Probably all of us have seen at least one movie or TV show with amazing costumes that not only perfectly blend into everything but even enrich the story. But after movies/TV shows wrap up, the costumes must go somewhere. They don't just disappear into thin air. So today, we're going to answer the question about where the costumes go after filming and show examples of them being reused for other movies or shows.
This post may include affiliate links.
The Purple Dress In "Back To The Future Part III" And "Far And Away"
The Frilly Dress In Both "Hocus Pocus" And "Dangerous Liaisons"
The Black And Red Dress From "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" And "Bones"
Usually, the people responsible for the costumes are not the costume department, as one might think, but rather the producers and the studio.
A lot of studios have the policy that no assets can be sold or given away by anyone who’s not the executive producer. Typically, everything is held until all the edits of the movie/show are complete and there is no need for reshoots. And if it’s a TV show, costumes and props are usually held until it’s canceled or finished, just in case it ever needs to be used in, for example, a flashback scene.
Later, quite often, both the costumes and props are sold in a fire sale. A fire sale consists of selling stuff at heavily discounted prices. Originally, it meant the selling of things that were damaged by fire, hence the name, but nowadays, the definition is broader.
So, during these kinds of sales, which are most frequently only for the crew, the producers and the studio aim to sell as much stuff as they can.
The Green Jacket In "Jojo Rabbit" And "Brideshead Revisited"
The Hat From "The Musketeer" And "Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl"
The Pharaoh Outfit Worn In "Night At The Museum" And "How I Met Your Mother"
Or, as another option, the props and costumes can be kept in the studio’s archives and storage to be sold or auctioned later on as memorabilia. Sometimes, certain clothing pieces are gifted to the actors. Some even have it in their contracts that they can get the pick of their wardrobe.
All these kinds of rules and practices are more flexible within independent films that are not backed up by large studios. Quite often, on such sets, the cast and crew can take what they want to keep as a memory of the filming, as a useful thing, or simply sell it, for example, on eBay.
Also, from time to time, studios reuse certain costumes or just pieces of an outfit for a different movie or TV show. As we can see in this list, these pieces can be anything, from gorgeous dresses to armor or even necklaces-turned-tiaras.
The Dress With A Built-In Necklace From "Mad Men," "From The Earth To The Moon" And "The Spoils Of Babylon"
The dress with a collar of pearls, crystals or rhinestones were a popular design in the 60's.
The Dark Dress In "Pride & Prejudice" And "Sense And Sensibility"
The Dress In "Once Upon A Time" And "Snow White And The Huntsman"
Can you imagine living in a time where you had to be laced up into your clothing, often by more than one person? Lord, I can't even get 5 minutes home from work & I'm ripping my bra off like it's trying to murdle me!
In the last few years, it has been noted how wasteful movie-making businesses can be. For instance, costume production can create high levels of emissions, just as general fashion and fast fashion do. This includes their making and disposal.
So, costume reusing is a good option to minimize the harm costuming can have on the environment.
And it’s not only less damaging than creating new costumes, but it can also work as a fun game for media consumers. Just look at what we have done here -- collected a full list of clothing pieces that were reused in different visual media, and it’s fun to look at it, isn't it?
Do you know any other instances of costumes being reused in different movies or TV shows that we haven't mentioned? Share them with us in the comments! And don’t forget to upvote the costumes you think were reused in the most interesting way!
The Tiara In "The Glass Slipper" Was Originally A Necklace In "Kiss Me Kate"
The Pink Dress (Just In Different Saturations) In “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” And The Elvis Movie “Tickle Me”
I was struck by how sophisticated it looked on Audrey, with her her upswept hair and accessories, and how pretty and teenagerish it looked on the other actress.
