This is a list of movies, TV shows, and videos that I think have superior costume, makeup, and hair design.  If you want to see the shows that made me the designer that I am today, read on.  The list is divided into three parts with all shows listed in chronological order by release date.

Part I: I have probably watched these shows a hundred times each.  Before I ever dreamed of becoming a costume designer, or even majoring in theatre at all, there were these shows that I loved.  These shows were working on my subconscious, influencing what would become my design aesthetic.   If you know my work at all, then you know I like color and lots of it.  You know I love big splashy musicals,  you know I love mixing patterns and textures, you know I love grouping characters within color families, and you know I love doing research, because history fascinates me. These shows are the reason.

Part 2: The turning point in my college theatre career was watching Dangerous Liaisons while I was taking costume design class my junior year.  It was at that point I switched my focus from lighting design (I wanted to tour with Rush) to costume design.  While I was still in college I designed costumes for the St. Michael's Academy production of Ruddigore.  My costume design teacher was horrified when I told her that I'd put all the bridesmaids in yellow because that was the only fabric that Joanne's had enough yardage of to make all the dresses.  Rookie mistake.  But I lived and I learned and as far as I know, no photos survive to document my first (and worst) costume design experience. These shows helped develop my aesthetic and were inspirational on my journey to a career in costume design.

Part 3:  I've been in this career for 20+ years now and I am only an average, work-a-day designer who teaches at a community college. I've done no films or TV shows, won no awards, and I have no fame or following to speak of. However, I do have a hyper-critical eye for and knowledge of design and costume history and these shows are on here because they've impressed me.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and in theatre we steal from the best.  These are the best and yes, I've totally stolen ideas from them.

Part ONE: Pre-Career

1.  The Wizard of Oz, 1939

The Wizard of Oz used to be broadcast on television every year around Easter time when I was growing up.  I could sing all the songs, I loved the fantasy of it. In graduate school I got to work on the stage show in La Mirada, California and we rented the original costumes from a New York house.  All the munchkins costumes were made from 100% double knit polyester and looked just as good in 1995 as they did in 1939.

Costumes designed by Adrian
Makeup Designed by Jack Dawn
Wigs Designed by Fred Frederick and Bob Roberts 

Here's a website devoted to Adrian's Hollywood career as well as his fashion atelier. A Frock Flicks Guide comparing the book and its illustrations to the movie.

2.  SINGING IN THE RAIN, 1952

Before there was hundreds of channels and TV never turned off, my mom and I would watch old movies when they were broadcast on Sunday afternoons.  This was one of our favorites.  My mom loved Debbie Reynolds. I loved Donald O'Conner.  Gene Kelly was the best dancer that ever lived.  Set in 1927 Hollywood, there are so many good costumes in this film, it is shocking that Walter Plunkett wasn't even nominated for an Oscar for this film which has become the most popular musical ever made.  He was nominated for an Oscar for The Actress the same year, but lost to Edith Head for Roman Holiday.

Costumes Designed by Walter Plunkett
Makeup Designed by William Tuttle
​Hair Designed by Sydney Guilaroff

A bio of Walter Plunkett with photos and sketches. Fashion Sizzle article on Walter Plunkett with tons of photos of all of his movies, but most importantly photos of all the "Beautiful Girls" costumes.  Helen Beaumont, a UK costume designer, analyzed the costumes as a tribute to Debbie Reynolds on her passing but no photos. Here's a promo for Vickie Lester's book Beguiling Hollywood that contains some photos and sketches of the costumes.

3. The King and I, 1956

The King and I, like the Wizard of Oz, was another movie I used to watch with my mom.  I loved the Siamese costumes in particular and was completely enchanted with their version of Uncle Tom's Cabin.  I only realized it was based on a book, Anna and the King of Siam, the summer after I graduated high school. I was in West Virginia attending a three week long science camp and I was supposed to have been on a hike that morning, but I'd woken up sick, so I got to stay back at the base camp instead and naturally went over to the little library and found it nestled there among the rest of the dusty hardbacks.  I spent the rest of the day snug in my bunk reading it.  I have always preferred reading to hiking and it was a great read.

Costumes Designed by Irene Sharaff (Oscar win)
Makeup Designed by Ben Nye
​Hair Designed by Helen Turpin

Analysis of Costumes in The King and I with lots of photos. A retrospective on the career of Irene Sharaff. Another retrospective on her career. Fashion Film Studies on The King and I.

4. THe Music Man, 1962

The Music Man is set in 1912 Iowa.  As you can tell, big splashy movie musicals dominated my early childhood.  This is another movie my mom and I would watch together on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  We knew all the songs and sang along with the movie every time it came on TV. This was the first movie musical that was about regular small town life and I related to it in a big way.  My grandmother had taught piano lessons, my mom played and my sister and I were both in lessons.  We later ended up in band, marching in parades every summer.  There were dances in the streets, everyone knew everyone else's business, and anything new in town was immediately gossiped about. We even had a barbershop quartet perform at the Opera House once.  It's appeal isn't just nostalgia, it's a funny story with catchy songs and the costumes are just beautiful.  Also, before Shirley Jones was Mrs. Partridge, she was Marian the librarian. The whole idea of a woman owning all the books and daring to have "dirty books" in her collection like Chaucer, Rabelais, and Balzac, just did my heart no end of good.  As you'll discover, if you didn't already know this about me, I love books and naturally I am strongly against the blacklisting, censorship, or burning of books of any kind.  This was my first inkling that small-minded people would have this sort of agenda.  Bastrop only had one small library and this made me wonder what all books might not be available in my library or school because of stupidity like this.

Costumes Designed by Dorothy Jeakins (Oscar nominee)
Makeup Supervisor Gordon Bau
​Hair Supervisor Jean Burt Reilly

​Variety bio of Dorothy Jeakins. 1988 Chicago Tribune Interview with Dorothy Jeakins. Some other bibliophile has created a page analyzing the "dirty books" in The Music Man.

5. Doctor Who, BBC 1963

I watched Doctor Who on PBS every Sunday before church.  Tom Baker was my original Doctor. Of course Tom Baker played the Doctor for eight years, and I wasn't old enough to have seen Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, so for me, there was only one Doctor. I remember being really confused when he was replaced by Peter Davison.  At first I thought that Peter was just anther teenage companion and I kept wondering where Tom Baker had gone.  Clearly, I must have missed the regeneration episode. After that I gave up on the show.  I was in high school by then and had other interests.  It wasn't until after I had my son that BBC America began showing the rebooted show.  I was lucky enough to be at home flipping channels and got right in at the beginning of the first Christopher Eccleston episode.  I didn't even realize I was watching Doctor Who at the time.  Once I heard the music, I realized what I'd been watching and was so excited and happy that it was back.  It's a great theme song too, so I've included all the theme song/title sequence iterations, so you can pick your favorite. Of the new Doctors, David Tennant is still my favorite.  

1963-85 Costumes Designed by Daphne Dare, Alexandra Tynan, Martin Baugh, Bobi Bartlett, Christene Rawlins, Barbara Kidd, James Acheson, Laura June Hudson, Ken Trew, Amy Roberts, et. al.
2005-2018 Costumes Designed by Louise Page, Lucinda Wright, Ray Holman, Barbara Kidd, Howard Burden, Hayley Nebauer, Edward Gibbon.
1963-85 Makeup Designed by Sylvia James, Sonia Markham, Gillian James, Dorka Nieradzik, et al.
2005-2018 Makeup Designed by Barbara Southcott, Claire Pritchard, Davy Jones, Sheelagh Wells, et al.
Prosthetic Makeup Effects by Neill Gorton of Millennium FX

A short explanation of the differences in the costume department from the original run of the series and the reboot.  A brief description of what each designer contributed to the series.  A You Tube video interview with James Acheson about his time on the show. A bit about Ray Holman. More about Ray Holman's designing Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker.  Hayley Nebauer's run on Season 10 with tons of sketches and photos.  Clothes on Film's Evolution of the Doctor's Costume. Interview with Ray Holman on Matt Smith's costume. Jodie Whittaker's Costume.

6. mary Poppins, 1964

Disney re-released Mary Poppins in 1973, so I got to see it on the big screen when I was five.  It would show up on television every once in a while and when it came out on VHS, I bought it,  and later on DVD.  It's still one of my favorite movies.  I watched every other thing that Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke were in after that, but nothing they did ever quite lived up to Mary Poppins in my eyes.

Costumes Designed by Tony Walton (Oscar win)
Makeup Artist Pat McNalley
Hair Stylist La Rue Matheron

An interview with Tony Walton on The Costume Design of Mary Poppins and another slightly different interview.

7. Batman The Original Series, 1966 ABC

Batman was already cancelled and in syndication when I discovered it as a small child.  I was in love with Robin and I wanted to be Batgirl and ride her Batcycle.  Purple was my favorite color.  Eartha Kitt was my favorite Catwoman.  The supersuits were awesome, but even more awesome were the Rogues Gallery of Villains and their adorably dressed matching henchmen.  Batman was my first superhero fandom.  Wonder Woman wouldn't be on TV for another decade, so Batgirl was the first female superhero that I watched. Batman is also my husband's favorite which is why I gave my family the gift of Batman cosplay several years ago which you can read about here.  I had wanted to do this for the 2017 Dallas Fan Expo when both Adam West and Burt Ward appeared together there, but I had an opera to do and we couldn't go.  Adam West's death was the impetus for me to finally do it.  I also did a blog on Supervillian Supersuits exclusive to the Batman's Rogues Gallery.

Costumes Designed by Pat Bartow
Makeup Designed by Ben Nye
Hair Designed by Margaret Donovan

Batman TV costumes.  Yvonne Craig on her Batgirl costumes.

