Vivien Leigh - Leigh's Iconic Gone With The Wind Dresses In Tatters

Bosses at an American archive are attempting to raise $30,000 (£20,000) to restore five dresses worn by VIVIEN LEIGH in classic 1939 movie GONE WITH THE WIND.

Organisers at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin want to put on a special exhibit to mark the Oscar-winning film's 75th anniversary in 2014 - but they cannot display the tattered gowns, worn by Leigh while she portrayed heroine Scarlett O'Hara, because they are too fragile.

The costumes, which include O'Hara's wedding dress, blue velvet night gown and her green curtain dress, have been left ravaged after being loaned to different theatres and museums for decades.

Jill Morena, collection assistant for costumes and personal effects, tells the Associated Press, "There are areas where the fabric has been worn through, fragile seams and other problems. These dresses have been under a lot of stress.

"Film costumes weren't meant to last. They are only meant to last through the duration of filming. You won't find them to be as finished as if you bought something off the rack."

Donations will be used to restore loose seams and repairing structural reinforcement, as well as for custom mannequins.