“What a costume designer does is a cross between magic and camouflage. We create the illusion of changing the actors into what they are not. We ask the public to believe that every time they see this a performer on the screen, [they’ve] become a different person. “
Lionsgate / Via giphy.com
That’s a quote from Edith Head, one of the most influential fashion designers in cinema history. It’s easy to associate a character with the actor playing them, but countless tiny details about who a person is communicated to us through what they wear. The costumer determines those details, but that doesn’t mean they have to reinvent the wheel every time. They can mix-and-match from the plethora of clothing that has come before them, and that’s exactly what happened with the outfits in these films.
1.
It’s a good thing Rose survived the Titanicbecause her coat was able to be used in Tuck Everlasting.
Paramount Pictures / Disney
Titanic (1997)
Costumer: Deborah Lynn Scott
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Costumers: Jade Kitzerow & Carol Ramsey
2.
The dress with a built-in necklace appeared in From the Earth to the Moon, Mad Men, and The Spoils of Babylon.
HBO, AMC, IFC / youtube.com
From the Earth to the Moon (1998)
Costumer: Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko
Mad Men (2006)
Costumer: Janie Bryant
The Spoils of Babylon (2014)
Costumer: Trayce Gigi Field
3.
Since pretty much no one saw The Musketeerwhy not use the same hat in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl?
Universal Pictures / Disney
The Musketeer (2001)
Costumers: Cynthia Dumont & Raymond Hughes
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Costumer: Penny Rose
4.
The hat may not be included, but this dress was in both The Duchess and The Scandalous Lady W.
Paramount Vantage / BBC
The Duchess (2008)
Costumer: Michael O’Connor
The Scandalous Lady W (2015)
Costumer: James Keast
5.
In the “Three Sundays” episode of Mad MenPeggy wears a pink dress that pops back up in The Help.
AMC, Disney
Mad Men (2007)
Costumer: Janie Bryant
The Help (2011)
Costumer: Sharen Davis
6.
Appearing three times on this list, Vikings reused some leather armor from Season of the Witch.
Relativity Media, History / youtube.com
Season of the Witch (2011)
Costumer: Carlo Poggioli
Vikings (2013)
Costumers: Joan Bergin & Susan O’Connor Cave
7.
Dangerous Liaisons and Hocus Pocus. Two very different movies, one frilly dress.
Warner Bros. / youtube.com, Disney
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Costumer: James Acheson
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Costumer: Mary E. Vogt
8.
The unsinkable black dress from both Titanics.
RHI Entertainment / youtube.com, Paramount Pictures
Titanic [miniseries] (1996)
Costumers: Joe I. Tompkins & Jori Woodman
Titanic (1997)
Costumer: Deborah Lynn Scott
9.
There’s probably not too many full-length, realistic pharaoh outfits out there, so might as well use the same one in Night at the Museum and the episode of “Natural History” How I Met Your Mother.
20th Century Fox / youtube.com, CBS / youtube.com
Night at the Museum (2006)
Costumer: Renée April
How I Met Your Mother (2010)
Costumer: Julie Bennett Block
10.
This necklace from Kiss Me Kate was transformed into a tiara for The Glass Slipper. Then it was sold for over $ 4,000!
MGM / youtube.com, MGM /youtube.com
Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Costumer: Walter Plunkett
The Glass Slipper (1955)
Costumer: Joan Joseff
11.
After the Sheriff of Nottingham rocked this studded vest in Robin Hood: Prince of Thievesit was featured in Braveheart.
Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Costumer: John Bloomfield
Braveheart (1995)
Costumer: Charles Knode
12.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This dress works so well for period clothing that it’s appeared in Becoming Jane, Northanger Abbeyand Doctor Who (“The Haunting of Villa Diodati”).
Buena Vista International, ITV, BBC / youtube.com
Becoming Jane (2007)
Costumer: Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh
Northanger Abbey (2007)
Costumer: Grania Preston
Doctor Who (2020)
Costumer: Ray Holman
13.
I’m honestly surprised this jacket wasn’t in The Great Gatsbybut was in both Brideshead Revisited and Jojo Rabbit!
ITV, Fox Searchlight Pictures / youtube.com
Brideshead Revisited (1981)
Costumer: Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Costumer: Mayes C. Rubeo
14.
This red garment was used in Elizabeth I and the Robin Hood TV show.
HBO, BBC
Elizabeth I (2005)
Costumer: Mike O’Neill
Robin Hood (2006)
Costumer: Howard Burden
15.
Good armor is worth holding on to, which is why this set from Season of the Witch reappeared in Vikings.
Relativity Media, History / youtube.com
Season of the Witch (2011)
Costumer: Carlo Poggioli
Vikings (2013)
Costumers: Joan Bergin & Susan O’Connor Cave
16.
In Eve’s Bayou and Lovecraft Countrysimilar hair styles call for identical clothes.
Trimark Pictures, HBO
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Costumer: Karyn Wagner
Lovecraft Country (2020)
Costumer: Dayna Pink
17.
The saturation may be different, but this is indeed the same dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Elvis movie Tickle Me.
Paramount Pictures, Allied Artists Pictures
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
Costumer: Edith Head
Tickle Me (1965)
Costumers: John A. Anderson, Joan Joseff, and Shirlee Strahm
18.
What does Macbeth have in common with the Vikings? This leather armor, which was in Macbeth and Vikings!
StudioCanal / youtube.com, History / youtube.com
Macbeth (2015)
Costumer: Jacqueline Durran
Vikings (2013)
Costumers: Joan Bergin & Susan O’Connor Cave
19.
The purple dress from Back to the Future Part III and Far and Away
Universal Pictures / youtube.com, Universal Pictures
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Costumer: Joanna Johnston
Far and Away (1992)
Costumer: Joanna Johnston
20.
This regal necklace was in both Elizabeth and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Working Title Films, BBC / youtube.com
Elizabeth (1998)
Costumer: Alexandra Byrne
The Sarah Jane Adventures (2010)
Costumer: Andrea Mear
21.
Out of this world sci-fi? I’ve just got the tactical vest, used in the episode of “The Tenth Planet.” Doctor Who and Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.
BBC / archive.org, Disney / youtube.com
Doctor Who (1966)
Costumer: Alexandra Tynan
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Costumer: John Mollo
22.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bones would make a good crossover, and this piece is already tying the universes together.
The WB, Fox
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
Costumer: Cynthia Bergstrom
Bones (2005)
Costumer: Bobbie Read
Which pieces of clothing would you now want to own? Let me know in the comments!
