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Which Royal Wedding Was The Inspiration Behind Rachel McAdams' Gown In The Notebook? Costume Designer Reveals
Which royal wedding was the ideal behind the American actress and Mean Girls movie star Rachel McAdams’s gown in the classic cult movie Notebook? Here’s what the customer designer reveals.
The Notebook is a classic hit of all time. The movie, based on Nicholas Sparks' novel, was released on June 25, 2004. It tells the story of Allie and Noah, who weren't meant to fall in love but did, and against all odds, build a life together.
The story spans a lifetime, showing two generations of Allie and Noah. In flashbacks set in 1940, Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling play the younger versions.
Costume designer Karyn Wagner created numerous costumes for the film, covering several decades, and made almost everything from scratch.
Grace Kelly inspires The Notebook wedding dress design
"I made about 90% of the costumes for The Notebook to enhance storytelling," Wagner tells PEOPLE. "I might have rented or bought vintage swimsuits, but I prefer to build everything to give visual cues through clothes."
One of the looks Wagner created was Allie's wedding dress for her planned marriage to Lon (James Marsden), not Noah. The wedding was meant to be a grand event, needing a dress to match.
Fashion Designer, Karyn Wagner wanted to reference Princess Grace's wedding in Allie's dress. She believes that costume designers have a covenant with the audience, using recognizable shapes to convey character context. Grace Kelly's wedding photos are iconic, and her stunning dress served as inspiration for Allie's gown.
The result was a beautiful white dress with lace on the bodice, a delicate lace overlay around the neckline, long lace sleeves, and a massive veil, inspired by Kelly's. Wagner used the extensive lace and large veil to reference the family's wealth, reminiscent of sumptuary laws during World War II, where only the wealthy could afford such extravagant details.
Wagner wanted the dress to be uncomfortable for McAdams and Allie because it was while wearing it that Allie realized Noah was still in her heart.
Wagner designs The Notebook dress with hopeful simplicity
Wagner aimed for a sophisticated yet simple dress, blending her past and future aspirations. The blue symbolized hope for what lay ahead.
"I kept the adornment very simple because I wanted Noah to see past the dress," she explains. "I wanted him to connect with Allie while she wore it—hopeful, simple, a throwback to when they fell in love."
She also acknowledges that the dress simply looked great on McAdams, which is the ultimate goal for a costume designer.
"I sometimes forget to mention this because it seems so obvious, but the color really suited Rachel," she says. "It complemented her blonde hair, complexion, and figure perfectly. It's satisfying to know I got it right with this dress."
The dress inspiration ideally began with British painter J. M. W. Turner. Wagner was inspired by a painting that blended the blue of the Thames with surrounding greenery, creating the color scheme she envisioned for Allie's beautiful dress and its setting.
ALSO READ: Rachel McAdams And Jamie Linden's Relationship Timeline: Inside The Couple's Romance Over The Years
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