Poorly Costumed Westerns

[miss1934]

I am currently attempting to do a report on the influence of the period in which westerns were made on their costuming and hair, and am looking for specific movies that are known for their poor costuming or hair. Examples that would help me would be the cullottes worn in the Big Country, or the spoof of poor costuming in westerns in Blazing Saddles. I was was looking for better examples though and was hoping that you all would be able to help me! I know I don't post very often but I am an active reader of many of the threads posted, espcialy in this catagory. Thanks!

 

[Lauren]

Hello!

I recently went to the Gene Autry museum in LA. Here's their website:
http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/
This is an exhibit that was up, but I missed it on the various outfits. I have the book, I purchased it at Barnes and Noble, but I know it's available on Amazon:
How the West was Worn

Here's my pics online from the exhibits I saw and they're almost primarily costumes or authentic period pieces.

But I like the cheesy western costumes, so I think it's creative costuming rather than poor costuming lol After all, back then they RARELY got period or ethnic clothing right

 

[Sunny]

But I like the cheesy western costumes, so I think it's creative costuming rather than poor costuming lol After all, back then they RARELY got period or ethnic clothing right

Don't I know it! *groan* I can overlook a great deal, even if I have to really squash my Authenticity Urge. (I reenact the 1860s.)

What really gets to me is when poor costuming enables screenwriters/directors/whoever to do things that the actual people wouldn't have done. The biggest one is the cop-out of having women wear coulottes or even ordinary jeans so they can ride horseback. As if women hadn't been riding aside for decades! And of course there's a lot more running-around-in-underwear than is likely to happen. I can overlook a mixmatch of periods and the wrong corsets (or none at all!) as long as there's not ridiculous modern behavior going on.

Hmm... This wasn't specific at all. Most of my western-watching happened before I learned about authenticity, so it's hard for me to be exact. So sorry!

 

[miss1934]

I know!!

I was even looking for titles of the bad sixties westerns where all the women wear bouffants. Any titles would help, thanks,
Anne

 

[Feraud]

Any of the Sergio Leone "Spaghetti Westerns" feature inaccurate costumes. The women have bouffants and/or flowing hair with their cleavage hanging out. The men wear open shirts with a scarf tied jauntily around the neck.

I have always felt many background extras look more accurate than the stars.

 

[Haversack]

Feraud wrote:
"I have always felt many background extras look more accurate than the stars."

That is sort of a general rule with just about any period movie. Usually the costume designer exerts their skills on the leads to make them "read right" to the contemporary audience. By "read right" I mean that the clothing, hair style, cosmetics of the leads all convey the right message of who the characters are in aesthetic/cultural language of the day. In practice,the designer attempts to blend historical costuming with contemporary fashion. This will often make a movie look very dated after a few years. Consider the Carnaby Street look to the 1967 movie of _Camelot_. Also, there tends to be a hierarchy in what gets accurately done. As noted, extras are often accurate. At the same level are props and furnishings. (look at the furniture in _THe Court Jester_.) Male lead costuming is more likely to be accurate than that of female leads. Hair style and cosmetics of the female leads are the least likely to be accurate. Another factor to consider is what the contemporary scholarship on a particular period was when the movie was made. The 1958 movie of _The Vikings_, put a lot of effort into accuracy which still shows. However, because of archeology and other scholarship, we now know a lot more about the clothing of 10th C. Northern Europe. There is also the matter of what the audience expects to see. The costuming in movie Westerns of the Golden era and earlier were heavily influenced by the flamboyent costuming of the touring Wild West Shows like that of Buffalo Bill. Even though early Hollywood has a steady influx of real working cowboys up through the 1950s, the public's perception of what Cowboys looked like was already fixed. Sometimes the Hollywood perception influenced what real working cowboys wore. The old J. R. Williams comic panel of "Out Our Way" sometimes had fun with this cultural fusion.

Haversack.

 

[Twitch]

On the other side the HBO series Deadwood had good a wardrobe.

