If you’re anything like me, when you watch a movie one of the main details you pay attention to is the costume design. Depending on the film, especially if it is a period piece, the costume design and historical accuracy is extremely important to the integrity of the film. Truthfully, historical accuracy cannot be perfectly achieved because over time that information can become flawed or less reliable, but with enough research any film can have costumes that truly and fully immerse you in the world of the story. 

There are many bad examples of what may be beautiful costumes, but fail in the historical accuracy aspect. 

Little Women (2019)

The film won the Oscar for best costume design by Jacqueline Durran in 2020. Although it won the Oscar, there were so many historical inaccuracies that were and are still overlooked. As a fan of historical and period piece fashion, watching a film set in a specific time period with characters in a wardrobe that wasn’t a part of that time can really take you out of the story. Firstly, the characters are seen in different, brand new dresses in multiple scenes. The March sisters are not from a well-off family, so the girls wearing new dresses in multiple scenes would be unrealistic. It would be more realistic for the youngest to be wearing outdated or worn out clothing as a result of hand-me-downs and they would most likely have a specific amount of dresses that rotated around the sisters. The lack of pieces such as bonnets was really disappointing as a movie watcher.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Although the costumes in Disney’s live action remake of Beauty and the Beast were beautiful, most, if not all, did not fit the time period. Yet, the costumes throughout the film did not truly bother me until we got to the famous ballroom scene. When you picture Princess Belle, I’m sure we all think of her iconic off the shoulder gold layered hoop skirt dress, full of volume and movement. That’s why when Emma Watson’s Belle walked down the staircase, I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed and disappointed. The dress was beautiful, but it was missing the off the shoulder sleeves, the hoop skirt, the layers, and instead of gold the dress was what I like to describe as banana yellow. For such an iconic dress, costume designer Jacqueline Durran took a different yet safe and boring road. 

Atonement (2007)

Atonement is one of my favorite movies, and most of the costumes are actually accurate within the film. Yet, arguably one of the most iconic film dresses, the green open backed floor length gown worn by Kiera Knightley during the film’s most pivotal scene, is not entirely historically accurate. It features elements of its period, London in the mid-’30s, but costume designer Jacqueline Durran purposefully took a modern approach with the shade of green and the combination of pattern and straps. While it is one of the most memorable dresses in film history, iconic and beloved by movie lovers, it is unmistakably modern and definitely moves outside of what is exactly the correct time period. 

(I promise I’m not a Jacqueline Durran hater, she just consistently works on period piece films without holding true to the time period’s fashion).

While there are many films with historically inaccurate costumes, there are films that fit the time period exactly, from surface level iconic dresses to tiny button details. My favorite being Emma. 

Emma (2020)

Emma is the film that I can truly say is completely and as perfectly historically accurate as you can be. The costume designer was Oscar nominated Alexandra Byrne, and she really outdid herself. She took the time to really research the Regency-era England fashion. Some of the dresses represented and were even remade to look like actual surviving Regency gowns that are displayed in museums and in fashion archives. Details like the silhouettes, the embroidery, the stockings, ear cut out collars, and even hand sewn eyelet holes made watching Emma like you were watching actual scenes from history. So, if you’re looking for a great film full of costumes, both beautiful and historically accurate, Emma is the movie for you. Also, do you know what they wear in Emma? Bonnets!

While costumes aren’t always the most prominent and important thing to all audiences, films with a very specific set time period should hold true to the known fashion trends of the era. Especially as a historical fashion fan, films that truly immerse itself into the time period costume design wise are just as important as any other component to a movie.