Everyone’s been buzzing about the jaw-droppingly gorgeous  gowns in "Marie Antoinette" designed by Oscar-winning costume designer Milena Canonero (“Chariots of Fire, “Barry Lyndon”). And with good reason.

But for weeks, I’ve been trying to find out more about the pink Converse tennis shoes seen for a split second in a shot of a batch of French period shoes lined up in Marie A’s closet.

I kept my eyes peeled at an early screening and sure enough, there was a pair of pink Converse sneakers hiding among Manolo Blahnick’s  stylized reproductions of 18th century French footwear. Then I saw a photo in W magzine of Kirsten Dunst wearing pink Converse sneaks under her "Marie" costume on the set.

But repeated calls (I was officially pestering) to a publicist kept drawing a big fat blank.  “I've asked but the studio keeps saying the shoes aren’t in there,” my source kept insisting.

But they are there. Or they were there. At a Q&A earlier this week, someone asked director Sofia Coppola about the pink tennis shoes and she explained that it was her brother Roman, her second AD on the film, who put them in the shot.

So why won’t anyone at the studio talk about it? Will the tennis shoes be cut out? No! Say it isn't so!

My theory is that if the studio IDs the shoes as Converse it may cause a product placement issue. Maybe it would ruffle Blahnick Co's fur, who may been told they would receive sole shoe credits for their work with Canonero to create what looks like period 18th century footwear.

Whatever. I love the pink Converse tennis shoes hiding in Marie's closet. And I couldn't have been happier to hear just now that the shoes are still in the film, which premieres next Tuesday in LA.

The modern pink footwear creates a funny, girly, rebellious moment in a frothy film about a young girl who just wants to flirt, shop and party in 18th century France. And the sneaks also work with the film’s punky pink ads and the pink-themed court parties, pink champagne, pink wigs, and pink pastries.

More importantly, the shoes are also an bright pink emblem of Sofia's creative and independent spirit. You go, girl.

Long live the pink Converse tennis shoes!

Photo Credits: Kirsten Dunst stayed comfortable wearing pink Converse tennis shoes under her royal gowns. You never see them on but there is a funny shot of the tennis shoes that remains in the film.
Leigh Johnson/courtesy of Sony