The Studded Vest In "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves" And "Braveheart"
The Pink Dress In "The Help" And "Mad Men"
The Red Robe Reused Several Times In "Elizabeth," "The Tudors," "Camelot," "Vikings," And "The Spanish Princess"
The Wedding Dress Worn In "Friends" And "Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party"
The Tactical Vest Used In "Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back" And "Doctor Who"
The Light Blue Dress With Golden Details Worn In "The Scandalous Lady W" And "The Duchess"
The Vest Worn In Both "Elizabeth I" And "The Robin Hood" TV Show
The Cape Worn By Characters In "Isabel" And "The Hollow Crown"
The Pelise Worn Several Times On Screen: "Pride And Prejudice," "Lost In Austen," "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies," "Les Miserables Mini-Series," And "Mary Shelley"
Another Set Of Armor From "The Witch" Used In "Vikings"
Leather Armor Worn By Characters In "Macbeth" And "Vikings"
The Blouse In "Eve's Bayou" And "Lovecraft Country"
The Green Coat Worn In "The Carrie Diaries" And "Gossip Girl"
The Dress From "Head In The Clouds" And "Race"
You would would need to be a contortionist to turn your head to look at your partner as in the first picture, if you had your back to the camera. Definitely not being worn backwards in either photo.
The Elizabethan Collar From "The Virgin Queen," "Doctor Who," And "St. Trinian's"
The Leather Armor Used In Both "The Witch" And "Vikings"
The Black Dress In "My Cousin Rachel" And "Victoria"
The neckline looks different. the left has has a lace stand up collar. The right has an open collar.
The Black Dress That Was Worn On "Titanic" Twice -- In The 1996 Mini Series And The 1997 Movie
Also not the same dress. Similar, and likely due to character depiction, but not the same.
The Light Blue Dress That Appeared In 3 Different Period Pieces: "Becoming Jane," "Northanger Abbey," And "Doctor Who"
The Coat Worn By Female Leads In Both "Titanic" And "Tuck Everlasting"
The Batgirl Costume In "Batman & Robin" And TV Series "Birds Of Prey"
A. There’s some notable differences and B. Costume continuity is a thing??
The Regal Necklace In "Elizabeth" And "The Sarah Jane Adventures"
Poll Question
Thanks! Check out the results:
You May Also Like
Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk
Do you think childless individuals should be expected to chip in for group babysitting costs during friend gatherings?
17 Y.O. Is Done Sharing Her Birthday With Her Late Twin, Parents Are Not Having It
Do you think the girl should be allowed to celebrate her birthday without the remembrance of her deceased twin?
Costumes, especially lavish period and fantasy ones, are expensive. They're often made for a specific film and then kept/sold to a costumer company. Notice how lots of these were originally made for a film with a large costume budget and latter reused in a TV production. Lots of productions (film and TV) rent "off the rack" from specialty costumers.
Scarlet O’Hara’s green curtain dress reappears on Anna Lee in Bedlam
There’s a fancy dress place in London called Angels who have provided costume for tv shows and films going back over three decades. They’ve won awards galore too. They also have a huge warehouse out in West London somewhere. They will be the owner of a lot of these costumes. Even the films, as they’re used by Hollywood very often. Up until the late 90s, the BBC had their own costume department and would make their own costumes, specifically for their period pieces. For example, all the costumes for Blackadder II (set during the Tudor period) were all handmade and have never been used for any other production.
This site is amazing if you liked this post. https://recycledmoviecostumes.tumblr.com/
If you want masters of reusing clothes, you got to look up the Queen of Sweden, and the Crown Princess of Sweden. The have made fashion statements of reusing dresses after only minor alterations on official functions.
A lot of the royals do this now. They're still very expensive pieces, but it's good they're seeing reuse.
Load More Replies...Costumes, especially lavish period and fantasy ones, are expensive. They're often made for a specific film and then kept/sold to a costumer company. Notice how lots of these were originally made for a film with a large costume budget and latter reused in a TV production. Lots of productions (film and TV) rent "off the rack" from specialty costumers.
Scarlet O’Hara’s green curtain dress reappears on Anna Lee in Bedlam
There’s a fancy dress place in London called Angels who have provided costume for tv shows and films going back over three decades. They’ve won awards galore too. They also have a huge warehouse out in West London somewhere. They will be the owner of a lot of these costumes. Even the films, as they’re used by Hollywood very often. Up until the late 90s, the BBC had their own costume department and would make their own costumes, specifically for their period pieces. For example, all the costumes for Blackadder II (set during the Tudor period) were all handmade and have never been used for any other production.
This site is amazing if you liked this post. https://recycledmoviecostumes.tumblr.com/
If you want masters of reusing clothes, you got to look up the Queen of Sweden, and the Crown Princess of Sweden. The have made fashion statements of reusing dresses after only minor alterations on official functions.
A lot of the royals do this now. They're still very expensive pieces, but it's good they're seeing reuse.
Load More Replies...