5 of the Most Obviously Reused Movie Costumes
Every cent counts on a movie set, so it’s understandable that sometimes, a character’s outfit is simply plucked from the studio closet rather than sourced wholesale. After all, it’s not like anyone’s going to know that the heroine of this fall’s teen rom-com is wearing the same jeans as the heroine of last fall’s teen rom-com. Some costumes are so iconic, however, that the very idea of reusing them is both blasphemy and ballsy as hell.
They really thought we wouldn’t notice that…
Vinessa Shaw Wears the Same Gown in ‘Hocus Pocus’ as Michelle Pfeiffer in ‘Dangerous Liaisons’
It’s not clear what Alison’s Halloween costume in Hocus Pocus is supposed to be, but apparently, it’s Madame de Tourvel. Five years earlier, James Archeson won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for Dangerous Liaisons, so it makes sense that Alison would want to wear the gown Michelle Pfeiffer wears throughout the film.
Alexis Bledel Wears the Same Coat in ‘Tuck Everlasting’ as Kate Winslet in ‘Titanic’
You know the pink coat with intricate black embroidery that Rose wears as the Titanic begins to sink, to be discarded on the steps to the third-class cabin on her way to risk a grisly death for a boy she just met? As unlikely as it seems, it resurfaced two years later, chronologically speaking, as Tuck Everlasting’s Winnie Foster encounters some lower-class boys and bests them at baseball, to her upper-class mother’s consternation. They really needed to hammer home the “rebellious rich girl” thing.
A Random ‘Sex and the City’ Extra Wore the Same Dress as Jennifer Garner in ‘13 Going on 30’
Believe it or not, the iconic Versace dress worn by Jennifer Garner in the “Thriller” scene of 13 Going on 30 made its on screen debut a year earlier, on a smaller screen. It was worn by an extra sitting behind the Sex and the City gang in the 2003 episode where they venture all the way to Brooklyn to see Samantha’s boyfriend in a play. Garner recalled seeing it during a rewatch and thinking, “Get out of my dress! Give me my dress back!” though it was technically the extra’s dress first.
Ryan Gosling Wore the Same Cowboy Shirt in ‘Barbie’ as Max Greenfield on ‘New Girl’
Max Greenfield wore a lot of memorable outfits as Schmidt on New Girl, but few were as memorable as the black and white fringed getup he wears to the exclusive “Wild West” party in the pilot episode. The costumers of Barbie must have thought so, too, because Ryan Gosling wears the same shirt after Ken and Barbie steal western wear to blend in at Venice Beach. You can’t blame them: Schmidt was Ken before it was cool.
The ‘Friends’ Cast and the ‘Buffy’ Cast Constantly Wore the Same Clothes
@cinemaspells
As a gang of teenage occultists from California and a gang of teenage adults from New York, the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Friends seem like they couldn’t be more different, but they apparently shared closets. Sarah Michelle Gellar wore two of the same lacy tops as Jennifer Aniston, one white and one black, while Alyson Hannigan wore not one, not two, but three of Lisa Kudrow’s funky patterned sweaters. Either the two shows shared a lazy costumer or there were only so many personalities available to women on late ‘90s TV. It could honestly be either one.
