Between dedicated professionals and huge closets full of clothing, Hollywood producers pull out all the stops when it comes to creating perfect costumes for their new films. They put in a lot of effort, finding just the right jacket for the lead’s personality or the right spandex suit for the newest superhero, and yet sometimes they really miss the mark.
While most people may overlook this kind of error, some dedicated folks out there have decided to make it their life’s mission to find these crazy costume mistakes and to let the world know. Props to them, because we selected the best of the best to bring you the most hilarious mistakes! From the silly blunders to small overlooks to how-could-anyone-possibly-miss-this HUGE mistake, keep reading to find out just how absurd these costumes can be!
With so many mistakes, we can’t help but wonder how it wasn’t obvious to the director in the first place that their T-Rex was wearing a hand-knit sweater. Well, maybe not that bad—see for yourself these ridiculous costume mishaps!
Legends of the Fall: Brad Pitt’s Blonde Hair Was Too Darn Beautiful
Alright, so nobody is surprised when Brad Pitt looked gorgeous as per usual in Legends of the Fall, and yet we’re not so sure if his buff depiction of Tristan Ludlow really fit the setting.
The movie is supposed to be in the 1910s, and yet we see Brad with a 60s hair-do and stubble on his face. Sexy? Definitely. In this 1910s? Not so much. We will let this one slide since Brad is just so dreamy.
Troy: Odysseus Didn’t Invent the Umbrella
Sure, we can credit this hero with the Trojan horse, but an umbrella? When Orlando Bloom pulls out his funny pink parasol in this epic tale, it elicits some laughs but also makes historians and classicists everywhere cringe.
You see, that type of umbrella wasn’t invented by the ancient Greeks until 500 BCE, a whopping 800 years after Troy was conquered. That’d be like a steam-powered train crashing through a medieval castle. It’s OK though Orlando—you still look good, and we’ll forgive you somehow.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: An Extra Wearing Jeans
While it’s difficult to pull our attention away from the smouldering, young Harrison Ford when he played Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, somebody obviously managed this herculean task.
If you look really really close and we mean really close, you’ll see an extra in one scene’s background wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He is seen for a split second but still, seems like a pretty big mistake and we are sure, this wasn’t exactly a popular look in the 1930s.
Pride & Prejudice: No Rubber Boots
Did we all miss the part in Jane Austen’s 1813 classic in which Lizzie pulls on her favourite pair of rubber Wellington boots or did somebody make that up in the 2005 drama? Our bet is on the latter.
Keira Knightley may have looked a natural in that “time period” costume, but, sorry girl, those boots won’t be around for another 40 years. Apart from this small blunder, we do have to admit the movie was flawlessly factual.
Captain America (The First Avenger): The Actress’ Hair Should Be Up
In the first Captain America movie, Peggy Carter’s shoulder-length hair sure looked good, don’t you think? Though this hairstyle was accurate to the time period and gorgeous without a doubt, there’s no way that a woman in the army could have worn her hair down.
During WWII, female special agents and soldiers always had to keep their hair up, off the collar of their uniform. I completely understand your indignation and disbelief at such a trespass.
Gladiator: Crowe’s Lycra Shorts Are Visible
Though we often don’t try to look too far beneath the armour and loincloth, if you look really closely at some of the gladiatorial games in this iconic movie, you can distinguish Russel Crowe’s skin-tone, high-wasted Lycra shorts under all that armour.
We are no historian, but we are pretty sure that all roads didn’t lead to Rome’s Lycra factory. Some even knit pick and claim that their armour and boots are also not historically accurate but we will let that one slide.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Nazis Were Not Supposed to Wear Medals
In this classic picture, you may or may not have noticed some of those mean Nazis wearing nice shiny medals on their chests. Seems normal enough, right? Well, Germans hadn’t begun to wear this type of jewellery until the later part of WWII, the early to mid-‘40s.
Since this film was set in 1938, all we have to say in Check-mate, producers! This one is pretty common yet easy to prevent costume mistake but one which particularly irks us since it can be seen in any Nazi war film.
The King’s Speech: The King was Wearing the Wrong Kilt
Are you saying that you aren’t an expert in kilts-manship? Well, it turns out that Colin Firth isn’t either; though we take off our… hats to his exceptional 2010 performance in the King’s Speech, he probably should have checked his skirt before taking the stage.
Or more like, his costume department should have! This king, who would have actually been wearing a Scottish Balmoral design, would have shocked the world with his free-form Irish fashion.
Glory: A Digital Watch During the Civil War
It may have been hard to hear the beeping of your alarm over the ring of musket fire and the cannon’s boom during the Civil War or… wait, what? Glory, directed by Edward Zwick and starring prominent actors like Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman.
