Donna's Blue Sweater

April 11, 2020

Donna's Blue Sweater

This post was updated as of 3/28/23.

In season two, episodes eight, fourteen, and twenty-four, Donna wears a vibrant blue angora sweater. I believe this sweater, like Audrey's tree sweater, may have been made by Darlene Knitwear, inc. (More on Audrey's sweater here.)

Donna Hayward blue sweater, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks blue sweater

I was fortunate enough to find a sweater very similar to Donna's on Etsy. The piece is labeled Angelon by Darlene and was more than likely made in the mid-1950s or early '60s.

In my time searching, I have predominantly found variations of this sweater shorter in the sleeves and waist than the one Lara Flynn Boyle wears in the series. Larger sizes are difficult to find in vintage clothing. My sweater is a vintage size 36. I believe Lara Flynn may wear the same sweater though in a larger size, though it is possible that another brand copied the style. Hopeless Nostalgic Vintage recently sold a slightly longer version of the Darlene sweater. It is a size 38, giving cause for it to have additional length. The sweater Lara Flynn wears appears loose on her frame. The first time we see her wear the sweater, Donna pairs it with a thick black belt. When Donna and Maddy are in the RR Diner, Donna's sleeves are rolled - such would be unnecessary in the particular style of Darlene sweater we most commonly see online. I am nearly 5'8, and the sweater ends just below my ribs. Lara Flynn is reportedly 5'6. The difference in our heights would not be that great.

Photo source.

Donna's belt.

The knot collar is adjustable. Sometimes the neckline looks close to Lara Flynn's neck, and other times it gapes. (Examples below.)

Note how the collar in the image below appears different than the image of the same sweater that follows.

The tie at the collar can easily slip under the fold of the collar.

The 2001 Artisan DVD release of Twin Peaks season one contains commentary from Duwayne Dunham that may help explain why some items may appear darker in the series than in reality.

"Obviously, we have the pilot to work from. That's our blueprint. A style was set. A tone was set. It was the responsibility of myself and the directors on the series to stay in line with that as much as possible. And I think, you know, the pilot was to me like liquid film that had such an easy feeling to it. If you ever saw the film print, it's gorgeous. It really is a pretty movie. And it's the red. It's the use of the coral filter. Then in the timing of the picture, we tweaked it. We purposefully kept it overly warm. I think the idea was - and you look even in the set - everything is warm. The outside is so sort of dark misty, snowy, rainy, and inside, it's warm. (...) You know the cinematography of Twin Peaks is purposefully that with filters and then graded toward the red that you see in this scene. Every scene in the movie. Every scene in the pilot is timed this way purposefully. (...) I think that one of the experiences we had in the timing of the picture is the color timers would always say to us, "You know, if it was me and I was watching this at home, I'd just walk up to the red knob and I would turn the red out of it and it could look OK. I would think, "If I see this coming out of my TV, looking like there's something wrong with it - wrong with my TV - and I'll just tune it out." It was a real problem. The color was real important in the movie, and David actually went so far as to send a representative to the network when they made their transfer to make sure that guy didn't turn that little knob and get the colors a little bit more realistic than what we chose for the show which is this red, warm look."

The sweater n this costume continuity Polaroid, appears lighter in color. (Below.)