This is a great question! My answer is going to be a little depressing – I apologize in advance.

When I started this website I had a rudimentary knowledge of period clothing. I just knew that I found many costumes in period dramas “pretty.” And don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with watching costume dramas just because the clothes are pretty.  It’s just that with time, my view of those costumes that I used to love so much unfortunately changed.

With all of the time and research that I’ve put into this website over the past ten years, I’ve come to learn a tremendous amount about the various clothing from different eras. I remember when I first found one of Janet Arnold’s pattern books in my college library, and I just sat on the floor mesmerized until the library closed.  It was the first time I really truly understood that clothing used to fit like a glove in a way that modern clothes could never ever hope to achieve.

I do not typically go into great detail with regards what is correct and what is not correct in my descriptions because that was not the original the aim of this website, and also because the always wonderful FrockFlicks does a far better, more thorough job than I ever could. If you aren’t following them and you enjoy costumes, you should check them out, because they are AMAZING.

Because I have learned so much over the years, I can tell you that yes – sometimes the costume reuses are very, very bad indeed, to the point where I almost always know if a costume is new versus reused. Not only that, it has heavily marred my enjoyment in period dramas. Now instead of just looking at pretty dresses, I have years of knowledge behind me that immediately show me wrinkled clothes, bad alterations, incorrect undergarments…it’s really a bummer.

Now, please don’t mistake me here. I am not calling the practice of reusing costumes bad. It’s great! It’s economical!  Without it, this site would not exist. I also completely understand the limited budgets that costumers face with regards to not being able to purchase the proper undergarments or limited time that doesn’t allow for proper alterations. I’m not trying to knock any costumers, because what they do is awesome, I could NEVER do it, and they always do a good job with what they have.

But yeah – being able to watch pretty much every costume drama and go “Eh, that was used originally in The Three Musketeers, and it doesn’t fit as well.” really kind of stinks. I also feel terrible when friends come to me and say “You should see XYZ movie, it has beautiful costumes and I know you’d love it!” and I’ve already seen the film in question and the costumes fit terribly, and my friend is just trying to be kind.

Here are some of the worst offenders when it comes to “Badly reused recycled costumes.”

This costume, first created for the mini-series Lillie fits like an absolute dream. When Princess Diana re-wore it later, she chose not to wear the proper undergarments. You can see the drastic difference in shape.

This yellow piece from Dangerous Liaisons is one of my favorite costumes ever. It was reused in Dark Shadows without any kind of undergarments, and I have no idea what is going on with the lace…

This next gown from North and South doesn’t fit exceptionally well in the first place, but it at least fits better than its reuse in Another Period.

Then there is this costume from Elizabeth that was reused in The Tudors. It doesn’t fit at all.

Lastly there is this costume from Doctor Who, reused in The Great Fire. This example appears to be poorly fitted and without the proper undergarments.