The film is set in the 1860s, and yet, in one scene, we catch a soldier sporting a digital watch on his wrist. Watches weren’t even invented until 1923, and that’s not even the digital kind!
Captain America (The First Avenger): The Headset Was Invented in the 2000s
Even though America has long been one of the world’s tech leaders, it’s hardly possible that Jim Morticia could have actually had such an advanced headset under his hat during the World War II setting of Captain America: The First Avenger.
This hardware first saw the light of day in the year 2000, just a couple years after the second world war. Some might argue this by saying ” well, creating a superhuman isn’t realistic either”, a valid point but still an easy fix.
Public Enemies: Depp’s Robe Was Too Advanced
Hollywood will make you think all judge robes look so sleek, but Judge Murray in Public Enemies probably wouldn’t have donned such an impressive robe in a Depression-era courthouse.
It probably would have weighed a ton and been quite hot, and Depp doesn’t look like he’s sweating it too much. We’ll wait while you look up what an actual judge robe would have looked like during that time.
Almost Famous: The Black Sabbath t-shirt
Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, and Billy Crudup may have made an unforgettable picture with the 2000 film Almost Famous. Yet, what you may not remember is a tiny costume blunder that was actually pretty funny.
In one particular scene, a character wears a Black Sabbath t-shirt that wasn’t created until 1997, even though the film is set in the early seventies. To no one’s surprise, Rock and roll can time travel!
Pearl Harbor: Bare Legs Were Inappropriate
Of course, we understand that it can be hard to be historically accurate when neither the director nor the cast was alive during the time period of the film’s setting, but still—we can’t help but critique these mishaps.
In this movie, which portrays the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the women at the front are seen wearing skirts without stockings. It would have been highly inappropriate for a woman to show her bare legs during this time period. Scandalous!
Braveheart: Gibson’s Scottish Kilt Was Untimely
Everyone loved Mel Gibson’s portrayal of William Wallace in this Oscar-winning epic from the mid-‘90s, yet can you believe the fury that people must have felt when they realized that William Wallace wouldn’t actually have worn that man-skirt that we consider so typically Scottish?
This movie was set in the 13th century, and the kilt did not come to power until the 16th century. We do have it admit, that it made for great imagery but Really, what were they thinking? Something, something, Freedom!
Django Unchained: Sunglasses Did Not Exist
Tarantino definitely deals with sensitive issues in his own way in Django Unchained, and Jamie Foxx also definitely rocked the box-office with a total gross of nearly $300,000,000 worldwide.
With its huge box office success came also these iconic sunglasses that shade Foxx’s eyes throughout the film? Sadly though, they weren’t invented until 1929 and was a completely stylistic choice.
The Untouchables: The Suit with Non-Existent Lapels
We may give this movie a free pass because of how successful it was, but how was it possible that nobody noticed that Kevin Costner, playing the role of Elliot Ness, wears a suit with lapels?
This movie was set in the 1930s, and lapels didn’t come around until a much later date. Never did we think that lapels would matter so much to us but crazily enough, we do care and are horrified.
Gone with the Wind: Electric Lamps
In fact, there are quite a few scenes in the 1939 classic, Gone with the Wind, in which they show technology far too advanced for the setting. For example, Melanie picks up a lamp in one scene and the electrical cord is painfully visible.
At other moments, it’s obvious that electric lightbulbs are inside of the lamps. Of course, it was impossible for these to exist during the film’s supposed time period, the Civil War because electric lamps weren’t even invented until years after the end of the war.
The Other Boleyn Girl: Portman’s Hair Wasn’t Pulled Back
Natalie Portman may have looked pretty cute in her French Hood with her hair down, but, at the movie’s time period of the 1500s, the correct way to wears those hoods was with a veil in the back to hide the hair.
For a woman of that time period, it must have looked mighty weird to see that risqué style. Further, this movie was riddled with historical inaccuracies, probably a major cause of its mixed reviews.
Pirates of the Caribbean, The Curse of the Black Pearl: No Red Coats
No one was really looking for factional information in the fantasy film, Pirate of Caribbean and while we do overlook most of the small details, this one seems like an obvious one which could have been avoided.
Of course, when we think of British soldiers we always think of red coats, right? Well, those uniforms weren’t actually used until 1747, whereas the movie is set in the 1720s. Maybe the soldiers in this Disney movie were ahead of the times, or maybe the directors just made a couple of assumptions.
Julius Caesar: No Such Thing as A Bullet Bra
The 50s were notoriously known for their choice of bras, the most infamous being the bullet bra. While seeing it in day to day life must have been another thing but it donned under ancient roman clothes is quite another.
