Elizabeth Taylor as Velvet Brown in 'National Velvet' Designed by Irene

Red shantung silk short-sleeve child's dress with beige geometric print throughout, trimmed at peter pan collar and front panel at front with beige eyelet lace, two blue bows at front; self fabric belt. Bias label sewn into the garment which reads (ELIZABETH TAYLOR 1315) and MGM cleaning tag.

"The Films of The Forties," Tony Thomas, The Citadel Press, 197, Pg. 131 (Photos).

National Velvet wasn’t Elizabeth Taylor’s first film for MGM, but it was certainly her first major success and one that would catapult her into a career that would often be eclipsed by the drama in her personal life. But, in this film, at age 12, she played the part of a young girl determined to live out her dreams of winning the Grand National Steeplechase. She learned how to ride a horse and after an accident had back problems and addictions to pain killers that would plague her for the rest of her life. Critics and audiences fell in love the young girl who became known as “one shot Liz” because of her ability to do a scene in one take and she was signed to a long time contract with MGM. She would perform through her adolescence, teenage years and adulthood in films produced by the studio and would become considered one of the most beautiful women alive.

Costumer supervisor at MGM, Irene [Gibbons], dressed the young actress in simple English schoolgirl/ farm girl clothes of the 1920 and later in equestrian wear. She would continue designing for film at MGM until 1962, when she threw herself out of a window at the Knickerbocker Hotel. Even more famous than her film costume designs were her extremely successful up-scale tailored clothing lines from her own fashion house.