8. star trek the original series, 1966 NBC

Like Batman, Star Trek was another show that was already cancelled and reborn in syndication when I discovered it as a child.  It came on every day after school at 4.  I would rush home and plop down right in front of the TV and be mesmerized for the entire broadcast.   During the opening music I would perform improvised interpretive dance and vocalize the melody all around the living room.  It was quite a performance.  It was my lifelong dream to be Lt. Uhura.  Spock was my role-model.  I practiced the Vulcan salute with both hands until I could do it without thinking.  It was hard!  I was in love with Sulu, and I really, really wished I could sound like Scottie. Star Trek was my first fandom, I was a "Trekkie" all the way.  It was the first thing that made me feel like I belonged to something bigger and better than myself. I have been fortunate enough to meet Nichele Nichols three times now, and George Takai and Walter Koenig once each at various cons.  When Leonard Nimoy died I was absolutely heart-broken.  Star Trek shaped my ideas on how things should be and could be if we all just put aside our petty differences and loved each other.

RIP Mr. Spock: 02/27/15  Live Long and Prosper!
Costumes Designed by William Ware Theiss
Makeup Designed by Fred B. Phillips
Hair Stylists: Pat Westmore

​Here's a bit about William Ware Theiss.  And another article about his working methods. And here's 10 things you didn't know about the Star Trek costumes.

9. Camelot, 1967

I was a big fan of the King Arthur stories and read all the iterations I could find starting with TH White's The Once and Future King, quickly followed by Mary Stewart's version: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. In college as a theatre/English double major I read Gawain and the Green Knight first and then the original font of all Arthur stories, the White Buffalo, Morte D'Arthur.  Later on there were Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon which I really liked, and Stephen R Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle, which I didn't like as much but read anyway.  I had seen Camelot with my mom many times back in the day of watching old movies musicals on TV on Sunday; so when the stage version with Richard Harris reprising his role as Arthur came to Austin in 1981, my mom bought us front row seats.  I was mesmerized and maybe spent just as much time watching the actors as I did watching the pit orchestra.  It was a completely magical experience.  Richard Harris was amazing to see in person.  The most memorable bit of the show for me was the scene towards the end where he's preparing for the battle with Mordred, when a knight brings him a message and one tiny ring of chainmaille falls off the nameless knight's costume and it ping, ping, pings its way across the stage and finally rolls merrily off into the orchestra pit.  Richard Harris takes the message and then claps the knight on the shoulder and tells him that he "best go see the blacksmith about that".

Costumes Designed by John Truscott (Oscar win)
Makeup by Gordon Bau
Hair by Jean Burt Reilly

An Australian exhibit on the designs of John Truscott. A Fashion in Film article on Camelot with many photos of both sketches and costumes.

10. Oliver!, 1968

Like Dickens' other famous book, A Christmas Carol, there are many versions of Oliver Twist out there. This one is my favorite because I'm a sucker for a big musical. This one isn't splashy though, almost everyone is poor, Oliver is treated horribly, society is uncaring and cruel, and worst of all, Bill Sikes chokes Nancy to death and then dies by hanging. Very dark for a family film. Nevertheless, I loved this musical. Jack Wild, The Artful Dodger, would go on to play Jimmy on Sid and Marty Krofft's H.R. Pufnstuf. Later there was an urban legend floating around that he'd grown up to be Boy George. It turned out to be not true, but in the days before the internet, we believed it.

Costumes Designed by Phyllis Dalton (Oscar Nominee, BAFTA nominee)
Makeup Supervisor George Frost
​Chief Hairdresser Bobbie Smith

A write up on the BAFTA tribute to Phyllis Dalton, with photos and sketches.  The 14 minute long video of the BAFTA tribute. BAFTA article on the 50th anniversary of Oliver!

11. Romeo and Juliet, 1968

Our freshman English class took a field trip to Austin to see this movie in a theatre in 1982.  We were reading Romeo and Juliet in class that six weeks so naturally our teacher jumped at the chance for us to see it.  I had no inkling I would go on to major in theatre back then or eventually become a costume designer, but I knew that plays were meant to be seen and heard and not read line by line in a classroom filled with people who stumbled over every phrase.  I was entranced by the way the actors spoke their speeches trippingly on the tongue, as it were.  I wouldn't realize until years later just how historically accurate the costumes were, but I knew they were beautifully exectued, rich in detail, and luxurious.

Costumes Designed by Danilo Donati (Oscar win)
Makeup Designed by Mauro Gavazzi
Hair Designed by Olga Angelinetta

Shakespeare on Film article on Romeo and Juliet. Frock Flicks Guide article with lots of photos.

12. A Clockwork Orange, 1971

A Clockwork Orange was something I'd heard about, the name being quietly whispered throughout our high school as a "dirty" movie that HBO was showing that month.  My parents didn't have HBO at the time, hardly anyone did in Bastrop, Texas (a very small country town where we'd just gotten cable TV when I was in 8th grade), but my grandfather had subscribed.  I knew this was an opportunity not to be missed.  I don't remember exactly how I engineered getting to watch it without anyone knowing that I'd watched it (Papa would never have let me watch a rated R movie, much less an X rated movie, and if he'd caught me, he certainly would have told my parents.)  Long story short, I watched it.  It wasn't at all what I'd imagined from the whispers at school.  My initial reaction to it was surprise and ambivalence.  I was surprised that I felt pity for Alex after he was rendered incapable of violence and left unable to defend himself, but neither was I glad when they reversed his conditioning and he was back to his old self.  It's a catch 22.  A Clockwork Orange was my first foray into dystopian fiction.  In college I found a copy of the book and read it--the original unexpurgated version with the 21st chapter intact, which I hadn't known existed until I bought the book. The movie version leaves out the last chapter.  That's why Anthony Burgess hates it.  I had a friend at the time who was taking Russian as her foreign language and she's the one who told me that all the Droogs' slang was corrupted Russian.  The book made so much more sense after finding that out.  Plus, with the inclusion of the last chapter, my ambivalence went away.  If you haven't read the book with the last chapter, you should.

Costumes Designed by Milena Canonero
Makeup Artists: Barbara Daly, George Partleton, Fred Williamson, Jim Gillespie
​Hair by Olga Angelinetta

LACMA exhibit on Stanley Kubrick with photos.  You have to scroll to the bottom and click through one by one.  Here's a video interview with Canonero.

13. The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, 1971-74 CBS

I watched this show every week with my mom. My mom had their albums and we'd play them when we were cleaning the house or cooking. I was in love with her gowns, designed by Bob Mackie, and was equally as fascinated with her mysterious and exotic persona. I always felt a little bit sorry for her because of her sad personal history that I gleened (assumed was true) from the three songs that I've included videos of below. There was a recurring segment of the show where Cher would lay on a piano and sing a torch song. I broke my arm copying her one night during the broadcast, while staying at my grandparents' house. I was using their four poster bed as my piano and was doing an excellent job of balancing my tiny self on the footboard when I got a little too enthusiastic with my singing and fell off. But the kids in my kindergarten class were all impressed with my giant cast at school on Monday, so it was totally worth it. Fun fact, when I was in graduate school, Bob Mackie became the new designer for Barbie.

Costumes Designed by Ret Turner, Bob Mackie (Emmy nominee)
Makeup Artist Louis Phillip
Hair Stylist Jim Oertel, Rena Horten, Cary Chowen

Harper's Bazaar article on Bob Mackie's Legacy. Fashionista article Bob Mackie talking about the Broadway Cher Show. Another Cher Show article with some Bob Mackie sketches. New Yorker article about A Lifetime of Dressing Cher with lots of original sketches. Bob Mackie's website.

14. The Rocky horror picture show, 1975

I didn't see Rocky Horror until 1985.  It was another high school whispered about experience that I had to go see for myself.  This time I didn't have to sneak around to do it, I just asked some friends if they wanted to go too and we all piled in my car and went to the midnight showing at Northcross Mall my senior year. It was the 10th Anniversary screening and I was totally hooked the first night.  I was in love with the whole idea of freedom of sexual expression (what teenager isn't?) and the gender fluidity of all the characters.  I didn't have those words for it then, but that's totally what it is.  Before RuPaul, we had Frank N. Furter, and we're all the better for it.  Plus tap-dancing Little Nell.  Since that first night, I've probably seen Rocky on screen 100 times.  I was also lucky enough to catch the stage show in Austin when I was in college.  I've always wanted to do the stage show myself or at least costume design it.  When I was in graduate school, MTV was filming the 20th anniversary screening in Hollywood at the Pantages Theatre which was right across the street from where I was doing Blithe Spirit with West Coast Ensemble that night.  I was so jealous that I couldn't just run across the street and somehow get into that show.  But because it was being filmed, my friend taped it on VHS for me, so I did get to see it, just not in person.

Costumes Designed by Sue Blane
Makeup Designed by Pierre La Roche
​Hair Designed by Ramon Gow
​
Interview with Sue Blane.

15. star wars Trilogy, 1977, 1980, 1983

Star Wars changed my life.  I was nine years old when it came to the only movie theatre in Bastrop that summer.  I spent all $3.50 of my allowance every Saturday to see it all summer long.  All my friends and I were nuts for this movie.  The special effects were amazing, we loved the characters, the spaceships, the speeder, the robots, the princess,  the whole thing was mind-blowing!  We memorized the lines and would act out the story.  Before there was Team Edward/Team Jacob, our group of friends were divided between Luke and Han.  I was Team Luke.  And then Empire came out and he was her brother?!  Ewww....  That's when the Team Han friends got all gloaty.  Star Wars was just the coolest thing ever.  And yes, it made Star Trek look cheap and tawdry, and then I had to contend with the whole Star Trek/Star Wars fandemonium, but to this day I have never chosen a side. I met Peter Mayhew at Geekfest first and then again at almost all the cons I go to because he lived in Texas.  He was a super nice, wonderful man.  I got to meet Carrie Fisher at Fan Expo several years ago and I'm so glad I got that opportunity.  I was crushed when we lost her, and Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew.  