Every woman wasn't a dance hall girl and every man wasn't a cowboy. Most of the clothing worn was NOT gunslinger or saloon slut. Just about any 50s-60s TV western is an example of being inaccurate to a large degree.

 

[carebear]

Bonanza was originally set very shortly after the Civil War yet the guns and clothes point to the more traditionally understood "cowboy" period of the 1880's/90's.

Most of Eastwoods later Westerns (Pale Rider, Josey Wales, etc) seem to do pretty well with getting the clothes and gear closer to their setting (though I'm no expert).

 

[jamespowers]

How about Ricky Nelson's guitar in Rio Bravo? I don't think that was likely around during that time.

Regards,

J

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Cagney & Bogart in a Western. "The Oklahoma Kid" 1939
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031747/

It's actually kind of fun to watch them both in a Western.lol

 

[CharlieH.]

Cullottes in a western?? That I gotta see!

 

[Lauren]

Yes, they're actually true to period if you're going for around the turn of the century on. They were called "divided skirts"

http://www.folkwear.com/231.html

Here's a bicylclist wearing a pair:

And circa 1922:

More:

Circa 1911:

Actually, that's a good site:
http://www.lemen.com/qa207.html

 

[CharlieH.]

Hmmm.... that means that I've had the wrong picture for all these years. In my mind, the word always conjured up images of french fops in tight short pants. (Love the bicycle picture)

 

[miss1934]

I realize that bicycle skirts existed, I'm talking about fitted pants or bicycle skirts that came to just below the knee. and the betty hutton hair-do's??? please.

 

[MrBern]

Well, I'd like to point out that the love interest in DAnces w/ Wolves had a strange hairstyle. She was raised by indians wore her hair differently. More like early `90s big hair.

 

[MrBern]

hair

And Robert Redford's hair seems more `70s feathered pop star than old time trainrobber

 

[Mark G]

Just about any western from the late 50's through the early 80's could be described as western fantasy. In the late 50's the fast draw craze caught on and the "drop loop" metal lined holster was born. This innovation was invented so that the hand when dropped to the side was near the butt of the six-gun and the metal lining allowed the cylinder to turn while still in the holster. Virtually every movie and TV show during this period used these holsters. Belts and belt loops were also something that were used after the turn of the century. Most people used suspenders or just made sure the pants fit tightly. While the list is endless, some of the biggest offenders are the chaps and hats. Almost all the the chaps used in the movies are batwing. These are held in place with clasps around the thigh and have big flapping "wings". They didn't exist before the turn of the century, the correct style would be shotgun chaps that were stepped into like pants. Kevin Costner's outfit in "Open Range" is about as close to correct as any film in recent times... Except his hat. Hat creases were very regional. You would never find a cowboy in Montana with a wide brim and big crown. A perfect example of the style of hat worn in the north would be the "smokey bear". The four equal dents, called the Montana Pinch, would shed the rain well and the 3 1/2" brim would be less likely to blow off. I hope this helped.

 

[Flitcraft]

Thats interesting information on the regional hat styles/creases. Have you ever seen "The Grey Fox", with Richard Farnsworth? I'm curious as to how accurate the costuming was. His hat seemed to be a U.S. Army issue campaign style, in olive drab. I know the filmmakers got the firearms correct- they had him use a Colt Bisley just like the one Bill Miner was carrying when the RCMP captured him.

 

[Mark G]

It's been awhile since i've seen the movie, but my recollection is that it was right on for the period. The campaign hat the US Army adopted is JB Stetsons first design called the "Boss of the Plains". The hat style has been around since the 1860's and came with an open crown (as did just about every hat until the 50's)

 

[miss1934]

That is so helpful! Could I ask you where you have gotten this information by any chance? I would totaly pick it up for some nighttime reading.
What do you think of the good, the bad and the ugly? JUst watched it recently and I almost didn't know what to think. He was smoking modern cigarillos, and the haircuts were very sixties. the woman was also wearing a cmisole type tope and 50's looking waist cincher. Did women actually wear those peasent style camisole tops in the old west? because I would think not and I have yet to really come across them in my resources.