New spot: Elizabeth and James Fringe Tunic Dress | Breaking Dawn

Spotting items that were worn in TV and film isn’t always easy. Actually, it’s often a long, research-intensive process where you spend weeks, months or even years hunting down an item based on the barest of information. This is especially true with Twilight, and for Alice in particular, whose outfits were sometimes barely seen on screen or subject to filters that obscured details and colors. Twelve years later, there are still items from the first Twilight film that elude the community.

But other times, spots come fairly easily – and I’m pleased to say this was one of those times.

Last week, my husband and I were re-watching Breaking Dawn: Part 1. During the scene where Alice and Rosalie are getting Bella ready for her wedding, a black, fringed garment can be seen hanging from a dress form in the background of what is presumably Alice (and Jasper’s) bedroom.

Or maybe it was just a very large closet. 😉

Either way, my husband asked, “Do you have that?” and pointed to the obscure garment in the background.

“No,” I replied, already determined to test my skills. “But I’ll bet I can find it.”

Should I have spent the next several minutes searching black fringe jacket on Poshmark when I was supposed to be watching the movie? Probably not. But less than 10 minutes after accepting my husband’s accidental challenge, I triumphantly showed him a photo from a listing that looked identical to the garment in the background: the Elizabeth and James Sunday fringe jacket.

The jacket listing had all of the identifying characteristics of the garment I could see in the film:

• Unique black-on-black fringe detail
• Long-sleeved
• Boat neckline
• Loose structure, similar to the Michael Kors driving coat

I felt confident in my find, especially because Alice had already worn a skirt by Elizabeth and James earlier in the film, and sent the listings to a few friends to validate my theory. But then, from the depths of the Internet, a new image appeared to challenge my assumptions: a full-length look at the item.

After seeing this photo, one thing became clear: the item couldn’t be a jacket… because it was too long. Or maybe it really was more similar to the Michael Kors driving coat than I’d initially thought? After all, that came in a cropped version, too.

But maybe… just maybe… it was a dress. So, I adjusted my search on Poshmark – and expanded it to eBay – to simply Elizabeth and James fringe so I could catch whatever might come up under that description – dress, tunic, frock, whatever. And, lo and behold, I found it.

The garment seen on the dress form in Alice’s bedroom is the Elizabeth and James Fringe Tunic Dress, a mini-dress that can be worn by itself or with tights and leggings – as you can see, it really is short!

According to the eBay listing I found, this wool and silk dress features the following:

• Boat neckline
• Long sleeves with notched cuff
• Rear zip closure with back keyhole
• Straight fit
• Short length – can be worn as tunic or short dress
• Fringe stripe detail throughout

Based on another photo I saw in a Poshmark listing, this dress also has belt loops hidden within the fringe, allowing the wearer to cinch it at the waist to create a more form-fitting silhouette.

So, less than 30 minutes after being asked “do you have that?” I was able to identify this item I’d previously only viewed as a background prop. It felt good to challenge myself and think outside the box a little bit to expand my knowledge, and maybe add something new to my collection.

Sadly, I’m still waiting for this dress to come up in my size, but there are a surprising number of listings – for both the dress and its jacket counterpart – on re-selling sites right now. If you’re looking for it, the same search I did – Elizabeth and James Fringe – should work nicely, especially if you use filters to manually narrow the search down to dresses.

I hope you enjoyed this look into my process! What do you think of this dress? Do you like it enough to get one yourself, or will you be passing on it since it’s a background item we never see Alice wear?

Let me know your thoughts!

xoxo,
Alice