I was pretty surprised to see Marlene's bare legs as she descended the stairs to find out who was coming up the back stairs to entertain the Empress. Considering all of the yards of fabric in the dresses and fur wraps and such, wouldn't having bare legs beneath those big skirts be a bit chilly? So, I wonder, was that a costuming mistake? I would expect to see gartered stockings at the very least.
shareUndergarments (such as 'drawers') are a fairly recent invention, so I suppose we're lucky she had some kind of covering under the skirt! As for stockings, I've seen pictures of silk stockings with rolled down tops, held up under or over the knee with tight garters, not attached from a belt at the waist. Notice the sort of tutu (stiff and sometimes made of horsehair), to provide the padding underneath the skirt, and the hoop cage the skirt would fall over? Agree - it must have been cold! But maybe the floor length skirt provided some insulation.
shareI liked the scene in which she was getting dressed, and she was wearing the black undergarments with the stiff black hoop skirt petticoat - like a tutu with vertical ribbons dropping to her ankles. She had great legs! She is wearing black form-fitting panties which would have been an anachronism, as you say. I think black undergarments were probably not accurate either, but cinemagraphically it looks great, and her white limbs against the black is a lovely contrast. I thought it was a striking image in a movie with so many striking images.
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