Costumes Designed by John Mollo (Oscar win)
Makeup Designed by Stuart Freeborn
Makeup Artists: Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Christopher Tucker

NY Times article on John Mollo's sketchbooks including an interview with his son.  Lots of good photos.

16. The Wiz, 1978

The Wiz is another movie I only ever got to watch on HBO, but when it came on my sister and I watched it all month.  I was already in love with Michael Jackson from his stint in the Jackson 5 (I used to tell people that I was going to marry him when I grew up).  I'd watched Nipsey Russell on Matchgame, Hollywood Squares, and the 10,000 Pyramid. I was a big fan of Diana Ross' music.  The combination of these three very talented performers with Tony Walton's innovative conceptual designs just fascinated me.   I only found out later that The Wiz was a stage show long before they did the film version and that Ted Ross originated the role of the Cowardly Lion and was the only Broadway cast member to reprise his role for the film. My favorite part was when Evilene was vanquished and the Winkies peeled off their sweatshop costumes to reveal beautiful dancers underneath during "Everybody Rejoice/Brand New Day".  Although the film was a box office failure and critics hated it, and yes, Diana Ross was way too old to be playing Dorothy, the music is inspirational, the choreography is tight, the performances are solid, the design is intricate eye-candy, and I'm still in love with it.

Costumes Designed by Tony Walton (Oscar nomination )
Hair by William Farley and Ted Long
Makeup by Robert Laden
Special Effects Makeup by Stan Winston

An article featuring Tony Walton's original renderings.

17. flash gordon, 1980

I was only twelve when Flash Gordon was in theatres, so I didn't discover it until MTV started playing anything with rock music in it.  I loved the Queen soundtrack and all the saturated color.  Yes, the whole thing is completely over-designed and I don't care.  I love it.  My eyes drank it in and wanted more!    I have it on DVD now, we've cosplayed it for Flash and Dale (Sam Jones and Melody Anderson) and I have to say that my husband makes an awesome Ming the Merciless.  We also went to the Flash Panel at GACC and got to hear from Sam and Melody all about working on the film.  You can read about it in my blog from June, 2018.

Costumes Designed by Danilo Donati
Makeup Designed by Massimo De Rossi, Mario Di Salvio, Richard Mills, and Jayne Royle
​Hair Designed by Giusy Bovino, Betty Glasow
​
Eighteen things you didn't know about Flash Gordon.

18. Excaliber, 1981

Excalibur didn't come to Bastrop's one movie theatre probably because it was R rated, but it did come on HBO in 1982, which is where I finally got to see it. Once I did, it became the best and only version of King Arthur I would watch, totally blowing Camelot out of the water. It was everything that Camelot was not--gritty, violent, sexy, magical--everything a fourteen year old girl could want. Nigel Terry is amazing to watch as Arthur going from a young boy to an old man. Nicol Williamson intrigued me as Merlin. His costume and makeup were so unique compared to all the other "Gandalf-y" iterations of British wizard. Helen Mirren was particularly bewitching as Morgan le Fey.

Costumes Designed by Bob Ringwood (Saturn award winner, BAFTA nominee)
Armor Designed by Terry English
Makeup by Anna Dryhurst, Basil Newall (Saturn award nominee)
​Hair by Anne Dunne, Anne McFadyen

Interview with Bob Ringwood.

19. Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981

After Star Wars and Empire, we were all in love with Harrison Ford, so when Han Solo morphed into Indiana Jones, we went even more gaga for him, if that's even possible.  So gaga, in fact, that as a group we called information for Los Angeles and got his phone number.  Shawn McAdams pretended to be Stephen Spielberg (she had the deepest voice) and as we all sat clustered around the phone, she asked to speak to Harrison about a new project "he" wanted Harrison for.  When Harrison answered he got an earful of screaming girls telling him we loved him.  It was totally ridiculous, but we didn't care.  We made the long distance phone calls from Lisa Massengale's parent's house because we figured they'd be the least likely to actually check their phone bill and notice the two calls to California. We got away with it, so I guess they never did.

Costumes Designed by Deborah Nadoolman (Saturn nominee)
Special FX Makeup by Christopher Walas
Chief Hairdresser Pat McDermott

​Indiana Jones as a style icon. Another article on Indy's iconic costume. Deborah Nadoolman Landis on her exhibit at the V&A in 2012. On her role as an advocate for costume designers.

20. Victor/Victoria, 1981

My second favorite Julie Andrews and Robert Preston movie, and my first ever exposure to cross-dressing and drag--Rocky Horror was already out but i wouldn't see it for another five years. The 1920's clothing is historically accurate and the stage costumes are delightful. Instead of making two dresses for the "Shady Lady of Seville" which is the way those kinds of are normally done, the dress was actually made large enough to fit Robert Preston, but with cleverly concealed hooks and eyes to make it become small enough to fit Julie Andrews.

Costumes Designed by Patricia Norris (Oscar nominee)
Makeup by Paul Engelen, Harry Frampton, Peter Framtpton.
​Hair by Bobbie Smith

Hollywood Reporter article announcing Patricia Norris' death with a brief bio. Frock Flicks article on the historical accuracy of the costumes. A short piece about Julie Andrews' costume for the "Le Jazz Hot" number. An interview with Lesley Ann Warren on her characters' costumes in Victor/Victoria and working with Blake Edwards and Patricia Norris.

21. The Young Ones TV Series, BBC 1982-84

When MTV premiered in August of 1981 it showed anything and everything that had music in it.  Because The Young Ones had musical guests on every episode, the two seasons got picked up in 1985 and were shown late at night. I was a senior in high school by then and this became my idea of what college life was going to be like.  I fell in love instantly with the show, as well as with Vyvyan.  Years later, I bought the whole thing on VHS and more recently on DVD and raised my son on it. His earliest cosplay (not for Halloween) was of him dressed as Vyvyan, when he was about 4. 

Costumes Designed by Andrew Rose, Anna Stubley, Barbara Kidd, Phoebe De Gaye, Robin Stubbs.
​Makeup Supervisor Vivien Riley

21. Girls just want to have fun music video, MTV 1983

Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual dropped during MTV's early days when bands were first learning how to make music videos.  Cyndi Lauper was the first female artist that I remember seeing on MTV (in reality it was probably Madonna) but more importantly, she was first female artist that I felt a connection with.  I hate to praise Cyndi by comparing her to Madonna, but you have to understand how hard it was for a just barely blossoming teenage girl to look at Madonna's videos and not feel like a complete loser--fat, flat, not sexy, cool, or sophisticated, in other words, not boyfriend material--by comparison.  She was the Marilyn Monroe of the 80's and there was just no way I was ever going to be that sexy.  Yes, sure, we all loved Madonna and wanted to be just like her, but it was an unattainable and unrealistic goal.  But, I could watch any Cyndi Lauper video and feel good about myself.  Cyndi taught me that unusual is good, funny is better, and you can just be yourself and have fun without worrying how you look to boys.  If only I had really learned that lesson back in the 80's instead of in my 40's.

The video was directed by Ed Griles, choreographed by NY Dance Troupe XXY.  I can't find any design credits for this video.

22. thriller music video, 1983 mtv

By the time the "Thriller" video dropped everyone already owned the album.  We'd already seen the videos for "Billie Jean" and "Beat It".  We were already perfecting our moonwalks.  Michael Jackson could do no wrong.  And then I got a bad case of the flu which turned into pneumonia and I missed the last two weeks of school before Christmas break.  However, my misery was ameliorated on December 2 when Thriller aired for the first time.  It was a 13 minute long video (unheard of) and they played it every hour on the hour.  I had a TV in my room by then and I woke up every hour on the hour to watch it, then I'd sleep for the next 45 minutes, and the cycle continued for as long as they kept playing it.  It was the only thing that got me through the horrible pneumonia.  By the time I went back to school in January, I had the zombie dance memorized, as did all my friends.  And that spring everyone in my dance studio asked to use songs from the album for our recital.  We were Thriller crazy!

The video was directed by John Landis and was the first ever music video to have a commercially successful director.  The budget was $900,000.00 which was unheard of at the time.  Choreographer was Michael Peters.
Costumes Designed by Kelly Kimball and Deborah Nadoolman
​Special FX Makeup Designed by Rick Baker

Deborah Nadoolman on the iconic red leather jacket.

23. Amadeus, 1984

I was a Junior in HS when Amadeus came out.  It was the first Rococo period film I'd ever seen and it's the reason I became completely enchanted with the period. My first ever full time job as a costume designer, this was the very first show I designed costumes for at Socorro High School.  That's when I found out that F. Murray Abraham is from El Paso.  Coincidence?  I think not. Tom Hulce is wonderful as Mozart but its F. Murray Abraham's jealous and crafty performance as Salieri that really sells it. And let's not forget that Dick Smith was hired to design makeup for the film just to make Salieri's old age prosthetics.

Costumes Designed by Theodor Pistek (Oscar win)
Makeup Designed by Paul LeBlanc and Dick Smith (Oscar win)
Wigs Designed by Paul LeBlanc 

Interview with Theodor Pistek on composing Amadeus Costumes.

