Anne Shirley's Most Adorable Outfits in "Anne of Green Gables"

Though at the beginning of her story, Anne Shirley is a penniless orphan reliant on charity even for the clothes on her back, as she grows up at Green Gables, she develops a romantic fashion sensibility of her own and becomes one of the most stylish girls in Avonlea. Martha Mann was the costume designer for Kevin Sullivan's wonderful Anne of Green Gables adaptation (as well as the first sequel, Anne of Avonlea a.k.a. Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel) and she did a fantastic job recreating beautiful period clothes for the films. Anne, played by Megan Follows, in particular wears some lovely ensembles throughout the films. Here are Anne's 14 most adorable outfits:

 At the Sunday school picnic, Anne's first social outing in Avonlea, she wears one of the first dresses Marilla sews for her and it reflects Marilla's conservative, practical tastes. Anne would like puffed sleeves, but instead gets this rather somber, fitted dark blue dress. With it, she wears a straw hat with blue ribbon trim and black stockings. In contrast, Diana Barry (Schuyler Grant) wears a much more fashionable pink dress, with casually puffed sleeves and a sailor collar, white stockings, and a hat modishly trimmed with flowers.

When Anne invites Diana to tea, once again the difference in their social status is highlighted in their clothes. Anne wears a grey house dress with subtle wide red checkers. It is also quite modest, though unlike the blue dress she wears to the picnic, it has a few design details, such as the subtle capped oversleeve, that make it a prettier, more feminine dress. Diana, in contrast, wears an elegant blue and white ensemble, with impeccably white gloves.

Anne's mourning ensemble consists of a classically simple black two-piece suit with a full but not overly ample skirt and a tightly buttoned jacket with moderately puffed leg-o'-mutton sleeves and a grey blouse with a ruffle around the neck. Anne also wears an unadorned black hat.

After Matthew's funeral, Anne and Marilla would have worn mourning for a significant period, between six months and a year. Thus, Anne continues to wear the same clothes she wore at the funeral service, though for taking a walk with Gilbert (Jonathan Crombie) she forgoes the jacket. The grey blouse is loosely fitted, unlike many of her white and pastel-colored blouses.

Anne, Diana, and their friends Jane (Trish Nettleton) and Ruby (Jennifer Inch) recreate Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott" in this scene. Anne's white dress, with a sailor style collar, is made suitably modest with a white high-necked vest worn under the dress and features Anne's favorite puffed sleeves. All four girls are wearing light, girlish colors and white stockings for summer, but they are well covered to the neck and all wear full-length sleeves.

 Anne is wearing a pretty pink patterned house dress under one of her more elaborately lacy aprons while washing dishes. She wears this dress frequently throughout the film, but almost always with aprons and pinafores. This dress has an unusual collar, in the same material, which crosses over and is fastened with two buttons.

Anne wears a white, high-necked blouse with a blue and grey plaid skirt, hemmed below the knee, and a hand-knitted blue cardigan (most likely her own or Marilla's creation). Though quite modest by modern standards, this would still be an attractive winter ensemble for a pre-teen girl. Notice that Marilla (Colleen Dewhurst) is engaged in studding oranges with cloves - an old-fashioned and wonderful-smelling Christmas decoration. The oranges can be hung on ribbons.

Having just taken her entrance exam at Queens College, Anne thanks her inspirational teacher Miss Stacey (Marilyn Lightstone). She wears a blue and beige two-piece ensemble, consisting of a full skirt hemmed below the knee and a rather dashingly cut vest. Her white blouse has a high, almost boyish collar and tastefully full sleeves gathered at the cuff. She wears a cameo brooch at the throat and a slightly the-worse-for-wear straw, upturned at the back and trimmed with a dark ribbon.

Here, Anne, come to apologize to Diana's draconian Great Aunt Josephine, again wears her blue and beige two-piece suit, this time with a pretty white blouse with a pink floral pattern and a dramatic poet collar. Underneath this blouse, she wears a ruffled, lacy vest, though with other ensembles she wears the blouse with the throat exposed.

Anne and Diana are driving to Charlottetown for Anne's exams when Anne wears this stylish grey plaid cloak with a Puritan collar. Her hat is elegantly fitted over her hair and trimmed with a high feather (perhaps a pheasant feather?). This is the first time in the film that Anne's fashion sense begins to overrule Marilla's practicality in dress, though underneath she's wearing the grey house dress from above.

Anne had always coveted a dress with puffed sleeves, so in honor of her first ball, Matthew buys her this elegant, though still becomingly modest, dress. While in the book, the dress is described as brown, the costume designer for the film chose to give Anne this elegant blue dress, with stylishly puffed sleeves, a wide and lace-trimmed Peter Pan collar, a wide sash tied in a bow, and lace at the cuffs and throat. As Anne is only fifteen, she wears her hair brushed and loosely held back with a matching blue bow and her dress is hemmed at the ankle.

One of Anne's most attractive and modish ensembles is this pink and white plaid suit, which she wears when Gilbert drives her home (after some persuading). The skirt is full and falls to the ground, while the jacket has leg-o'-mutton sleeves and a shawl collar, which falls open to reveal a lovely white lace blouse. Anne's straw hat is trimmed with pink, green, and white ribbons and a wisp of veiling. She wears white, heeled high boots.

Anne has just won the Avery Scholarship at Queens College and is overcome with surprise. She is wearing the skirt and blouse as above, with the cameo brooch. Though she is out in public, the warm weather and casually convivial atmosphere of the college make a jacket unnecessary, though the hat, of course, is required.

Anne's loveliest and most elegant ensemble is made especially for her public recitation of "The Highwayman" at the White Sands Hotel. White was the favored color for an unmarried woman's formal wear at the time and thus the most appropriate choice for Anne. The gown is simply cut, but material is lavished on the ruffled hem, collar, and sleeves, which are the very puffiest of balloon sleeves. Anne wears full-length white opera gloves, a pinkish lilac sash, and a triple string of pearls (given to her by Matthew). Her hair is in a simple chignon, but it has been tightly and fashionably curled.