In terms of the jewelry inspiration, Myers says she simply thought of what Morticia would love. “They were slightly brutal,” she says, “and I think it was actually before all that sort of brutal goth jewelry took off…in those goth shops in the East Village and places like that.” Wednesday’s earrings were in the shape of skulls. Though it’s hard to make out the shape of Wednesday’s silver stud earrings, Myers recalls that they were skulls. Just like with Morticia’s jewelry, she says, they felt ahead of their time. Morticia’s hooded cloak was modeled after royalty. You read that correctly—Myers designed over 20 dresses for Anjelica Huston’s Morticia. That’s because she viewed the family as high class. Morticia’s 20+ dresses were inspired by the idea that the Addams were their own kind of aristocracy. Described by the Telegraph as the most iconic American family after the Kennedys, The Addams Family is a household name even across the Atlantic. Published from 1938 to 1988 in The New Yorker newspaper, Charles Addams's sinister comics evoked the satirical antithesis of the ideal American family. The strange mansion, dismal dinners, deadly pranks… The Addams Family is portrayed as a rich and bizarre aristocratic clan who revels in the macabre and doesn't seem to care about what others think. Among the members of this reclusive tribe stands out: Morticia Addams. Passionate wife, hostess, mother of two boys to whom she leaves everything to do… she has become a role-model to women all over the world, thanks to her confidence and glamorous allure. Morticia Addams makes the gothic style sexy and is revered as an object of absolute desire. In both film and television, she has been regarded by many actresses as having quite a legendary charm. Carolyn Jones

Carolyn Jones Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Anjelica Huston In the film, Morticia wears three rings—a simple silver wedding band, a gothic cross, and a green stone—along with drop earrings featuring a metal hand at the bottom. “We made all those too,” Myers says. “They were made by a lovely woman who used to work in cooperation with Western Costume. They were all made to my design.” In terms of movement, Myers wanted Morticia to look as though she swept forward, like an otherworldly being. This wasn’t too hard to achieve—Huston was so stiff in the corset that gliding was all she could do. On the last day of shooting, Huston ceremonially burned her wig and corset, Myers remembers. Morticia’s gothic jewelry was custom-made. I took all the fake stuff, made a pile, and set it on fire’ … Huston in The Addams Family with Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman. Photograph: Allstar/ParamountTo get the silhouette that was so necessary, she could not walk,” Myers says. “She was completely in a constructed body—the hips were padded, the waist was cinched in, the bust was pulled up. It was brutal, but what came out of it was iconic. And she never complained once.” Barry Sonnenfeld, Scott Rudin and I met for lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel. They said: “We’d really like you to play Morticia Addams.” I said: “If you don’t mind me asking, why not Cher?” I don’t know what possessed me to suggest another actress, but they said: “No, we’d like you to do it.” I had very much enjoyed working with Nicolas Roeg on The Witches a year earlier , even though it was difficult in terms of hair and makeup, and I didn’t feel like I needed to make another family-friendly film. But I’ve always had a bit of a dark side when it comes to movie choices – I make my decisions individually rather than because I think that’s the way my career should be going.