12 Costume Mistakes That Made It Into The Movie

Jessica Wilson
Oct 04, 2022
Oct 04, 2022

Every movie requires a ton of departments that are responsible for ensuring that every frame is as perfect as it can be. It is said that costume is a huge part of building up a film’s world and characters so undoubtedly wardrobe department is one of the biggest jobs. From costume designers to craftspeople and on-set dressers, all are in charge of choosing costumes for every single character in the movie. Not only do their costumes place us in the world and time period of the story, but they thoroughly understand each character’s personality.
Due to the heavy workload, sometimes mistakes are unavoidable. For example, in “Django Unchained”. Django wore sunglasses a whole seventy years before they were invented or Orlando Bloom carried an umbrella hundreds of years too early in “Troy”. These blunders make it all the way to the final cut, we can’t believe that no one seemingly caught them earlier.
Below are some mistakes movie costume designers made that attentive viewers just can't ignore.

#1 The Doors

Source: © The Doors / TriStar Pictures

“The Doors”, which was based on true events, is set in the ‘60s. In the movie, Jim Morrison is wearing Ray-Ban glasses that were released in the ‘80s.

#2 The King’s Speech

Source: © The King's Speech / Momentum Pictures

The movie won 4 Oscars and was nominated for 12 awards and one of them is Best Costume Design. However, experts found a few significant mistakes. In the scene where Colin Firth is wearing a kilt which is an Irish kilt and just appeared only in 1997. It isn’t a Scottish one that the royal family members put on.

#3 Mary Queen of Scots

Source: © Mary Queen of Scots / Working Title Films

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

#4 Legends of the Fall

Source: © Legends of the Fall / Bedford Falls Productions, © Ann Ronan Picture Library / Image State / East News

Costume designers tried to create a romantic look for Brad Pitt’s character and ignored the historical realities. Instead of having mustaches and short hair, the character had gorgeous long hair and some whiskers.

#5 Gone With the Wind

Source: © akg-images / East News, © Gone with the Wind / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, © AF Archive / Mary Evans Picture Library / East News

In “Gone With the Wind”, Scarlett O’Hara’s iconic red dress which features feathers and rhinestones has nothing to do with the Civil War time and reminds us of the glamorous ’30s and ‘40s.

#6 Hello, Dolly!

Source: © Hello, Dolly! / 20th Century Studios, © Hello, Dolly! / 20th Century Studios

The movie is set in New York at the end of the 19^th century. At that time, people had no idea about beehive hairdos, lip gloss, or winged eyeliner. Despite the mistake, the movie won 3 Oscars and became one of the most iconic films of the decade.

#7 Braveheart

Source: © Braveheart / Icon Productions

The film is set in 1280, but Sophie Marceau is wearing metal belts that women would only wear half a century later.

#8 La Reine Margot

Source: © La Reine Margot / France 2 Cinéma

All characters in “La Reine Margot” dress up in stunning gowns with open shoulders. But in the 16^th century, women tended to wear undergarments to keep them warm and absorb sweat. Moreover, costume designers gave the main character loose hair instead curly hair that was kept in a high updo.

Source: © La Reine Margot / France 2 Cinéma, © Chevalier d'Éon / Wikipedia

#9 A Dangerous Method

In the movie, Keira Knightley appears in the shot wearing just a corset, which is completely against the rules of wearing this garment. At the time, women had to wear a slip dress and a corset on top.

#10 The Danish Girl

The fashion of the 1920s consisted of loose silhouettes and sheath dresses. But the female character in “The Danish Girl”, which is set in 1926, wore close-fitted clothes. Also, Gerda’s hairstyle is considered outdated.

#11 Catch Me If You Can

“Catch Me If You Can” is a successful movie but it had some mistakes. Look at Amy Adams, she wears braces that weren’t invented for another 10 years.

#12 Cleopatra

In “Cleopatra”, Elizabeth Taylor’s character changes dresses in every scene. Costume designers created 65 dresses for the movie but all were historically inaccurate. Despite the mistake, it didn’t stop the movie from winning an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

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