Anyone who was anyone was wearing these pointy bras, or at least so thought the female cast of Julius Caesar. The problem, however, is that 44 BC is a long way off from the 1950s, so it’s highly unlikely that they were much in vogue at the time.
Saving Private Ryan: Black Boots
You may have not been able to see this egregious error through the tears that you were undoubtedly shedding over Tom Hanks and his band of not-so-merry men, but, believe it or not, Steven Spielberg missed this misstep during the shooting of his World War II classic film.
During that time period, soldiers would have worn brown boots, yet we see soldiers wearing black jump boots in Saving Private Ryan. This type of black boots wasn’t created until the ’50s, years after the Treaty of Paris.
Catch Me If You Can: Braces
Amy Adams may have pulled off the braces look in the 2002 film, Catch Me If You Can, but it’s unlikely that many other 60’s girls could have done so, even if they wanted too, since what do you know, braces weren’t really a common thing.
Poor Brenda may have had to deal with crooked teeth for another ten years or so. The earliest reports of braces didn’t come around until the 1970s and even then it wasn’t easily made available to the public.
The Tudors: Wearing Ruffs Was Nearly Scandalous
It’s certainly not an overstatement to say that fashion was a key factor of this periodical film’s success. In The Tudors, we see many women wearing ruffs around their necks, which, to today’s eyes, seem just about right for the time.
Of course, they’re wearing ruffs! Nonetheless, this inaccurate look would never have been seen on Western European women in the 1500’s. To wear a ruff without an undershirt would have been considered nearly scandalous.
Good Night and Good Luck: No Name Tags
Directed by George Clooney and highly critically acclaimed, Good Night and Good Luck is the tale of a conflict between a TV journalist and a US Senator in the 50s. The movie delivered in its historical factually, everywhere but in one scene.
They may have had some bad luck in the costume department, though, because some officers show up wearing name tags, which didn’t exist until 1967. Looks like we’ll just have to introduce ourselves instead.
American Hustle: This Rolex Wasn’t Around in the 70s
The memorable cast of the 2013 film, America Hustle, featured Louis C.K. among other luminaries. The movie was a great success and received many Oscar nominations for categories like Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and others.
They definitely didn’t win Best Props, because C.K.’s role, Stoddard Thorsen, is seen sporting a Rolex that wasn’t designed until 2010. Though many things were possible in the ’70s, time travelling watches certainly wasn’t one of them!
Amadeus: Zippers Weren’t Invented Yet
This 1984 bio-flick portrays the life of famed composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as he mouths off and plays the piano in the 18th century. The film is a visual masterpiece with an intricate set and costume design.
When we put the cast under a microscope, though, we detect the existence of zippers under the dancer’s buttons, which is even more awkward than Mozart in this movie. Zippers weren’t around until 1913, only about one hundred years after the musician’s swan song.
The Color Purple: The Clip-On Tie Didn’t Exist
This adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1983 Classic, The Color Purple, starred Danny Glover and tells the tale of southern African American women in the early 1900s. At one point, Glover, playing Albert, clips on his tie, a fashion accessory that wasn’t invented until 1928.
The film is set in 1916! These are one of the inaccurate costume mistakes that we dislike the most. Since, we doubt it is hard for the costume designers to properly research the film’s era and add in only clothing, which existed in the period.
Gangs of New York: Firefighters in Modern Uniforms
In this 2002 movie directed by Martin Scorsese, famous actors Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Leonardo DiCaprio take the stage to tell the story of the Big Apple’s various gangs in the 19th century.
In one particular scene, we see firefighters wearing uniforms that you’d see on today’s firemen. We are sure this was done, to save a bit of cash but this wasn’t exactly how they looked during that time period…
My Girl: Mood Rings Didn’t Exist Yet
It’s going to be hard to forgive Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin for this terrible mistake from their 1991 film, My Girl. We all know about Mood Rings, the trendy accessories that change colours according to the wearer’s body temperature.
They may have been popular in the late 70s, but they sure didn’t exist yet in 1972, the year the movie takes place. Mood rings were invented in 1975. They sure need to get their facts straight.
Sense and Sensibility: Baby Wearing Untimely Diaper
Well, it sure must have been hard for parents back in the day. I guess the costume department thought that diapers were such a normal thing that they didn’t bother double-checking the baby’s costume.
Yet, before we had the luxury of disposable nappies, parents had to wash the same cloth diapers after babies did their biz. In this adaptation of Austen’s novel, Sense and Sensibility, the modern diaper that we see would have been a true miracle in the 19th century.
