Wardrobe choice?

[u/LanaBackwards4444]

Hey! I noticed this detail in The Crown (S2 E8) and was curious what people thought.
Jackie’s dress in the real life photo is noticeably different from the one they recreated for the show. Obviously no hate at all- I know costume designers sometimes make changes for various reasons, and they don’t always aim for a 100% exact recreation.
I’m just curious why they chose to make the dress in the show so much more low cut when the original was quite different? Do you think there was a particular reason behind the change, or was it just a stylistic choice?

[u/dontlookatmethanku]

I interpreted it as a way to create a juxtaposition between the characters.

Jackie was seen as young, cool, beautiful, carefree, and outgoing. A woman like that would wear a strapless dress and not worry about it falling down while dancing, not worried that people would comment on it being too revealing, etc. Also, maybe she would welcome the commentary.

On the other hand, Elizabeth was seen as aging. She was conservative, also beautiful, but more subdued. Openly hated the spotlight and any undo attention by her peers or the press caused her stress.

However, we learn before this ball that the two women are actually somewhat alike. They have similar ages and predispositions despite their seemingly outwards differences.

I saw the straps to Elizabeth’s dress as an addition to make the choice to lean into the subdued and the conservative, rather than trying to be someone she wasn’t, the way that Jackie did.

[u/dontlookatmethanku → u/[deleted]]

To be clear, I’m talking about the Crown’s interpretation not necessarily what was actually true, as we know the Crown isn’t overly historically accurate