24. Prince, Purple rain and beyond, 1984-2016

I was trying to pick just one music video or movie that would encapsulate Prince's iconic fashion choices, but that's just not possible.  So I give you his entire career.  Until someone makes his biopic a la Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, this will have to do.  What can I say about Prince other than he was the epitome of Dionysian Debauchery, the Sultan of Sexy, the Purple Paisley Peacock of Fashion.  Yes, I just made all those names up, but it's true.  No one was sexier than Prince and I wanted to be Wendy or Lisa just to be close to him.  When "When Doves Cry" dropped, we all had the little dance at the end memorized.

Purple Rain and Under the Cherry Moon: Costume Designer Marie France.

Prince's influence on gender-fluid fashion was written about after his death in Rolling Stone Magazine, with photos showcasing some of his iconic looks throughout his career.  The Guardian also wrote an article on how his androgynous style influenced fashion.  The LA Times wrote a story about 6 ways Prince explored gender roles, sexuality, and fashion.  Billboard wrote about Prince's Fashion Evolution, with probably the best photo series of all the articles linked.  Vogue also did a piece from a historical/conservation point of view of his atelier and the enormous job someone had of cataloging all of it after he died. 

25. Legend, 1985

I confess I went to see Legend originally for Tom Cruise and because I love fantasy.  The first time I saw it I didn't realize Darkness was Tim Curry until almost the very end.  He's unrecognizable under all the prosthetics, but his voice gave it away.  I didn't care that the critics hated this movie and that its American release replaced the original soundtrack with Tangerine Dream.   I could watch it with the sound off and would still think it was awesome.  The costumes and makeup in the film are stunning, Darkness is IMO the best devil creature fx makeup ever.  That being said, if you haven't seen the 2002 Ridley Scott director's cut, you owe it to yourself to see it, because the whole thing does make much more sense and it plays so much better with the original music.

Costumes Designed by Charles Knode (BAFTA win)
Makeup Designed by Rob Bottin (Oscar and Saturn win)
Mia Sara's Hair Designed by Robert Lobetta

Tribute to Rob Bottin. Wikipedia article specifically about Legend, skip down to read all about creating the fx  makeup effects.  You Tube music video tribute to Rob Bottin. Photos of Charles Knode's costume maquette of Tom Cruise's character Jack.

Part Two: Training for my career

26. the princess bride, 1987

The Princess Bride came out while I was in college.  I saw it in the theatre, then taped it off of HBO, then bought it on VHS, then bought the 20th Anniversary DVD, then the 30th Anniversary Blue Ray. I may be obsessed.  I didn't read the book until after I'd seen the movie.  If you haven't read the book yet, you owe it to yourself.  Everything about this movie is perfect, but the book has so much more in it.  And yes, I did spend way too much time at a library trying to track down the original "unexpurgated" version of S. Morgenstern's The Princess Bride.  It pleases me to no end that  I'm not the only one who did that.

Costumes Designed by Phyllis Dalton
Makeup Designed by Lois Burwell
Hair Designed by Eithne Fennel
Billy Crystal and Carol Kane's Makeup and Hair Designed by Peter Montagna

​Great article on the historical accuracy of the costume design, with lots of photos.
Here's an article on Phyllis Dalton herself.

27. Dangerous Liaisons, 1988

I was taking costume design at A&M when this movie came out.  We all got extra credit for seeing it.  This is when it occurred to me that I might want to be a costume designer.  Later on, we did the play at A&M and I got to help build costumes for it. Our costume designer Susan Kelly chatted excitedly the entire build about how she had always wanted to design this show, but to do it like the original Broadway run, all in white.  I came across the script at Half Price books about 15 years ago and thought of that when I discovered that Allen Rickman had originated the role of Valmont.  This was after the HP movies had started dropping and Snape was everyone's favorite bad guy.  I wish I could have seen that performance.  I'd still like to design this show I just haven't had the opportunity yet.

Costumes Designed by James Acheson (Oscar win)
Wigs Designed by Peter Owen
Supervising Makeup Artist Jean-Luc Russier

 Frock Flicks guide on James Acheson in general.  And a second Frock Flicks guide to Dangerous Liaisons specifically.

28. bram stoker's dracula, 1992

 I read Dracula in high school, along with Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and everything Poe wrote, including his Poe-try.  You could say I was in a big Gothic Horror phase at the time.  I used to re-read Dracula every Halloween.  I love this book.   I am a big advocate for reading the book first and that the book is always better than the movie.  This is my steadfastly held opinion on all movies made from books, not just this one.  I have read all the other vampire books and seen all the other vampire movies, so I know of what I speak.  However, in my 50+ years I have found that there are a few exceptions to this rule.  The first exception is that Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is better than Stephen King's. The second exception is that Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula is better than Bram Stoker's. Yes, I know Winona and Keanu don't belong in this movie, Keanu doesn't belong in any period film and he had just finished doing Dangerous Liaisons and he didn't belong in that either. But I willingly ignore that they can't hold a candle to all the other actors and that the only reason they are in this movie is to appeal to teenage Americans. And yes, I know that FFC gets Mina and Dracula's relationship completely wrong, I just don't care, that's how good this movie is, compared to all other versions of Dracula.   This movie works despite having Winona Ryder play Mina Murray because Gary Oldman is the best Dracula living or dead. I will fight you over this. However, the reason this movie is on this list is Eiko's stunning costume design.  Eiko is reason this movie is so breathtakingly beautiful, so strange and surprising . Eiko is the game changer.  Eiko is what separates this magnificently perfect Dracula from all other, lesser Draculas.  And Gary Oldman's acting.

Costumes Designed by Eiko Ishioka (Oscar win)
Makeup and Hair Designed by Michele Burke (Oscar win)
Special Makeup Effects Designed by Greg Cannom
Special Makeup Effects Application by Matt Mungle
Gary Oldman's Wig Maker and Hair Stylist: Stuart Artingstall

​An article on Eiko Ishioka's career. Another on her costumes for Dracula. Photos of her sketches included.

29. No Rain music video, 1992 mtv

The was my first taste of 1990's aesthetic.  Nirvana was new, there was flannel and grunge, and no one seemed to want to wear anything interesting in their videos anymore.  But then Samuel Bayer directed this video for Blind Melon and used their own album cover as inspiration for the video that Blind Melon absolutely hated when they saw it.  I loved it, as did every girl who grew up wearing silly little costumes just like this one in their dance recitals.

Music video directed by Samuel Bayer starring Heather DeLoach as the Bee Girl.  The girl on the album cover is drummer Glen Graham's little sister Georgia in her homemade dance recital costume.  I can't find any designer credits for this video.

30. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 1994

After Victor/Victoria and Rocky Horror, this was not my first drag show, but it was the best one. Unapologetically over the top, totally theatrical, larger than life. This was a costume designer's dream. To Wong Fu came out a year later, but Priscilla was far superior in every way. The entire budget for the costumes was $20,000. Afterwards Chappel and Gardiner were asked to recreate the costumes for Broadway with a million dollar budget and they won a Tony for it.

Costume Designed by Tim Chappel, Lizzie Gardiner (Oscar win, BAFTA win)
Hair and Makeup Designed by Angela Conte, Cassie Hanion, Strykermeyer

Interview with Tim Chappel.

31. Angels and Insects, 1995

I watched this film at the suggestion of a fellow grad student, Sharon McGonegal. I didn't realize it was based on the 1992 book, Morpho Eugenia by British author Dame Antonia Byatt until I started doing research for this entry. It's set in Victorian England, in the crinoline period. The costumes are hauntingly beautiful, as well as thematically relevant-- the inspiration for the color palette are the insects that entomologist Mr. Adamson, is studying. Mark Rylance plays the entomologist Mr. Adamson, Patsy Kensit plays Eugenia his wife, Douglas Henshall plays her brother Edgar, and Kristin Scott Thomas plays Matty, the children's governess, who becomes Adamson's assistant. It won't spoil it if I tell you that a major theme of this movie is incest. Everyone else in this movie knows what's up with Eugenia and Edgar, except poor Mr. Adamson, especially his assistant Matty. Needless to say Angels and Insects was published four years before Game of Thrones so Eugenia and Edgar are the original Cersi and Jamie, including their completely blonde-haired children supposedly fathered by a dark-haired man.

Costumes Designed by Paul Brown (Oscar nominee)
Makeup by Judy Mitchell, Sarah Monzani
​Hair by Martin Samuel

New York Times review of the film. Variety review of the film. LA Times review of the film.

32. restoration, 1995

Restoration came out while I was in graduate school.  I paid full $7.00 California movie ticket prices to see this movie TWICE in a theatre just to watch the costumes.  It's not often Hollywood makes movies set in this period, so the splendour of the settings and costumes is not to be missed. It's based on a book that I haven't read by Rose Tremain, published in 1989, and she wrote a sequel in 2012, Merivel: A Man of His Time.

Costumes Designed by James Acheson (Oscar win)
Makeup Designed by Paul Engelen
Hair Designed by Suzanne Stokes-Munton

Another Q&A with James Acheson, but a different one than before. The Frock Flicks Guide to Restoration. it's a podcast, so sadly no photos.

33. CLueless, 1995

Clueless is based on the Jane Austen book Emma.  This movie was all the rage in the latter half of the 1990's and inspired a whole slew of Cher and Dionne wannabes.  I thought it was hilarious.  The skating competition was filmed right next to my grad school apartment in Long Beach.

Costumes Designed by Mona May
Makeup Supervisor Alan Friedman
Hair Stylist Nina Paskowitz

Interview on Immortalizing Plaid Sets. Vanity Fair article. Another Vanity Fair article on How Clueless became an Iconic 90's Classic.  Telegraph article on the making of Clueless.