Singin’ In the Rain: Inaccurate Dresses
Debbie Reynolds could have never predicted that the 1952 movie, Singin’ in the Rain, would become one of the most quintessential musical films of all time. For all its acclaim, there was a serious costume error that was somehow overlooked.
Reynolds, playing Kathy Selden, is seen in a pink dress with tulle in the skirt, a style that just screams the ‘50s. The movie, though, was supposed to take place in the late ‘20s. Can’t get ‘em all right.
The Wedding Singer: Barrymore’s Haircut Wasn’t Popular Yet
Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler are two Hollywood heavyweights, who are everyone favourites! So, naturally seeing them acting together with amazing chemistry was quite a treat but their haircuts, on the other hand, were something completely different.
The Wedding Singer, a movie set in the 1980s, could easily have been mistaken for a setting of the ’90s because of one actress’s hair. That short bob flip really stood out from the rest of the crowd.
Schindler’s List: Women Didn’t Shave
It would be so nice for big-budget Hollywood movies to start showing real natural female bodies, with hair and all. This is especially, important for films set in the 30s and 40s, an era where shaving was very uncommon for women.
The Schindler’s List, which is set in Europe in the ’30s and ’40s, shows various women with shaved legs and armpits, though European women of this time would have never shaved their bodies. This would have been especially true for those trapped in concentration camps…
Picnic at Hanging Rock: Bad Hair Day
If you just looked at the women’s hair in Picnic at Hanging Rock, you might have thought it was set in the 1970s instead of the 1900s. During the actual time period, girls usually wore their hair down their back, while women’s hair was often put up with light tendrils.
In the inaccurate film, though, the girls had their hair straight with a bit of a wave, parting it in the middle and wearing it over their shoulders. Plus, the grown ladies had everyone’s favourite 70’s hairstyle, a high bouffant. This was unlikely to be found on anyone during the film’s time period.
The Informant: Nike Golf Cleats
Nike may be ubiquitous with sports in today’s world, but they really only started to sell Nike Golf Spikes in 1996. So, it’s quite bizarre and shows a lack of research on the costume designers part when they show up in The Informant.
The film is supposed to be set from 1992-1994, and yet we see an FBI officer teeing up in Hawaii while wearing those classic Nike shoes. It’s moments like this that really make us wonder.
The Last Samurai: Tom Cruise’s Armor
There may have been a few historical errors in The Last Samurai, a harrowing tale of a retired US officer who meets up with fabled Japanese samurai, not the least of which is Tom Cruise’s armour.
In the movie, the actor is seen wearing a suit that would have been worn at least 250 years before the movie’s timeframe. There are also a thousand and one other costume disasters but we will leave them out.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Pitt’s Modern Sunglasses
This movie had a crazy complicated storyline which was wonderfully executed that you could have easily missed out on some basic costume mistakes, such as Brad Pitt’s sunglasses.
That still didn’t stop some people from realizing that his Ray-Ban sunglasses are a bit out of place in this movie, which is supposed to be set in 1945. Those shades weren’t around until 1952.
Seabiscuit: Strapped Helmets Didn’t Exist
In this epic tale of a fabled horseracing championship, Toby Maguire takes up the role of Jockey. Though the jockeys in the movie sport strapped helmets, this kind of head-gear didn’t actually exist until 1956, whereas the film is set in the 30s.
We are surprised that caution critics, still gave the film great reviews and was nominated for various Academy Awards and is still considered a classic. They must have forgotten their helmets indeed.
Pretty Woman: Vivian’s Length-Changing Nightgown
Sure, everyone loved watching Julia Robert and Richard Gere fall in love in Pretty Women, but how many of you noticed one important and puzzling detail from one of the most romantic scenes in the whole movie?
At the beginning of the scene, Vivian’s white nightgown is long and flowing, whereas, at the end of the very same scene, it’s much shorter. Either she was quite excited, or they made a huge mistake in the filming.
The Notebook: Lon’s Changing Hair Color
It’s hard to find any fault with one of the world’s most romantic movies, but that’s our job. Allie and Noah’s love may make us swoon, but don’t forget that she also dated another macho man named Lon.
There is one scene when Lon waits for Allie as he recovers from his tour of duty injuries, during which his hair goes from brown to black, and back to brown again. What’s up with that?
Where Eagles Dare: 60’s Haircut
This film may have been shot in 1968, but it was supposed to portray the period of World War Two. This one, we slightly forgive, since even with advanced research, modern-day costume designers make such mistakes, so it’s bound to happen in films of this era.
