dameocracy:

“William Wyler was such a perfectionist. The Heiress, for example, was set in the 1840’s and 1850’s, so we had to deal with two periods. We had crinolines, and we also had hoops, a slightly different silhouette. There were scenes in which Olivia de Havilland got dressed. You saw her in petticoats, corsets, and corset covers. William sent me to a fashion institute in New York, to be sure that every button and button hole was absolutely accurate. If I had to choose a picture that I did where everything was perfect down to the tiniest buttonhole, it would be The Heiress.” — Edith Head.

Edith Head costume sketches for The Heiress, 1949.

(Source: humpthehostess, via hoop-skirts-and-corsets)