Sunday 24 March 2013

The Execution Gowns of a Queen

These are the execution gowns of Anne Boleyn as they had been portrayed in "The Tudors", "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "Anne of the Thousand Days".

The Tudors - Dying a Queen:

This dress has a blue colour with grey tones in it. The neckline is decorated with pearls which have been sewn onto a grey, transparent fabric with simple leaves in a darker grey. The end of the wide sleeves are trimmed with dark purple fur and reveals a brighter fabric used as lining. However, the sleeves sticking out from underneath the wide sleeves are soft purple and closely fitted.
The heavy robe that Anne wears on her final walk is trimmed with bright pale fur. The remainder of the robe is of lush blood-red velvet.
The petticoat is grey and matches the fabric used to trim the neckline. It can hardly be seen because of the position of the hands but the bodice is actually decorated. The decoration is a silver embroidery in a small "medallion" pattern.







The Other Boleyn Girl - Discreet Decapitation:

This gown is dark blue but - unlike the other dresses - have no robe with it. Instead "Anne" is wearing a short "cape" of ermine-like fur closed at the neck with a hook. The gown itself is decorated with discreet embroideries of the same dark colour as the dress. It looks as if the embroideries have a silver gleam which is very vaguely reflected when the dress moves.
On the photo to the right the embroidered bodice is darker than the colour of the sleeves and the skirt. The back of the dress is interesting because it does not (like the other dresses) is cut in the same fashion at the neckline at the front. Instead it is closed closer to the hairline than usually.

Anne of the Thousand Days - Simple Sadness:

On the way to the scaffold, Anne is wearing a dark robe - possibly black or dark blue. It closes at the neck with a little collar but no decorations. However, the sleeves of the robe are short to make room for the sleeves of her execution gown. In this way the execution gown's sleeves also becomes a part of the robe - as well as the petticoat which can be seen through the slit that opens when she walks.
The execution gown itself is of the same fabric as the robe. The only decoration to this dress is the design of the sleeves: puffs with a peak to a lighter fabric. The petticoat is grey and the same colour has been used to trim the neckline of the bodice. Otherwise it is a very simple dress, for a sad occasion.

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