9 Costume Mistakes in Movies and Series That Broke Historical Accuracy

No matter how much filmmakers strive for historical accuracy, costume mistakes still find their way into movies. From misplaced fashion trends to fabrics and cuts that didn’t exist at the time, even the most well-researched films can have wardrobe inaccuracies. Sometimes these errors are minor and go unnoticed, but in other cases, they can completely break the illusion of the era.

A Dangerous Method

In one scene, Keira Knightley appears only in her corset, which is a contradiction to the original rules that came along with wearing this piece of clothing. A woman would never wear a corset alone.

War & Peace

In the novel War and Peace, the events take place in the early 19th century. Anna Pavlovna Scherer was dressed in a gown that did not match the style of that time. It is unlikely that such a sleeveless dress with an open back could have appeared before the 1950s.

Little Women

Based on the book of the same name by Louisa May Alcott, this movie tells the story of 4 sisters growing up. The events take place in England in the 1860s. The hairstyles of the heroines, namely their bangs, don't quite correspond to the time.

In those days, if bangs were worn, they were short, curly strands, not like those of the heroines of Emma Watson and Florence Pugh. In general, back then, girls and women mostly wore their hair pulled back.

Django Unchained

The sunglasses, which Django wore in several scenes, appeared only in the next century. The events of the movie take place in the 19th century, while the sunglasses appeared only in the 1920s.

Singin’ in the Rain

The events of the musical take place in the 1920s, and in one of the scenes Kathy Selden appears in a pink dress, which doesn't correspond to the era shown in the movie. This happened, most likely, because the movie was shot in the 1950s and the actress wore a modern dress, because it was then that fitted dresses with puffy skirts became fashionable.

Seabiscuit

In this sports drama, Tobey Maguire played jockey Red Pollard, who rode a famous and invincible horse named Seabiscuit. A minor oversight in the movie concerns the riding helmet Maguire wears - it has a strap under his chin. These helmets appeared much later than the events shown in the movie.

The Tudors

In The Tudors, all ladies wear ruffs incorrectly. It was supposed to be pinned to the garment, and in the show it serves more like a necklace than a collar. Historically, a ruff was worn not for beauty, but to protect a dress or shirt from dirt because it could be later unfastened and washed. Later it became a status symbol.

Troy

The movie Troy irritated many critics and historians because of the many liberties that the filmmakers took with this time period. For example, in one of the scenes, Helen is covered with an elegant pink umbrella, although similar models appeared way later. According to history, umbrellas spread to Rome and Greece from Ancient Egypt, and there they were made of palm leaves, feathers or papyrus.

Titanic

The corset shown in the film worn by Rose does not entirely match the era depicted. The model she wears fully covers the bust and has a curved top. However, in the late 1900s – early 1910s, corsets were usually worn just below the bust, as their main purpose was to smooth the hip line and emphasize the waist.

Sometimes, costumes in movies are more than just clothing, as filmmakers embed meaning and even plot spoilers into them.