Ava Gardner Fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Stunning outfits from a 1950s Fashion Icon
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If you’re a fan of Ava Gardner fashion, then you’ll love her gorgeous 1950s fashion in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951).
Loads of shimmer and form hugging gowns complete her wardrobe as her role as Pandora Reynolds, the wealthy socialite.
From gold evening gowns to swimming in nothing, Ava Gardner wardrobe from Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is not to be missed.
Despite the storyline has some rather obvious flaws, like barely developing the romance between the main characters before they are willing to die for each other, it makes up for it with stunning color, fashion, and sets.
Ava Gardner cemented her role as a 1950s fashion icon with her glamorous wardrobe both on screen and off screen.
This post is all about Ava Gardner Fashion in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
The costume designer for the film was Beatrice Dawson.
Although not as famous as Edith Head, she did have a long, successful career, designing costumes for dozens of movies from the 1940s-1960s.
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman synopsis
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman opens with the bodies of a couple found on a beach, Pandora Reynolds (Ava Gardner) and Hendrick Van der Zee (James Mason.)
The story is then told via a flashback told by a character Stephen Cameron (Nigel Patrick).
Once the flashback starts, the movie stays in the past until the end of the movie, not jumping back and forth between the past and present as is common in film noirs.
Pandora (Ava Gardner) is a spoiled, wealthy socialite used to getting her way, and whichever man she wants.
Hedrick Van der Zee (James Mason) is the legendary flying dutchman— a man who has been cursed to sail the waters for hundreds of years and can come ashore every 7 years to try to find a woman who would love him enough to die for him.
Pandora meets Hendrick and it’s love at first sight.
We barely see any interaction between the two, but by the end of the movie she loves him enough to be willing to die for him to end the curse.
Nonetheless, despite the storyline flaws, Ava Gardner wears some stunning 1950s fashion throughout the movie.
Although the movie is supposed to be set in the 1930s, her clothes (mostly evening gowns) still have a glamorous 1950s fashion feel to them, similar to the clothing she wore in The Barefoot Contessa.
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Ava Gardner Style - Her Glamorous 1950s fashion in The Barefoot Contessa
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Outfit #1
Stephen Cameron begins telling the story, and the first thing we see in the flashback is Ava Gardner’s character Pandora.
Ava Gardner’s character wears a glitzy 1950s style evening gown as she smokes and watches the dancing in a nightclub after dinner with a group of her friends.
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Outfit #2
Same evening, another gorgeous evening gown.
Pandora changes her outfit after returning home from dinner.
She is roasting marshmallows in a gorgeous 1950s evening gown when her friends come over to join her.
The girl on the left, is in love with one of the men (Harold) and is worried that Pandora will turn her attention to him.
She is right, and Pandora has Harold take her out for a drive.
Harold, who likes to race cars in his free time, takes her out in his new race-car that he’s spent the last year building.
Pandora, challenging Harold to see how much he loves her, asks if he will be willing to sacrifice the race car that he spent a year working on for her.
He says he will, and so she has him push it over the cliff and into the water in order to prove his love.
Ava Gardner’s character Pandora wears a green and gold cape over her white evening gown in order to test her suitors love.
She then spots a yacht out in the water and becomes curious about it.
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Outfit #3
Pandora strips down and swims out to the boat, too bad for us that we don’t get to see a 1950s style bathing suit.
When she reaches the boat she wraps herself up in a tarp she finds on deck.
Hendrick (James Mason) is painting, and shows a remarkable lack of surprise at having a naked woman who looks exactly like his wife from his previous life show up on his boat.
He casually tells here where she can find a robe.
The picture that Hendrick is painting is of the greek goddess Pandora, and the painting also happens to have Pandora’s real-life face on it.
Still in a destructive mood, Pandora ruins his painting, before immediately feeling remorse.
Apparently during the filming of Pandora and the flying Dutchman, Ava Gardner did pull out a 1950s style swimsuit in the form of this adorable strapless bikini!
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Outfit #4
The days go by…
Pandora feels bad and lets Harold who is now her fiance get his car out of the ocean. He begins working day and night to fix it in order to have it ready to race.
In the meantime, Pandora seems to be growing more and more attached to Hendrick rather than to her fiance.
Ava Gardner’s character Pandora wears another white gown as she plays the piano in the afternoon.
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Outfit #5
Another evening, another glitzy event.
Ava Gardner’s character wears a tan evening gown with a halter style neck top and some dangly pearl earring as accessories.
Later on in the evening Ava Gardner’s character Pandora loans one of the statues her wrap.
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Outfit #5
Ava Gardner’s character Pandora wears a pink evening gown with a sheer black wrap.
Again, we don’t see much romance develop between her and Hendrick, just a lot of glances over dinner or at the endless round of parties they attend.
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Outfit #6
While watching a bull-fight, Ava Gardner’s character Pandora wears a green dress with a matching green headscarf.
The movie seems to combine multiple love triangles around Pandora, as the bull-fighter is also in love with Pandora, making it three men in love with her: Harold, (sitting here on her left), Hendrick, and now the bullfighter.
Ava Gardner fashion in Pandora and the Flying dutchman - Outfit #7
Pandora’s last outfit before she strips down again to swim out to the yacht is an interesting dress with sharp black edges all over it.
Now she realizes she is desperately in love in Hendrick and is willing to do anything for him.
…and Pandora swims out to the boat again without her clothes. Sadly, no cute 1950s style bikini in the movie.
At least this time she knows where to find the bathrobe.
A wave washes over the boat and the two are drowned.
Thus, Hendrick finally found a woman who loved him enough to die for him and finally broke the curse.
…the audience is still left wondering when/how they fell so deeply in love as we only saw them interacting together a handful of times.
This post was all about Ava Gardner fashion as a 1950s fashion icon in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
What did you think of Ava Gardner’s fashion in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman?
What was your favorite outfit?
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Ava Gardner in The Barefoot Contessa 1954 - Her Glamorous Role and Fashion