34. tHE fIFTH eLEMENT, 1997

I was in my last year of grad school when this movie came out.  It's all we talked about.  Everyone was so excited that a famous fashion designer, Jean Paul Gaultier, was executing costumes for this movie and we were intrigued that both he and the director Luc Besson were French. We'd just finished an extensive study of the 1946 version of La Belle et la Bete (Beauty and the Beast) by French director/playwright Jean Cocteau in one of our classes, so we were all a quiver to check out this modern version of French cinema aesthetic. I'd never heard of Mila Jovovich before, but she was Russian and fluent in French, so she and Luc made up their own language for the film.  Yes, it has heavy Blade Runner influence, but instead of being dark and tragic, it's bright and comedic.  At the time I hated Chris Tucker's performance as Ruby Rhod, but over the years I've grown to love it.  I read a contemporary article discussing the costume design and Jean Paul Gaultier was so smart in dealing with him being resistant to his costumes.  He designed actual dresses for him to wear as well, and then gave him the choice of dresses or pants, and he picked the pantsuit, because it was the least feminine choice.  Way to use psychological warfare on a recalcitrant actor!  In doing research for this I just now found out that Prince had been cast as Ruby Rhod but hated his costumes so was replaced by Chris Tucker.  I guess that's why Chris Tucker was handled differently.  The original design for Prince was very different to what Chris Tucker ended up in and you can see it in the link below.

Costumes Designed by Jean Paul Gaultier (Saturn award nominee)
Makeup Department Head Lois Burwell

20th anniversary retrospective on the costume design.  Vogue's anniversary retrospective.  The Fifth Element's impact on fashion with photos from the movie as well as his clothing line.  Original costume designs for Prince cast as Ruby Rhod.

Part Three: Career

35. buffy the vampire slayer series, 1997-2003  WB/UPN

Joss Whedon's first attempt at turning this idea into a movie did not impress me at all.  The fact that Pee Wee Herman was in it especially made me hate it. So when I heard it was going to be a TV series, I was defiantly not going to watch it, because I hated the movie.  It would be YEARS before I finally agreed to give it a chance, but once I did I was hooked....or possibly staked.  Buffy became my new favorite best ever theme song, beating out both Batman and Star Trek. Because of this very page, I was contacted by Matt Van Dyne who designed the last season.  He had been googling himself and Buffy because his friends were telling him that Buffy was still a huge thing with fans and he didn't believe them.  He saw his name and this photo and sent me a message.  We ended up emailing back and forth for a year.  I convinced him that Comic Cons would love to have him as a guest and invited him to both our local conventions.  Because of that I designed our family's Buffy cosplay which you can read about here. 

Costumes Designed by Susanna Puisto (season one) Cynthia Bergstrom (seasons two-six), and Terry Dresbach and Matthew Van Dyne (season 7) plus Eileen Dunn (various episodes)
Makeup Designed by Todd McIntosh (Emmy Nominee)
Prosthetic Makeup Designed by Todd McIntosh and John Vulich (Emmy nominee)
Hair Dept Head Sean Flanigan (Emmy nominee)

A twenty year anniversary reminiscence plus sketches. Another interview with Cynthia about her work on Buffy. And another one. And another one.

36. The Thirteenth Warrior, 1999

I originally read Beowulf as a high school student.  As a self-confessed Anglophile I didn't really get it as a teenager.  Perhaps that was the fault of my English teacher.  Later on I became a fan of Michael Crichton and was on a summer reading kick working my way through his bibliography when I came across Eaters of the Dead, his take on the Beowulf story, which uses as a framing device Ahmad Ibn Fadlan's memoirs of his actual voyage to the Volga Bulgars.  Michael Crichton tells you in his afterword that the only reason he wrote this book is because he had a friend who taught Brit Lit in college and thought Beowulf was one of the most boring books in the English canon.  Crichton disagreed and the argument escalated until he took it as a personal challenge to write a version of Beowulf that would be interesting.  Eaters of the Dead was published in 1976, but I probably read it in 1996, several years before the movie was made.  You can imagine my excitement when I saw the preview.  Again, the internet was new, but I looked it up online and found that someone in the production company had been writing a blog about the experience and documented the entire ship building process. 

Costumes Designed by Sandra J. Blackie, Nancy Duggan, Kate Harrington
Makeup Designed by Jeff Dawn
Hair Designed by Peter Tothpal
​Wigs Designed by Stacy Butterworth

Production blog on the movie. An article on language in The Thirteenth Warrior from the point of view of a medievalist.

37. Lord of the rings trilogy, 2001-2003

LOTR is yet another example of a treasured series of books from my childhood finally appearing on the big screen.  Growing up all we had was the animated version of The Hobbit, which was shown on TV in 1977.  I was nine. I loved it and watched it whenever I could find it.  When I heard that they were making a live action version, I followed along with Ian McKellen's blog on the experience.  I was delighted to find out through Sir Ian's blog that Christopher Lee was such a huge fan of the books and that he also re-read them every year, like me.  I loved learning that Lee'd actually met Professor Tolkien in a pub and was struck dumb like any fanboy would be upon meeting his hero.  My favorite story though is when Peter Jackson was trying to coach him on how to act his being stabbed in the back death scene, when Lee replied that he'd been in the SOE in WWII and knew exactly what a man did when he was stabbed in the back.  Christopher Lee was a badass.  But that's not why these movies are on this list.  WETA Workshop is the hero of this story.  I first noticed WETA on Xena Warrior Princess and have been a huge fan ever since.  When we were doing Macbeth in 2003, I totally channeled my inner WETA Workshop and the whole show looked like LOTR.  We even built our own chainmail.

Costumes Designed by Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor of WETA Workshop (Oscar nomination, Oscar win)
Makeup and Hair Designed by Peter King and Peter Owen of WETA Workshop (2 Oscar wins)

WETA Workshop has documented their design on this trilogy. Here's a short biography of Ngila Dickson.  Here's production notes from LOTR.  Here's a Costumer's Guide to LOTR. Here's a hairstyle guide to LOTR.  These last two are really old websites and the photos are small and don't always load.  Just go buy the extended version box set on DVD and watch all the special features like I did.  You'll get way more info.

38. Harry potter series, 2001-2011

My girlfriend Monique sent the first HP book to me in the mail, it wasn't even my birthday or anything. She had just finished reading it and was so enchanted, she sent me my own copy.  As soon as I finished, I read it again, it was that good.  Needless to say, I became more hooked on HP than I had ever been hooked on anything due to the power of fandoms on the internet, which was basically brand new back then.  I found message boards on Mugglenet, and fan fiction on RedHen.  I eagerly engaged with the fandom, spinning my own theories, alternate histories, shipping, etc...for the entire thirteen years that the magic lasted.  Before each new book would drop, I'd re-read all the others.  And I did the same thing before each movie came out.  During the three year long book summer while awaiting OOTP,  I read them all again. If you take all 7 books together, I've read them 67 times.  Obsessed may be too mild a word.  So, when the movies started dropping, I rushed to the theatres and found myself continually disappointed.  At first I hated the movies because they left so very much out.  They completely cut out Peeves, most of Dobby and Kreature, all of Sir Cadogan and most of the lessons. But my children loved them, and I grew to love them and forgive them for only being able to show so much.  It seems that the more I love a book, the harder I am on any adaptation.  I was brutal in my critique of the HP movies. My true desire is for a streaming service to remake the whole series as a TV series with an entire season being devoted to each school year so that they don't have to leave anything out.  But for the time being, I am content with the movies just the way they are.  My favorite of the eight is Alfonso Curon's Prisoner of Azkaban.  I have designed so many characters for other productions that are clearly influenced by Snape, Dumbledore, or McGonagel's costumes.

Costumes Designed by Judianna Makovsky (SS), Lindy Hemming (COS),  Jany Temime (all the rest) (Oscar nomination)
Makeup Designed by Amanda Knight
Special Makeup Effects Designed by Nick Dudman
Hair Designed by Eithne Fennel

Fashionista article on Jany Temime and her work on Azkaban. Leaky Cauldron article with photos.  Mugglenet article. InStyle article on backstage secrets. SYFYWire article on HP.

39. stuart little 2,  2002

My kids loved the Stuart Little movies and we had them on DVD so I "got to" watch this one a hundred times before my kids were out of diapers.  Stuart Little 2 was designed by Mona May (Stuart Little 1 was not) which is why the sequel is on the list and not the original.  The may be the most cohesively designed movie ever made.  Also Hugh Laurie and Geena Davis are precious together.  I wish they were my parents.  And I want to live in their house.  Whenever I talk to my students about designing for a season, this is the film I use to illustrate that point.

Costumes Designed by Mona May
Makeup Designed by Bonita DeHaven
Hair Designed by Robert Hallowell

Fashionista article on Mona May's career. Photos of Mona May's sketches for Geena Davis' character.

40. Firefly TV series, 2002-03  ​FOX

 If someone had told me in 1977 that a TV show would come along that would take the first ever Sci-Fi Western, Star Wars, and top it, I wouldn't have believed you.  We loved Firefly so much that it was one of our very first family cosplays, which you can read about here.  If you haven't seen it, the video is supposed to be a trailer, but it's basically a summary of the whole show.  Plus it's got an awesome theme song.  Cancelled all too soon by Fox, it did finally get its movie to wrap everything up.

Costumes Designed by Jill M. Ohanneson, Shawna Trpcic 
Makeup Artist Tina Hoffman, Ron Pipes
Hair Department Head Diana Acrey

​Interview with Shawna Trpcic with photos and sketches. Salon interview with Shawna Trpcic, about Jayne's hat as well as Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Torchwood and Much Ado about Nothing.  Shawna answering fan questions for Halloween.  You have to click on the comments to see the questions and answers.

