17 thoughts on “Top Five Times the Extras Were Better Dressed Than the Principles

  1. I’m too waiting for Emperor but also Matilda based on the Prima ballerina assoluta Mathilde Kschessinkaya affair with several Romanov Grand Dukes and Tsarevitch Nicky.
    And does Dr Quinn count. The native Americans were dressed better than the Townie’s.

  2. I confess I adore Dangerous Beauty, but not for the courtesans’ costumes. I love most of the rest of the womens’ costumes, and the men are pretty smokin’. I mostly watch it because it’s so full of pretty.

  3. You get why this is, right? CD’s have total freedom with extras. Once you get to doing the principals, the “is history sexy?” issue raises its ugly head.
    The committees assemble, and history loses. Except on the extras. Often it is where we get to do our best work.

  4. Funny, I’m the girl extra on the right in the picture of the set of Emperor. Every extra wore spectacular costumes and we’re all very disappointed the film will probably never be released. But we do have some great set pics… We were not allowed to post them anywhere publicly.

    1. Ha! I knew that one of these days someone from the film would appear here! I’m curious… were you all reenactors? Because those costumes are pretty spot-on for that period and locale.

      1. Most shows will not allow extras to bring their own clothing, as we then have no control over the costumes for reshoots etc.
        The Costume Department is usually more than capable of doing things the right way, if the process is not interfered with from above, and they are given the time and resources to do the job properly.

        1. Terry – you should do guest posts for FrockFlicks as a costume insider – possibly for Patreon patrons?

      2. No, just extras and some stuntmen. Costumer Francesca Sartori checked every extra very meticulously. I was on set for 3 days in the streets of Ghent and two in the Gravensteen castle. Before we were allowed on set, she always had to give her final approval and there was a costume fitting before shooting.

  5. I love Becoming Jane! I acknowledge that the costumes are a mashup of eras, but since the 1785-1825 period is one of my favorites in fashion history, I’m okay with it.

  6. Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, the three extras in Mad Love are wearing Majestic Velvets 5 piece renaissance costume in navy blue. I actually own that gown.
    I know that the people who own Armstreet Armour and several of their gowns were used in the Russell Crowe Robin Hood.

  7. Seeing the comment about the gable hood in The Other Boleyn Girl is honestly me.
    I feel that it’s actually had the best made gable hoods on screen, and even showed those weird hybrid Gable-French hoods that were curved but still angular, like what you see in the portrait of Thomas More’s family.

  8. I saw those two dresses from ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ years ago during a tour of Hampton Court. I figured at the time they were promoting the (terrible) movie. The dresses weren’t anything special in the real (looked like they were made of rayon and synthetic velvet). I remember thinking how tiny and small those two actresses were– child-sized dresses.

  9. Maybe I am wrong… But the costumes in Mad Love are actually the best thing of the movie, and, to my understandment, quite accurate both for the Extras and the Main Characters. The thing is, Spanish Fashion, though out history, has always adored doing its own thing and has rarely matched English or French Fashion up until the 18th-19th century.

  10. Becoming Jane: We get it–Jane’s ahead of her time. I actually like her costumes–haven’t seen the movie, just stills–but it’s so annoying; she sticks out like a sore thumb.
    Dangerous Beauty: Such a guilty pleasure for me.Even before I got interested in costume design, I knew something was off about Veronica’s dresses–I think it was the cut-out shoulders.

  11. Not so much the extras, but in the 2005 P&P with Keira Knightley, it often seems like her lesser sisters have better costumes than she does. It’s another where the costumes seem to be all over the place, time wise, with certain characters having really high waistlines, and others skewing towards the 1790s. And with Keira, it seems like they found out she didn’t have large breasts and just sort of “gave up”, costume wise, instead of trying to find costumes that would be both somewhat accurate and flattering to a woman with a flatter chest.

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