56 thoughts on “Historical Costumes in Wonder Woman (2017)

  1. Glad to have my opinion that the purple frilly dress was a tad out of date, though as my spouse pointed out, Steve and Etta were trying to frump Diana up so she’d be less distracting. What did you think of the Belgian villagers’ clothes? I’m no expert but I thought they looked pretty accurate, especially the slightly high-crowned bonnets on the older women.

    1. The villagers’ costumes were fine, insofar as I could make them out under the layers of mud and oppression. Nothing really worth singling out, everything was dirt-colored so it all blended in with the destruction around them. Once the DVD comes out and I can do actual screencaps, I might have more to say about the villagers.

  2. Well, Wonder Woman did lift the “bridesmaid” gown off its original wearer, so I was willing to overlook the fact that it didn’t exactly work that well on her. The scene with WW literally sizing up the fussing German aristocratic lady, made me laugh out loud. So did the the sound of the hobble skirt’s seams/fabric ripping when she tried to kick box in it..

    1. That was my thought about the blue dress, too: that the lady who was originally wearing it looked right for the period. When Diana wears it, though, it definitely looks way more modernized. Of course, we don’t see the dress on its original owner, except for the skirt. The rest is covered by that fabulous cocoon coat that I wish had more screen time. I was trying to find a shot of that entire outfit online, but since she’s basically a throwaway character, there’s no shots of her or the costume yet. Will have to wait for the DVD to get a good look at it, I guess.

      1. I haven’t seen it yet, but plan on it this week. I loved the blue dress when I saw the picture. It looked very Grecian, or should I say Amazonian. More later.

      2. Upon rewatch I looked closely at this scene and noticed that on the original owner, the dress has a higher neckline with a beaded panel, which vanishes when Diana wears it. The embellished coat makes it hard to be 100% certain, but the coat looks like it wraps and the beaded section I saw was straight across the chest…so it really looked like it was part of the dress underneath.

        Which is extra baffling when you consider that we’re meant to believe she’s wearing her armour under the dress….which is cut so low that her armour would definitely show. But the original neckline would conceal her armour effectively.

        But boobs, or something…

        At least they didn’t show this full shot in the movie…would have destroyed all plausibility. LOL
        http://cdn-img.instyle.com/sites/default/files/styles/684xflex/public/images/2017/06/061517-wonder-woman-sword.jpg?itok=dtEpjbDb

    2. I did love that bit with testing the hobble skirt. I was dreading the cliché “rips her skirt to the hipbone up the side seam to fight in” thing. Instead, we have a woman warrior who thinks about fighting ahead of time and gives that skirt a test run. Nope, won’t do. Next!

      And I think the difference between the way the owner of the blue dress and Diana wear it is interesting; when Diana appropriates the dress, she drapes it in a way that suggests ancient Greece more than 1918 Europe.

  3. I think the things that make that blue dress look particularly David’s Bridal are the lack of gloves, and the total lack of any embellishments.

  4. I saw it with my daughter, we both loved pretty much everything about it, especially the costumes. The blue dress felt a bit too modern but we decided later she is a goddess, so the Grecian style is something she would be familiar with. Since she, ahem, borrowed the dress from someone, it was technically someone else’s fashion choice; Diana just took it from meh to stunning. She knows a boat ton of languages, chances are she’s learned something about how to style a dress, aye? I was wondering if she was clenching her butt to hold that sword in or had she fashioned a sword sheath somehow, but I didn’t get hung up any aspects of the costumes besides feeling like everything was excellently sewn and tailored when it needed to be, a bit ill-fitting when it needed to be (Chris Pines’ borrowed German uniform in the gala scene.)

    1. I also noticed Steve’s slightly-ill-fitting uniform in that scene, too. Actually, all the uniforms were gorgeously tailored. The one thing that I immediately look at is to see if the sleeve caps are smoothly tailored into the armscye on any suit, and all of them in the film passed muster with me. Whoever tailored those suits knew their shit.

    1. I also spent a good deal of time looking for the inspiration for the purple dress, because I swear I’ve seen it somewhere before, but nothing came up. It’s possible Lindy Hemming just synthesized a bunch of details common to that era into that one dress.