41. Hellboy, 2004

The first of several Guillermo del Toro movies on my list. Guillermo del Toro is a magnificiently brilliant director.  I love the way he tells a story. Mike Mignola, Hellboy's creator, was heavily involved in the adaptation to film, and Ron Perlman was his and del Toro's first choice for the role.  I spent years watching Ron Perlman in Beauty and the Beast in the 1980's, but Hellboy was something altogether different.  Perlman wasn't familiar with the comics, but immediately read the entire back catalogue of them, as well as started working out and putting on muscle. Compared to his role as Vincent, Ron Perlman was still playing a tortured inhuman character, fighting his own demons, but in a completely literal sense.  Rick Baker had designed Perlman's Vincent makeup, so he was brought back in to consult on his Hellboy makeup. The creature effects were amazing.  Ron Perlman was in the makeup 86 days for four hours of application time a day.  Doug Jones, on the other hand, was in the chair for 6 hours a day, but less days total. This is the first time I took notice of Doug Jones in his role as Abe Sapien.  I enthusiastically followed his career so you'll see he makes more appearances on my list in Pan's Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, and Shape of Water.

Costumes Designed by Wendy Partridge (Saturn award nominee)
Makeup Designed by Jake Garber, Matt Rose, Mike Elizalde (Saturn award winner, Fangoria Chainsaw award winner)
​Creature Consultant Rick Baker
​Hair Department Supervisor Sylvia Nava

An interview with Jake Garber. 20 things about the making of Hellboy.

42. So You Think You can Dance series, 2005-2019 Fox

As a rule I am not a fan of reality shows especially when it seems the whole point is conflict and screaming, as most "reality shows" were originally. Which is why I didn't discover this show until a decade after it had been on television. My husband was a fan and he's the one who introduced our family to it when Sarah started taking dance classes. Now we watch it together every Monday night. Designing for dancers is difficult so it's amazing to me what elaborate costumes they can come up with that allows the dancers to do all their tricks so effortlessly, without ripping out seams. Last year Rob took Sarah to see the tour for her birthday. I was jealous, but the tickets were pretty expensive so I stayed home. This year I'm going too. If you read the interviews below, you'll be just as horrified as I was when I learned that they only have 24 hours to make 60 costumes every single week of the early part of the competition.

Costumes Designed by Gamila Smith,  Joleen Garnett, Soyon An, Marina Toybina, Grainne O'Sullivan (Emmy win)
Makeup Department Head Tonya Green, Heather Cummings, Amy Strozzi (Emmy nominee)
Hair Department Head Sallie Ciganovich  (Emmy nominee)

Interview with Soyon An on her Emmy win for Season 4. Soyon An's website with lots of photos and videos of her designs in action. She Knows interview with Soyon An. 2018 interview with Soyon An. 

43. Pan's Labyrinth, 2006

Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite directors.  I'm a big fan of Hellboy, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water, but Pan's Labyrinth may be his greatest accomplishment. Americans describe it as a dark fairy tale, and it is, but I tend to think of it as magical realism.  I took Spanish for my language in college and had to read Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate for class.  I later went on to read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera.  In graduate school I designed costumes for Federico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba.  By the time Pan's Labyrinth came out I was very familiar with this historical period (post WWII fascist Italy) and magical realism as both a literary conceit and a film style. The costumes are wonderful but it's the creature effects that really put this movie over the top for me.  Doug Jones' performance as both the Faun and the Pale Man is astounding. Plus Doug Jones is a very sweet man and gives the best hugs in the whole world.

Costumes Designed by Lala Huete (BAFTA win)
Makeup Designed by Jose Quetglas (BAFTA win)
Prosthetic Makeup Designed by David Marti, Montse Ribe (Oscar win)
Hair Designed by Blanca Sanchez (BAFTA win)

Article on costume design in Pan's Labyrinth with lots of photos and apt comparisons to Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz.  An article on the creatures and FX of Pan's Labyrinth. 15 Things you didn't know about Pan's Labyrinth. Here's an English Teacher's blog on Magical Realism in Pan's Labyrinth.  A fan's love letter to Guillermo del Toro and his love of magical realism as exemplified in Pan's Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water.

44. Hogfather, 2006 sky 1

More movies made from books, in this case Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.  One of my former students, Amanda Lassetter, introduced me to Sir Terry and my life hasn't been the same since.  I started by checking out all the ones that our library had, then had to make a trip to Half Price Books in Austin to collect the rest. I still don't own all of them, but we're close.  I've now read all of his books, because after Sir Terry finished The Shepherd's Crown, he died, and left orders for his hard drive to be destroyed so that no one could ever access any of his manuscripts and "muck around" in the Discworld.   I re-read Hogfather every Christmas.  I was delighted to find out that there were movies of some of his books.  This one is my favorite.  I would be more than happy to design any other movie versions of any or all of his books.  That's how much I love Sir Terry and The Discworld Series.

Costumes Designed by Jane Spicer
Makeup Designed by Robin Pritchard, Simon Webber, Kristyan Mallett

Here is Jane Spicer's website where there is a short bio and a few photos of Hogfather costumes.

45. the big bang theory series, 2007-2019 CBS

Nerd culture on parade!  I loved this show.  And now it's over.  I have the box set of the first three seasons.  The clothes made me so happy.  I loved all of Howard's belt buckles, all of Sheldon's T-shirts, the bright colors, the set decoration, Stuart's comic book store.  All of it!

Costumes Designed by Mary T. Quigley
Makeup Designed by Peggy Nichols
Hair Designed by Faye Woods

Big Bang Theory costumes are in the Smithsonian. A Video about Sheldon's T-shirts. Another one on Howard's belt buckles.  What the actors took from the set when the show wrapped.  Here's the official website.

46. forbidden kingdom, 2008

Sylvan was taking karate when this movie came out, so naturally we went to see it.  He loved it, I loved it.  I bought the DVD at a gas station on a road trip.  Jackie Chan and Jet Li together is a winning combination. This was the first film they ever made together. Shirley Chan and Jackie Chan had done five movies together before this one, but as far as I know she had never costumed Jet Li. The costumes are just beautiful and seem to move effortlessly as the martial artists perform all their stunts, pre Doctor Strange.  It's amazing to me that they can use their sleeves and their hair to win a fight.  I don't know how much of the effects are practical versus digital, but I can't tell the difference. When I'm watching it I totally believe the costumes are doing half the fighting by themselves.

Costumes Designed by Shirley Chan
Makeup Designed by Mark Garbarino

Shirley Chan's complete filmography. In depth analysis of the plot and cinematography, with ten photos of the costumes.

47. hot tub time machine, 2010

This movie is mostly set in 1986, the year I graduated high school.  After my senior Prom, we watched Better Off Dead because commiserating with the loveable loser Lloyd Dobbler helped me get over not being kissed by my prom date who later turned out to be gay, of course, because he was the best dancer at our school.  So I've always had a thing for John Cusack.  My inner teenager totally appreciates the flashback of fashion, music, and pop culture that this movie is an altar to.  I especially appreciate the meta-ness of John Cusack being old and then getting to relive his loser-y high school days, when he was an actual mega star IRL.  

 Costumes Designed by Danya Pink
Makeup Designed by Linda Dowds
Hair Designed by Katherine Gordon

LA Times interview with Danya Pink. Style Lessons from Hot Tub Time Machine.  Clothes on Film article.

48. downton abbey series, 2010-2016 PBS

Having already been of fan of Dame Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery (Susan from Hogfather)  I very excitedly watched this beautifully designed period drama on PBS.  I felt so classy just sitting on the couch watching it, with my hot tea and biscuits.  I can't wait for the movie.  It's so hard to design good looking 1920's costumes for women who have curves, been there done that more times than I can count.  Curvy women look better in 1930's fashions.  So my hat is off to all the designers who worked on this show who made all those upper class women look stunning.

Costumes Designed by Susannah Buxton, Rosalind Ebbutt, Caroline McCall, and Anna Mary Scott Robbins
Makeup and Hair Designed by Ann Oldham, Gerda Laucuite, Elaine Browne, and others.

Fashionista retrospective on All Six Seasons. Town and Country's retrospective with 36 photos! 

49. game of thrones series, 2011-2019 HBO

What can I say about Game of Thrones now that it's all over and the last season was fairly disappointing?  I'll start with my usual statement: I read the books first.  We didn't have HBO at the time, so I wanted to ensure that I'd read the source material before I ever saw someone else's interpretation of it.  I love fantasy and historical fiction and immediately grok-ed that this was based on the War of the Roses: Stark=York, Lannister=Lancaster with a clear LOTR influence.  We went to Aggiecon in 2013 just to meet George R. Martin (even his name smacks of J.R.R. Tolkien) after having read all the books,  which you can read all about here. In his talk he promised he was working on Winds of Winter and that it would be published soon, which has yet to happen and it's been 5 years now. Long story short, we bought the first three seasons on DVD and watched them after the fact, while trying to avoid internet spoilers. It was our reward for surviving the school year and usually my birthday present.  Then we gave up and subscribed to HBO so we could watch the rest of the series in real time with the rest of the world and not feel left out.  In terms of costume design and world building, these may be the most intricately detailed costumes on TV.  Before the last season aired we cosplayed GOT which you can read about here.  I was so disappointed when it was all over, that I have started re-reading the books just so I'll be ready when WOW finally drops.  A girl can still hope.  I think the moral of the story is, just like Harry Potter, don't start making the movies until the author is actually finished writing the series.  It's not fair to the author or the fandom. 

