Mary Kate's Courting Dress

If you have never watched "The Quiet Man" movie or read anything about the story, you might be able to find in on YouTube or other programs online.  I have seen several sewing weblogs with clothes from famous movies, and I have been looking at Mary Kate Danaher's dress, shown here.  None of the costumes in the picture were green, except this one, and I have been trying to find inexpensive fabric in this color.

 The dress is on display in a collection somewhere, and I did see a video of someone showing the dress, but alas, the white bow was missing from the loop on the original dress. It is simply a rectangle of fabric surrounded in lace, inserted in a loop under the collar.

The above picture shows the side view of the white cuff on the sleeve, but I cannot see the details enough to immitate it so my cuff will be different. Possibly the sleeve cuff is the same as the collar in that a piece is inserted into a loop to make a bow.

  I had to notice in the movie she rode this bike in that dress!  But even in All Creatures Great and Small,  James' wife, Helen rode her bike wearing a skirt.

I hung on to this old pattern from 1987 and noticed that view C has the same kind of collar.  I originally made this dress in a beautiful pastel floral with a white background featuring lavender hydrangeas and pink roses.  I wore it out but I wish I had saved it anyway.

This is what I am planning on making it with, and if it turns out well I will put a picture of it here.  If the material that matches the original dress gets lower in price I will make another one, but from a distance this will probably look a lot like the one made for Maureen O'Hara in this movie.  This style was seen a lot in the 1980s, so watching The Quiet Man reminded me of many of the 1980s patterns. The "Shepherdess" styles were featured in a lot of books and sewing magazines.

Below, from Joann fabrics online, a similar color to the original dress. Even with enlarging the photographs, it was impossible to figure out the print from the movie dress.

Below, it is claimed that this the original dress, but it does not look like it. Where are the white buttons and why is it not more shaped?

Another possible fabric:

A placid scene. The courting dress was the only one in the film I had a pattern for.  The other costumes were not as interesting but I did enjoy the shawls and  aprons, as well as the bonnets, and, of course, I really liked the way the men were dressed. 

Below, a Keepsake Calico from Joanne Fabrics, described as green with silver stamp tile. This matches the dress the best.

This photo shows the print better.

I am interested in the hat, too.  I can get a cheap one and put fabric on it.

Below: another pattern in consideration for the courting dress.