12 Mistakes Movie Costume Designers Made That Attentive Viewers Just Can’t Ignore

Creating a film is hard work and often requires hundreds of people, so the chances of making a mistake on set are huge. Some of these mistakes end up in the bloopers, but there are some goofs that appear in the film itself and shock viewers. They’re often the result of blunders made by costume designers, especially in historical movies.

We at Now I’ve Seen Everything have watched famous movies and found out that even the most famous costume designers can make mistakes.

The Doors

In Oliver Stone’s movie about the iconic band, The Doors, which was based on true events, the movie is set in the ’60s, and Jim Morrison is wearing Ray-Ban Shooter glasses that were only released in the ’80s.

The King’s Speech

The film about the hardships of preparing the coronation speech of George VI won 4 Oscars and was nominated for 12 awards, including Best Costume Design. But in the scene where Colin Firth is wearing a kilt, experts found a few significant mistakes. The design of this kilt appeared only in 1997, and it’s an Irish kilt, not a Scottish one that the royal family members wore.

Mary Queen of Scots

In the movie, Mary Stuart, played by Saoirse Ronan, wears asymmetric earrings, even though they were completely uncharacteristic for the sixteenth century Scotland.

Legends of the Fall

In an attempt to create a romantic look, costume designers completely ignored the historical realities of the period the movie was set in. Brad Pitt’s character had gorgeous long hair and some whiskers on his face, even though these things were completely unacceptable for the time period. At the time, more and more men would have wide mustaches and short hair.

Gone With the Wind

No matter how trendy Scarlett O’Hara was, she couldn’t have predicted the fashion trends of future decades. Her famous red dress with feathers and rhinestones has nothing to do with the Civil War time and is more reminiscent of the glamorous ’30s and ’40s.

Hello, Dolly!

The film is set in New York at the end of the nineteenth century when people had no idea about beehive hairdos, lip gloss, or winged eyeliner. But that didn’t stop the film from winning 3 Oscars and becoming one of the most iconic films of the decade.

Braveheart

Even though most of the costumes in the film were created perfectly, there are still some mistakes. The film is set in 1280, but Sophie Marceau is wearing metal belts that women would only wear half a century later.

La Reine Margot

Throughout the entire film, the characters are wearing amazing dresses with open shoulders. They look great, that’s a fact. But in the sixteenth century, women would always wear undergarments. They would keep them warm, absorb sweat, and were much easier to wash than an expensive dress.

Another liberty costume designers took was giving the main character loose hair. Judging by the few portraits of Margaret of Valois we have, she had curly hair that was kept in a high updo.

A Dangerous Method

The creators of A Dangerous Method made the same mistake the La Reine Margot team did. In one of the scenes, Keira Knightley appears in the shot wearing just a corset, which it completely against the rules of wearing this garment. At the time, women had to wear a slip dress and a corset on top.

The Danish Girl

The Danish Girl is set in 1926, but during the first half of the film, we see female characters wearing close-fitted clothes that have nothing to do with the fashion of the 1920s, which consisted of loose silhouettes and sheath dresses.

Also, Gerda’s hairstyle is considered outdated.

Catch Me If You Can

The details of the 1960s, when Frank Abagnale committed his crimes, were recreated quite carefully. But, of course, there were some mistakes: the character Amy Adams plays wears braces that weren’t invented for another 10 years.

Cleopatra

In one of the most expensive and spectacular movies in the history of Hollywood, Elizabeth Taylor’s character changes dresses in nearly every scene. Costume designers made 65 dresses for Cleopatra. Unfortunately, none of them were very historically accurate, and they looked more like outfits of 1965 pretending to be from Egypt. But this didn’t stop the film from winning an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Even though this compilation doesn’t have any bad movies, all people are different, and they might have different tastes. And some people value the story and acting in a film more than historical accuracy. For example, the author of this article cares more about dialogue than costumes. What do you value the most in a film? Tell us in the comment section below!