Costumes Designed by Michele Clapton (4 Emmy wins, 3 Emmy nominations)
Makeup Designed by Paul Engelend, Jane Walker (3 Emmy wins, 2 Emmy nominations)
Prosthetic Makeup Designed by Barrie Gower (5 Emmy wins, 3 Emmy nominations)
Hair Designed by Kevin Alexander (6 Emmy nominations)

Entertainment article on Clothing the Seven Kingdoms with nine photos/sketches.  Marie Claire interview with Michele Clapton. Vanity Fair article. Embroidery gallery by Michele Carragher. Vox article on Sansa's costumes. Vogue article on John Snow. NY Post article on fashion and power. Mental Floss article on 20 Secrets from the Costume Department. Also, there is an Emmy just for opening credits, this show won it in 2011 and they documented their process here.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, 2012-2015      Acorn

Much like Downton Abbey, this is a beautifully designed period show set in Melbourne, Australia in the 1920's.  Unlike Downton Abbey, the costumes are based on Jazz Age looks and are more colorful and outlandish while being executed with much less money. The show's budget is $1 million per episode, half of what is spent on Downton Abbey, allowing for budget comparison of the Australian pound to the English pound and then converting to US dollars.  Based on the books by Kerry Greenwood, Miss Phryne Fisher (pronounced Fry-knee) is a female private investigator in the vein of Agatha Raisin but with cloche hats!  It's a cheeky little show that manages to address all the hot topic intersectional feminist, racist, and LGBTQ issues of today through the lens of historical law and society's attempts to circumvent it .  The best part of the costume design is that Miss Fisher meets all kinds of people, goes to all kinds of places, and does all kinds of things that the characters from Downton Abbey would simply never meet, go, or do including rescuing girls from a back alley abortion clinic, getting booked at a police station, relaxing in a turkish bathhouse, preventing a murder at a university rowing clubhouse, swimming at the seaside, traveling by jalopy, train, and aeroplane, and especially drinking and dancing in jazz clubs.  So you get to see a much wider range of period clothing than simply the posh family upstairs and the servants below stairs.

Costumes Designed by Marion Boyce Won AACTA award for Best Costume Design.
Makeup and Hair Designed by Anna Karpinski

Marion Boyce's website. Vanity Fair interview with Marion Boyce.  Frock Flicks article on the show.

50. orphan black series, 2013-2017 BBC AMerica

If you aren't familiar with 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring a very young Alec Guinness, you should go watch it first.  Alec Guinness plays eight different characters in one movie.  I used to use that movie to show my makeup students just how effective makeup and hair can be to completely transform an actor.  Unfortunately for my students, it's hard to find and it's not streaming anywhere for free that I know of. And then Orphan Black came along and Tatiana Maslany completely blew Alec Guinness out of the water with her Emmy winning performance as Sarah, Helena, Alison, Cosima, and Beth, as well as (not pictured) Katja, Rachel, Krystal, MK, Tony, and Jennifer-- eleven characters in all by the end of the series.  To clarify, the story is told from Sarah's point of view and is about her five season journey to uncover the secrets of her birth as a clone.  Along the way she meets other clones and is inducted to their "clone club" that at first only consists of Beth, Alison, and Cosima. As the series goes along more clones are discovered and Sarah digs deeper into their mysterious past. To make things even more complicated, twelve times during the series one clone pretended to be another clone: for example Tatiana had to play Sarah pretending to be Beth, or Rachel, or Alison, or Cosima, or Katja; as well as Alison, or Helena, or Rachel had to pretend to be Sarah; there were four more iterations like this but if you haven't already seen the show, you're probably confused enough as it is.  Seriously Tatiana Maslany deserves all the acting awards there are, yet only won one Emmy for Orphan Black.  Helping Tatiana out is the triple threat of designers: Laurie Drew, Stephen Lynch, and Sandy Sokolowski, without which none of this would be possible and yet, they weren't even nominated for an Emmy for this show.

Costumes Designed by Laurie Drew
Makeup Designed by Stephen Lynch
Hair and Wigs Designed by Sandy Sokolowski  

Vanity Fair article interviewing Lynch and Sololowski about Tatiana's amazing transformations that were all achieved without prosthetics. Observer article about series finale costumes. Best of 2013: The Many Looks of Orphan Black. And another article from later on in the series.

51. Raised by Wolves, 2013-2016  BBC  Channel 4

Raised by Wolves is a British comedy about a single mom homeschooling six very unique kids on her own with the help of her widower dad. Because it's the BBC, there are only two seasons of six episodes each. Most of the hilarity revolves around the three oldest daughters--Germaine, Aretha, and Yoko, and their very different personalities.  The show was written by sisters Cailtin and Caroline Moran, and is loosely autobiographical. SPOILER ALERT: This show was too good to not get a third season esp. since Della (the mom) discovers she is pregnant in the last episode.  

Costumes Designed by Sarah Ryan
Makeup Designed by Clare Golds

A short bio of Sarah Ryan.

52. Penny Dreadful series, 2014-2016 showtime

Penny Dreadful is the Victorian equivalent of The Scooby Gang, except that in this show, all the monsters are real. Timothy Dalton plays Sir Malcom Murray who is looking for his daughter Mina who was abducted by vampires.  Eva Green plays occultist and medium Vanessa Ives, Mina's childhood friend, who is assisting Sir Malcolm in his quest.  Josh Hartnett plays Ethan Chandler, an American Wild West gunslinger with a secret, who Vanessa recruits to help them hunt vampires. Harry Treadaway plays Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Rory Kinnear plays the monster.  Reeve Carney plays Dorian Gray, Billie Piper plays Irish prostitute Brona, who is dying of consumption. Eva Green and Rory Kinear are the best thing about this series.  Don't get me wrong, every actor in this show is amazing, but when you watch the bottle episode, Season 3, Episode 4 "A Blade of Grass", you will be blown away by their acting chops.  That episode is unhinged and should have won them an Emmy, but didn't.  It only ran three seasons, but it all gets wrapped up nicely by the last episode.  Rory Kinnear isn't even in this publicity photo and he totally should be.  We only started watching this show for Billie Piper (Rose on Doctor Who) but immediately fell in love with it so much that we cosplayed Brona and the monster for the Alamocity Con where we met her, which you can read all about here.

Costumes Designed by Gabriella Pescucci (Costume Design Guild award nominee)
Makeup Designed by Enzo Mastrantonio (Emmy nominated, BAFTA win)
Prosthetic Makeup Designed by Nick Dudman (Emmy nominated, BAFTA win)
Hair Designed by Stefano Ceccarelli (Emmy nominated, BAFTA win)

Interview with Pescucci on her "Dreadfully Delicious Designs". Variety article on the Gothic Mood of the show. Frock Flicks guide to Penny Dreadful. Clothes on Film article. A Getty image of the Tirelli Atelier working on one of Eva's dresses.

53. Outlander series, 2014-2019 starz

Another time travel show.  Outlander is based on the series of historical fiction books written by Diana Gabaldon. WWII nurse Claire, visits a stone ring in Scotland and gets transported back in time to the Jacobean revolt where she is taken in by a group of Scottish rebels where she falls in love with Jamie.  Season One costumes are all gorgeous Scottish kilts and plaid textiles.  Season Two sends Claire and Jamie to Paris, France where they frolic around in Louis XV court clothes.  Season Three Claire has returned to the present day of post WWII where she is now in Boston while Jamie is still alive after being paroled from an English prison. Season Four Claire goes back through the stones to find Jamie and they both end up in the American colony of North Carolina trying to start a new life while dealing with the Cherokee Nation.  The costumes are all over the place like any good time travel show.  My only problem with this show is that it tends toward a lot of violence and torture.  The English were brutal to the Scottish rebels and this show pulls no punches.

Costumes Designed by Terry Dresbach, Glenne Campbell (Emmy nominee, Costume Designer Guild Award)
Makeup Artist Wendy Kemp Forbes
Prosthetic Makeup Designed by Kristyan Mallett
Wigs Designed by Ray Marston and Alex Rouse

Terry Dresbach's website exclusively devoted to Outlander.  Tyranny of Style article on Season Two. Interview with Terry Dresbach. 27 Costume Secrets, with photos from the exhibit. Interview with Nina Ayres about Season Four.

54. crazy ex-girlfriend, 2015-2019 CW

I discovered this show when I was reading a movie magazine and there was an interview with Melina Root about the costumes for the second season where Rebecca wears a sexy cactus costume.  That was when I knew I had to watch this show.  There are 101 musical numbers over the course of the four seasons this show was on the air.  Each one of them has hilarious costumes for a completely bizarre, meta, or irreverent but so damn true song, such as "The Sexy Getting Ready Song" (pictured below), "I'm So Good at Yoga", "I Give Good Parent", "Sexy French Depression", and "I Love My Daughter (But not in a Creepy Way)" all from the first season.  Besides having awesome costumes, this show is unique in that it explores themes of mental illness and treatment, female sexuality, and parenting in ways that are frank and honest and not usually seen on TV.  All good things.

Costumes Designed by Melina Root
Makeup Dept. Head Sabine Roller
Hair Dept. Heads Roxanne Wightman and Susan Jennifer Lipson
Choreographed by Kathryn Burns (native Texan)

Wacky Clothes.  FIDM Museum exhibition and interview with Melina Root and Rachel Bloom. The Avocado's CEG Costume Analysis part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.  Vox's All 101 songs ranked. And here's the You Tube channel where you can watch all 101 musical numbers in order.

