15 Movies Where Designers Messed Up Costumes But We Just Ignored

A huge amount of work, ranging from casting to editing, goes into making movies. The crew and actors have to bust their balls for months or years to accomplish a perfect final cut. But, even iconic movies include big mistakes. In particular, there are historical movies where designers create costumes that are not relevant to the era.
The costume designers’ job is to research what the cast should be wearing in every scene, but often their opinion can be tossed at the whim of a disgruntled actor or director. It is one of the main reasons that movies are amiss and viewers are persuaded by some silly beliefs. In some certain cases, inaccurate bad historical makes sense. For example, it'd be hard to watch if a movie set in the 19th century used historically accurate bonnets.
We've rounded up 15 historical movies where designers messed up costumes and no one seemingly realize. You can see more in this article.

#1 In the 16th century, not a single lady would’ve appeared in public with open shoulders

Source: © The Tudors / Showtime Networks and co-producers

It’s hard to imagine a woman wearing a dress with open shoulders and without a chemise under the dress in the 16^th century. In the movie, Gabrielle Anwar put on a bright gown with nothing under it.

#2 Anna Pavlovna Scherer’s missing sleeve

Source: © War & Peace / BBC Cymru Wales and co-producers

The movie “War & Peace” happened at the beginning of the 19^th century.  The dress Anna Pavlovna Scherer didn’t exist until the 1950s. The missing sleeve and naked back are inaccurate for the fashion of that time period.

#3 Excessively tight but still very humble dress for the time period

Source: © The Great Gatsby / Warner Bros. and co-producers

Although the director took care of the fashion of the movie, eagle-eyed fans notice some inappropriate details. For example, Daisy’s dresses look too modern. The cleavage should be square-shaped and the cut on the back should be deeper.

#4 Jane’s skirt should be wider

Source: © Becoming Jane / HanWay Films and co-producers

“Becoming Jane” is set at the end of the 18th century, when women would wear close-fitting dresses with wide skirts. However, Jane’s clothes look different. This style was popular at the beginning of the 19^th century.

#5 Meg’s dress is not provocative, but old-fashioned

Source: © Little Women / Columbia Pictures and co-producers

Little Women’s main characters appear with loose and uncovered hair that received much criticism. not only the hairstyles but costumes look so weird. For example, Meg’s gown at the all was supposed to be provocative but in the film, it looked more simple.

#6 Queen Mary’s unexpected love for piercings

Source: © Mary Queen of Scots / Focus Features and co-producers

In “Mary Queen of Scots”, the character Mary, played by Saoirse Ronan, wears a lot of different jewelry. Her right ear has 5 earrings but in the 16^th century, women just wore several ones. Moreover, there’s no clue proving that Mary Stewart did that.

#7 Only the emperor could wear purple in Rome

Source: © Pompeii / TriStar Pictures and co-producers

“Pompeii” is set in the 1^st century when only the emperor could wear purple. However, we can see senator Corvus and his soldiers were decked out in it.

#8 Bodices didn’t have just one giant motif on them

Source: © The Tudors / Showtime Networks and co-producers

In the 16^th century, women tended to wear dresses with a complex pattern, not just one giant notif but Natalie Dormer’s character in “The Tudor” did.

#9 In the 15th century, women didn’t like lacing very much

Source: © The White Princess / Playground Entertainment and co-producers

The White Princess’ female characters often wear stunning dresses featured with lacing. It looks eye-catching but in fact, in the 15^th century, lacing was only functional and none of the costumes is similar to the one we saw in the movie.

#10 Bright colorants didn’t exist in the 18th century

Source: © Les adieux à la reine / GMT Productions and co-producers

“Farewell, My Queen” is set at the end of the 18^th century. Virginie Ledoyen appears in the amazing green dress. Fabrics were dyed in the past, but it was almost impossible to achieve such a vibrant color.

#11 Ribbons weren’t attached on top of the hat

Source: © Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl / Walt Disney Studios and co-producers

“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” happened at the beginning of the 18^th century. Starw’s hats often are tied with ribbons which are supposed to be underneath but appear on the top of the hat.

#12 Lace overgowns would be a very bold choice for the 17th century

Source: © Love & Friendship / Blinder Films and co-producers

Most of the costumes reflect the changes happening to the main character. But costume designers still took some liberties. At that time, there were no lace overgowns.

#13 Daphne forgot to curl her bangs

Source: © Bridgerton / Shondaland and co-producers

The characters’ hairstyles are not accurate because, in the era, the women always curl their bangs. But, the character Daphne has straight locks, covering their forehead.

#14 There was no armor for pregnant women

Source: © The Spanish Princess / All3 Media and co-producers 

In one of the episodes, the queen fought to protect her new land so she wears armor. Although a woman can lead a military campaign, there is no evidence saying that women had special armor.

#15 This knitted blouse looks very strange

Source: © Mary Shelley / HanWay Films and co-producers

“Mary Shelley” was criticized by critics and fans because of the main character’s clothing. The movie is set at the beginning of the 19^th century, but the costume looks more modern. Though designers preferred linen to cotton and wool, the dresses are wrinkled and shapeless.