9 Costume Mistakes That Slipped Into Historical Films and Series

Many people love historical movies and TV series for their special atmosphere. But these films often have mistakes in costumes, hairstyles, or interiors. Sometimes directors and producers do it deliberately to create a more vivid picture, or it’s simply impossible to recreate the details the way they were in the past, or sometimes it’s just an accident.

Bridgerton

Bridgerton is a historical romance, and the costumes were created in the spirit of the time, but sometimes they had some mistakes. This happened with the corsets of the heroines, which they wore over the naked body. In fact, in those times women wore a shirt under them, which worked as protection, so that this beautiful element of the wardrobe would last longer and would not come into direct contact with the skin.

Pride & Prejudice

In contrast to the series mentioned above, in this movie the heroines wear corsets correctly on top of a shirt. But there is another problem. In the 18th century, although there were corsets like this, they either had to end under the breast, or they had to have cups, and here you can find neither.

Another mistake in this movie is that Lizzie showed up at the ball without wearing gloves, although in those days they were a very important part of any outfit. But perhaps it was a director’s move, which was meant to show the liberty and willfulness of Keira Knightley’s character.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

And here’s another bunch of costume mistakes, but this time spotted by fans.