  5. I’m so in love with the smart wool suit she settles on during the shopping trip, that I’m considering cosplaying it. With sword, shield and bracers just peeking out from the cuffs, so that the cosplay is unmistakable. I’m glad that it is period-appropriate, though, because it would be nice to have something that would be appropriate for the local steampunk gatherings (though admittedly, it would probably be considered more dieselpunk than steampunk).

  6. Yay! Glad you didn’t wait to DVD release to cover this :) One thing I loved was the outerwear–necessary in the climate, and so spot on! Especially in the evening/formal scenes, the women’s Poiret-esque velvet and beaded coats were lovely. I wish I knew more about the male uniforms to judge.

    Also I laughed at Etta’s “spoke by a woman who has never needed to hold her tummy in” comment. Relateable AF.

    1. I really don’t like posting about films I can’t screencap, but this is such a huge deal right now that waiting for the DVD would be criminal. I might revisit it in more detail once the DVD comes out, though, because there are things I really want to see in more detail (like the blue party dress before Diana gets a hold of it, the purple department store dress, ALL of Etta’s clothes, the Baddies’ uniforms, etc.).

      1. I, for one, am hugely thankful to you for bucking the *ucking niceties. Thank you for your impatience.

  7. I’m just glad they FINALLY got men’s full dress done correctly. ie, NO WHITE showing below the jacket. it cuts the line and makes the full dress look horrific. the womens clothing on the extras was wonderful and well done. I also liked her final outfit, it was serviceable and logical for a military leader.

  8. Loved the movie, all of my childhood dreams came true. My sister and I used to wake up early to watch reruns of the original series. I also loved the costumes. Glad the stood up historically.

    1. Ooo! Let’s trade Wonder Woman memories!

      When I was a toddler, I was a REALLY picky eater — like, I barely ate anything. My mom devised a method to get me to eat by putting one of those Wonder Woman posters with articulated joints on the wall opposite my highchair and she’d “feed” WW every bite of food before feeding it to me. To this day, green beans are “Wonder Woman beans” in my family.

      1. My sisters and I used to put on our WW underroos and play paradise island. We used jump ropes as our lassos of truth, our rubber bracelets as the gaunlets, and headbands as the crown. I have to search but I think there is a picture of us outside like this.
        I was literally crying during the ending of the movie because they got it right. I mean Gal Gadot’s thighs JIGGLED when she jumped and landed. They did not airbrush out the crows feet and age line on the Amazons…..

  9. I’m handing in my notice. The fact that I never realised that Lucy was Maria Lucas mean I am a complete failure.

  10. Saw Wonder Woman and loved it. As for the blue dress, no, it was not historically accurate and it could go bridesmaid but, to me, it was Greek goddess-like, something that fit Wonder Woman’s origins very well.

  11. I’m seeing the film this Friday, and I’m using it as an excuse to add some WWI uniform books to my library; I may have some observations in that department later.

  12. So much of this film was done really well… But I’m still hung up on the fact that WW’s classic costume appears on her out of NOWHERE, without any back story or explication :( I found this most disappointing as most every other super hero movie lends is this story or evolution of costume.
    We see Diana leave the island with the clothes on her back…so where did it come from? Are we supposed to think her cloak is some magical Mary Poppins contraption?

    1. She took the red, blue and gold outfit from the same vault as the sword and lasso, but they deliberately never show it in full till the No Man’s Land scene. She’s wearing it under her fur mantle when she and Steve get on the boat, and Steve and Etta hastily stop her from taking the mantle off in the middle of the shop (because it would be scandalous, simply scandalous, larks almighty I do believe I have the vapours, etc.). She must have changed out of the suit-dress and back into the costume with the mantle on top sometime before they reached the front.

    2. THANK YOU. I’m glad it wasn’t just me who totally missed the moment where she stole the WW armor. My husband swore up and down she stole it right after stealing the lasso and shield and sword and I was like, “Where was I??”

  13. That movie was so, so, so beautiful, and if it didn’t mean also wearing a wig I’d be considering Diana’s London suit for a cosplay even more. Also, you didn’t mention the hairstyles! After having read the article about mysterious bobby pin shortages, I noticed that Diana wore her hair up whenever she was blending in with normal society, and then pulled what looked like a pin or comb out before fighting.

    My kingdom for more Steve Trevor in that sweater and leather vest. It looks so cozy and practical, and yet another outfit with on-point layering. Plus those puttees ftw.