The hairdressers must have forgotten that nobody in the ’40s had a haircut anywhere close to the one that Ingrid Pitt sports in her role of Heidi, the German waitress. Now that’s what we call a bad hair decade.
Pretty Woman: Edward’s Tie Goes from Done to Undone
Another huge mistake that you may have missed in this great movie involves Gere’s necktie. This actor, in his role of Edward, was seen wearing that tie throughout the movie, and, in the famous scene in which Vivian is absorbed in an episode of I Love Lucy.
The scene starts when she undoes his tie before watching some more TV. The next shot shows him with his tie done, and then later it goes back to being undone. What a continuity error!
The Great Escape: Trendy POW clothes
Though fashion isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think prisoner of war, that’s what it looks like with Steve McQueen in the 1963 film, The Great Escape. We are not sure what the costume designers were thinking!
We don’t know about much but It seems to us it would be highly unlikely that German POWs during WWII were outfitted in khakis and cut-off t-shirts, but, then again, who really knows?
Quadrophenia: The Days Before Motorhead
This British film, Quadrophenia, tells the tale of the awesome and very angst-filled feud between two British subcultures, the mods and the rockers. While we don’t know how we feel about the film, we do know a thing about the costumes.
Shot in 1979 and set in the ’60s, it certainly makes no sense that one of the rockers wears a Motorhead tee, as that band didn’t even exist until 1975. Where does your loyalty lie anyways?
Unforgiven: Belt Loops Not Common
This 1992 movie, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Clint himself, Morgan Freeman, and Gene Hackman is set in Wyoming in 1880. This little costume mistake is more like an industry-standard in Hollywood.
In one scene, Hackman is shown wearing belt loops, though this certainly would not have happened in 1880 because these were not common until the 1920s. We’ll have to forgive them somehow.
Pompeii: No Purple Capes Allowed
Here was have another historical movie with another botched historical costume. Created in 2014, this film portrays generals, such as Kiefer Sutherland’s character, donning purple capes. T
The film crews must have had no idea that the Roman Emperor of the day, Nero, made a law that he was the only person allowed to wear purple. Anyone who dared to wear that royal colour would be punished with death. Well, I guess they were punished with death eventually… right?
Back to the Future: Wrong Guitar
Alright, so this movie is ABOUT time travel, but still, we just can’t overlook some things. In the scene where Michael J Fox, as the legendary Marty McFly, plays the classic song “Johnny B Goode.
He completely shreds it on an ES-345 Gibson from 1958, although the scene is supposed to take place in 1955. Well, maybe Marty and his guitar really did come from the future or something.
There will be Blood: Waffle Soles
There may not be blood over this little blunder, and, honestly, we’re kind of amazed that people even realized that this was a thing, but I guess some people really have laser vision.
In this movie, Daniel Day-Lewis plays a miner who becomes an oil magnate in the late 19th century, and, at one point, is seen with boots with waffle soles… However, those soles weren’t invented by Nike until the 1970s!
The Mummy: The Actors Switched Sides
In the Mummy from 1999, there’s a major continuity error that we just can’t believe the director didn’t catch. There a scene in which Imhotep’s priests get ready to attack, and we see them taking up arms on one side of the room.
Sounds pretty normal right? Well, in the very next shot, they’re on the other side of the room! The director’s cut of this movie explains that there was an error here as a result of scene cuts.
The Ten Commandments: Nefertiti’s Dress
This epic telling of one of the most famous parts of the Bible was a huge success. However, the costumes may have not been quite as praiseworthy, as we can see Anne Baxter, like Nefertiti, wearing a blue silk dress in one scene.
This dress was definitely dyed teal, which would have been a true miracle in Biblical times because the only way for them to dye sheer silk back then was via natural tints. Not even Moses could have guarded against this plague of fashion.
Dirty Dancing: Baby’s Shorts
While everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives on the cast and production team of this classic film, Dirty Dancing, they probably should have been paying more attention to the costume design.
How did nobody notice that Baby was in jean shorts, a fashion statement that didn’t come around until the 1980s? This movie was set in 1963, so this makes absolutely no sense. Good thing this wardrobe mishap doesn’t detract from Baby and Johnny’s wonderful romance.
John Carter: Princess Outfit Was Too Revealing… Or Maybe Not?
In Disney’s sci-fi movie John Carter, Lynn Collins acts out the Martian warrior princess, Dejah Thoris. When the actress tried on her costume on, she found it a bit too revealing so she requested that they cut it a little higher.
Even as this alter was less revealing than the director’s original intent, the sourcebook for the movie describes even more revealing outfits. As a Martian princess, Collins ought to have only worn decadent jewellery!