulder straps. The bodice has asymmetrical pleated drapes that are on an angle. This juxtaposed against the bustle poking out at the side of the hips.
The back of the bustle is asymmetrical. The skirt is more of an a-line which is somewhere between the fitted skirts of the 1870s and the fuller skirts of the 1950s. The jewelry however is more 1950s with the strands of pearls with complementary earrings and striking red feather headpiece.
3. Danielle from Ever After (1998)
Designer: Jenny Beaven
One of the more beloved iterations of the Cinderella story, Ever After takes rags-to-riches story and through a modern sensibility sets the movie in an historical context suggesting that the tale was based on a real person.
The Cinderella-character is Danielle (Drew Barrymore) who though is the daughter of a landowner, becomes a servant to keep her family manor afloat after her father dies. Through her efforts to keep it all together she meets and falls in love with the prince. After the two spend a day together they meet the following day at some very romantic ruins.
To this meeting Danielle wears a gorgeous dark burgundy, wine-colored velvet gown. Unlike some of her other costumes this one is less detailed but that just highlights the beautiful fabric even more. Also like her other looks it has a 15th century Italian sense of style though the movie is set in the early 16th century France.
The neckline is a rounded wide beveled square. The outer-sleeves are detached and double-puffed with a thin gold trim at the top, bottom and in between the puffs. The outer sleeves are elbow length and the white under-layer continues down to the wrist as well as poking through at the shoulders.
The waist is high and has the same thin gold trim as the sleeves. Her only accessory is white hairnet. She looks like she stepped out of painting. This costume has more recently been used on promotional material which is great because you hardly see this costume in the movie.
2. Lucille Sharpe from Crimson Peak (2015)
Designer: Kate Hawley
The ghoulish ghosts are not the chief antagonist in Crimson Peak, but instead the unhinged Lucille (Jessica Chastain). Lucille is every bit the foil to the modern main character, who is warm, wealthy, modern and exudes life and vitality. She is every bit the delicate butterfly to Lucille’s cold, dark, menacing moth.
As the Sharpes are facing poverty keeping up with their ruin of estate, Lucille’s costume reflects her lack as all her costumes favors more of the mid 1870s and early 1880s. It also reflects her clinging to the past.
When Lucille is first introduced to her foil at a party she wears a gown that makes her look not only out of style but out of place with everyone else as well as beautifully sinister. The gown is made from deep crimson taffeta and is very intricately designed which is impressive as the costume was a last minute addition.
The lacing at the back is meant to look like a spine. This meant to invoke starvation and it gives a more severe look. The high necked collar adds to the out-of-place and out-of-time characterization as it resembles an Elizabethan ruff collar with hanging beads.
The bodice has a lot of seaming with a row of gold and red buttons down the center front. There is odd pleating down the sleeves that continues the idea of bones. The skirt is close fitting which is more akin to the 1870s. There is a bustle but the train is more eye-catching. It is made up of layers and the taffeta has been pleated. The whole effect of the train looks like pools of blood.
She wears red fingerless gloves and some red and gold hair ornaments with the look. The gown is stunningly dramatic and grotesque in a beautiful way which fits with her character and the aesthetic of the movie.
1. Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind (1939)
Designer: Water Plunkett
There are many important conversations surrounding Gone with the Wind. It does seem rather disingenuous to discuss the costumes of such a movie that has a lot of discourse surrounding it, however this rank page does focus on costumes but it is important to recognize the past instead of ignoring it. That being said, Gone with the Wind does have many beautiful and memorable costumes that suit the character and the changing Victorian fashion landscape.
Late in the film Scarlett (Vivien Leigh) is the center of much disdain after she is caught in the embrace of a married man who she has been pining for the whole film. She tries to get out going to a birthday party for him later that evening but her husband makes her go. He also picks out a gown that isn’t “modest or matronly.”
Her deep scarlet-garnet velvet colored party gown is brilliant. It is one of the most beloved and memorable costumes in cinema even though she wears it in one quick scene and has two lines of dialogue. However the camera lingers on her in the frame as she brazenly attends a party where she is persona-non-grata.
The idea for this gown was to make Scarlet more like a leading lady from other Clark Gable movies, to make her look like a bombshell. Which is one reason for the color. Another reason was the deep darker red shade looks better in technicolor.
The gown has a close fitting sheath silhouette with a low sweetheart neckline. Matching colored red feathers draped around the shoulder creating an off-shoulder look. The feathers were also used in tufts on the skirt portion and at the back to create a bustle of sorts.
Ruby rhinestones were applied at the bodice and scattered around the skirt as well. She wears a matching dark red chiffon shawl, matching red elbow length gloves, earrings and bracelets to finish off her bold, glamorous, sensual and memorable look.
Honorable Mention: Clotilde de Marelle from Bel Ami (2012)
Designer: Odile Dicks-Mireaux
Based on the 1885 novel by Guy de Maupassant, Bel Ami is about a penniless former soldier who seduces wealthy women to gain a foothold into high society. One of these ladies is Clotilde (Christina Ricci) who while attending a dinner meets the ex-soldier who becomes her lover. At this introductory dinner she wears this lovely burgundy gown.
The over-layer is made from a rich velvet. The neckline is a wide plunging v-neck and is off-the-shoulder. A frothy white under-layer can be seen along the neckline and just under the shoulder straps. The underskirt looks to be made from silk with a satin ribbon that is slightly darker than the skirt but matches the shade of the velvet. The look is one that communicates wealth and just a hint of coquettishness.