  14. My first thought when I saw the scene with Diana in the blue dress at the gala was that it did look greek goddess like… Which also gave off a statue of liberty vibe to me.

  15. I stumbled across your blog searching for Etta Candy’s dress info. Can anyone here tell me what to search for in a pattern? My daughter is gojng to cosplay Wonder Woman and I would love to br Etta Candy alongside her. Help?

  16. I went back and watched the movie again with your comments on the blue dress in mind (with my mom, a history prof who used to teach on this era– super fun!). It seems to me that you can glimpse a beaded, straight-cut band across the bust on the blonde partygoer beneath her coat– I’m guessing that the in-universe theory is that the dress is two layers, a beaded slip with the drapey thing over it, and Diana only “borrowed” the outer layer.

  17. I totally, TOTALLY loved Lucy Davis and leaned over to say to my husband, “That’s Maria Lucas from Pride and Prejudice.” I wanted so much more of her, she was so underused!! And yes, loved her costumes, they were fantastic.

  18. Finally I was able to see the movie. I loved it. No, I lurved it. From the opening with the Wayne Enterprises ‘Brinks Truck’ delivery to the ending where Diana acknowledged that what makes us worth redemption is our ability to love. Something the Greek gods for all their lusting was unable to do or it was not thought worthy of mentioning or not capable of.
    Now the costumes were, IMHO 99% spot on. I loved the Selfridge scene. The black dinner dress Diana modeled was very Lucile Duff Gordon. And I giggled about the corset/armor too. I liked how the ‘fashion show’ took Diana on a clothing journey from dinner/theatre formal to day wear.
    Can’t wait for Sequel. Bought soundtrack, movie adaptation novel & my new forever stamps are WW.

  19. I saw this from a cosplay friend and thought y’all might enjoy another costumer’s take on the Amazons. I just saw it today. The blue dress is jarring in its modernity, to me, but everything else is so wonderfully done that I can forgive it. Not to mention the color is divine…. https://m.imgur.com/r/armoredwomen/qtocd

  20. I’m a lifelong Wonder Woman fan and am beyond thrilled with the movie. I’ve bought almost all of the dolls released for the film and wished they made more . . . I’ve been working on custom doll costumes for different scenes. Never sewn a stitch before, but now have made a basic draft of Diana’s Selfridge’s gray suit-dress (much thanks due to your posting the IRL Abercrombie ancestor). Thank you!

    Now I’m trying Etta Candy (a “curvy” redhead Barbie, custom curled hair) with her black & white checked dress and I’m having trouble understanding how it’s even constructed. Any hints? Links to similar patterns? I can tell it’s essentially a jacket over a double skirt, but the long piece that hangs in the center front throws me off. Many thanks for any light you can shed.

  21. Late to the party, but weighing in.

    One thing I loved was that whenever a character “borrowed” clothing from someone else it invariably didn’t fit the same as it had on the original wearer. It’s a common trope in H’wood that if you steal someone’s outfit it’s going to fit you. Not likely. Wonder Woman would be noticeably taller, broader-shouldered, and more muscular than the original owner of the blue dress. She didn’t steal it for purposes of vanity, so the jewelry was deemed an encumbrance and left behind. Since she was taller, the bodice must have been too short, the answer, lower it and drop the sleeves to off-shoulder. Her emergency adjustments make sense.

    The only thing that is off is the sword down her back. It is long enough that it had to hurt at least one tender place. Diana curves where the sword is straight so we ought to see its outline, so we have to fanwank that it collapses somehow. Plus anyone who danced with her would feel it. It’s a jarring note to costume watchers.

    Likewise Steve Trevor’s appropriated uniform must have come from someone taller than he is, so it bags and sags. Lacking Diana’s adjustment skills, he makes no effort to improve
    it.

  22. WW was one of my big heroes as a kid. I grew up during the war, so saw a lot of women doing the jobs while the men were far away. I was a member of the Junior Justice Society and had the codebook and all Gal Gadot seems ideal because she has the Mediterranean look, and as a former IDF soldier, is a convincing warrior. I loved the occasional flashes of humour, which saved the film from unrelieved grimness. I forget why it was that the producers decided to set the story back a war, but it did provide a different look and feel. But can we ever forgive DC for one of the worst puns in popular culture?

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