55. Unbreakable kimmy schmidt series, 2015-2019  netflix

Tina Fey took the whole idea of "The Indiana Mole Women" straight from real life women who were kidnapped, held for months, abused, but finally managed to escape. What makes this a comedy rather than a horrifying nightmare is Kimmy's unbreakable optimism in how she responded to her situation, and the cinematic trope of someone outside of their own time, ie. Brendan Fraser's Blast from the Past. Ellie Kemper is so perky as Kimmy, without being sacchrine.  Tituss Burgess as Titus Andromedon, Kimmy's roommate, makes a great foil for KImmy's shananagins; they're a great team. Carol Kane and Jane Krakowski are delightfully awful as Lillian their landlord and Jacqueline, Kimmy's boss. The costumes are wonderfully bright, a dizzying combination of Kimmy's 1990's vintage clothes, Titus' fabulously gay chic, Lillian's bag lady looks, and Jacquelyn's sexy high fashion couture.

Costumes Designed by Tina Nigro
Makeup Designed by Arielle Toelke
​Hair Designed by Liliana Meyrick

Season 1 interview. Another interview about Season 1.  Analysis of Kimmy's style evolution through Season 2.  Another interview about Season 2. Evolution through Season 3. Another interview about Season 3. FIDM exhibit from Season 4.

56. crimson peak, 2015

By now you know how much I love Gothic Horror. No vampires, Frankenstein's monster or werewolves in this film, just insanity, incest, and the ghosts of murdered women, all played by Doug Jones.  That man can do anything.  Guillermo del Toro directed this and it is very much in the vein of Pan's Labyrinth. The setting is turn of the century in Buffalo, New York, where the Americans are very wealthy and dressed in the current fashion.  Later the action moves to the Allerdale estate in Cumberland, England where the characters seem to be inhabiting the past.  The estate is appropriately decrepit, the Sharpe siblings' clothing is at least 20 years out of date and has seen better days, and most importantly makes the actors seem to be a part of their surroundings imbued with the tragedy of a house that breathes, bleeds, and remembers the past.  Crimson Peak did not do well at the box office but that doesn't mean that it isn't worthwhile.  Yes, I did go to see it just to see more of Loki while I was waiting for the next installment of the MCU, but I was pleasantly surprised by Jessica Chastain who rose to Tom Hiddleston's level in a way I thought only Eva Green could. 

Costumes Designed by Kate Hawley (Saturn Award nominee)
Makeup Designed by Jordan Samuel (Saturn Award nominee)
Hair Designed by Cliona Furey

Interview with Kate Hawley. Variety interview with Kate Hawley. Video interview.

57. Stranger things series, 2016-2019 netflix

Stranger Things is an homage to my childhood growing up in a small town where I rode my bike everywhere, being set in November of 1983. Four junior high boys have a D&D group and are concerned when one of the boys goes missing.  The entire first season follows their effort to convince the grown ups that he didn't run away, and that something got him. Stranger Things is like if Stephen King's books The Body, Firestarter and It got married and had a baby.  It's a love letter to everything a kid was ever afraid of.  As a big fan of Winona Ryder's films from the 1980's, she really blows the lid off  Joyce, the completely distraught and won't take no for an answer mom of the missing boy.  David Harbour does a great job as the alcoholic Chief of Police, Jim Hopper. Stranger Things also won an Emmy for Main Title Design in 2017 and rightly so.  Compared to Game of Thrones, it's completely simplistic, but it nails the 1980's aesthetic complete with all the scratches and fuzziness you'd expect of a VHS cassette that was discovered in the very last Blockbuster. I still have never gotten to play D&D, but I'm not bitter...much.  I still want to design She Kills Monsters, but haven't gotten to yet.

Costumes Designed by Kimberly Adams-Galligan, Malgosia Turzanska, Kim Wilcox
Makeup Designed by Amy L. Forsythe and Myke Michaels (Emmy nominee)
​Hair Designed by Sarah Hindsgaul (Emmy nominee)

Stranger Things Wiki with summary of both seasons, costume analysis, and photos of mood boards.  Fashionista article about Season Two.

58. The Get Down series, 2016 netflix

The Get Down is IMO the best historical fiction of our modern age. Set during the summer of 1977 in the Bronx when disco reigned supreme, The Get Down tells the story of the beginnings of hip hop through the eyes of a fictionalized group of kids who are meant to represent Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.  These fictional characters are dealing with the very real crisis situations of poverty, drugs, gangs, and crime in their neighborhood, including the serial killer, Son of Sam, who had already murdered six people and wounded seven others, having terrorized New Yorkers for a year before our story begins. That particular summer, the city is also enduring a sweltering heat wave when on the evening of July 13th, two lightning strikes caused the worst blackout in New York's history. As the city was plunged into 24 hours of total darkness, there was looting and arson, thousands of stores were vandalized and half the city was on fire.   Ironically many wannabe DJs got their first stereo equipment by looting it during the blackout.  This is the environment our characters are trapped in and where the story really begins.

Much like Hot Tub Time Machine and Stranger Things, which both immortalized the 1980's, I love this show first and foremost because it immortalized the summer of 1977 from a completely different perspective than mine, and therefore functions as a history lesson and a huge mirror to my white privilege. At that time I was safely watching Star Wars every Saturday, not having to worry about poverty, crime, gangs, drugs, or especially the Son of Sam.  I love this show secondly because it does such a good job of explaining Hip Hop to me, someone whose first experience of Hip Hop was the radio version of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" , rather than Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message", a song I never heard until after the 2016 election, when all of a sudden hip hop became immediately relevant to this white girl.  So if you, like me, completely missed out on NWA, Public Enemy, and Body Count, because you were too busy listening to the top 40 hits by MC Hammer, Sir Mixalot, Salt-N-Peppa, Run DMC and watching The Fresh Prince on TV, then this is the show for you. 

​The Get Down was cancelled after just one season because it was the most expensive TV show to film ever, and because the director Baz Lurman had other movies to make and couldn't devote all of his attention to it like he wanted.  Such a shame.  But, rest easy in the unspoilery knowledge that they don't leave any loose ends hanging by the last episode.

Costumes Designed by Jeriana San Juan and Catherine Martin
Makeup Designed by Linda Kaufman
​Hair Designed by Jerry DeCarlo

Vogue article on How the Show's Clothes Keep it Real. Remezcla interview with Jeriana San Juan. Fashionista article. Behind the Lens online exclusive interview with Jeriana San Juan, lots of photos. MTV interview.  Here's an article with tons of photos from the blackout of 1977.

59. The Shape of Water, 2017

The Shape of Water is a beautiful love story combining elements of science fiction with fairy tales. This is the fourth entry by Guillermo del Toro in my list of awesome costumes (and makeup) also starring Doug Jones.  It's amazing to me that del Toro can utilize four completely different teams of designers and still make movies that look all of a piece.  How strong must his vision and leadership be!   I'm not a scenic designer, but props to the production designer on this movie (as well as all of his movies).  The environment that the characters are in perfectly encapsulates their story.  This story is set in 1962 in a secret government lab and the romantic lead in this story is a merman and his lady love is a deaf cleaning lady.  It's a Cinderella story for sci-fi geeks like no other.  It took three hours to get Doug Jones in the suit.  His gills were animatronic, his eyelids were CGI.  Although they hired a dance double for his dream sequence, the dancer spent minutes in the suit, sweating up a storm filming just one take, vomited, and passed out. So Doug Jones did his own dancing.  Yes, there was a flap so he could pee, but not one in the back.  Eighteen hours days with no pooping for three solid months. Doug Jones is bad-ass.  And after all that, really 30+ years of acting in similarly designed creature suits, he never complains, does a great job, is reportedly very pleasant to work with, and is incredibly gracious to all his fans.  He still gives the best hugs.

Costumes Designed by Luis Sequeira (Costume Design Guild winner, Oscar nominee, BAFTA nominee)
Makeup Department Head Jordan Samuel (Saturn award nominee)
Hair Department Head Paula Fleetwww.mpaa.org/2017/11/costume-designer-luis-sequeira-giving-shape-water-its-sartorial-form/
Creature Designed by Shane Mahan, Mike Hill and created by Legacy FX

​Interview with Luis Sequeira. Another interview. Costumes in Shape of Water. Another article about the costumes. Vanity Fair article on del Toro's vision of a sexy creature. Interview with Doug Jones on The Asset. Stan Winston article on making The Asset. Article on the visual effects used to enhance the creature. A video on the CGI effects of the shape of water. Another article on the digital effects.

60. A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS SERIES, 2017-2019 netflix

These books were touted (to me) as the next Harry Potter series.  In reality they were being written at the same time as HP and actually Dan Handler finished his series of thirteen books before JK finished her seven.  JK's books were quite a big bigger than DH's so there's that.  The problem with that advertising is that when you're fresh out of HP books to read, nothing can replace HP.  The first time I tried reading the Lemony Snickett series I was in denial that the Harry Potter series was finished and I was trying to placate myself by remembering that we still had HP movies coming out.  So the whole experience of reading Lemony Snicket's books was spoiled by my post-Harry Partum depression.  And then the Jim Carrey movie came out which is to the Neil Patrick Harris series as the Buffy movie is to the Buffy series, which is sadly lacking and completely outdone by the TV show version.  Finally NPH picked up the production and largely because of Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog, which he made with Joss Whedon, I was convinced that the series would be a worthwhile endeavor to emotionally invest in.  So, having made my decision to watch it, I knew I would have to give the books another go.  This time, having had years to get over the end of HP, I found them delightful, much in the same vein as The Gashlycrumb Tinies of Edward Gorey.  NPH is perfect as Count Olaf.

Costumes Designed by Angus Strathie, Cynthia Summers
Makeup Designed by Rita Ciccozi
Special Makeup Effects Designed by Bill Terezakis
​Hair Designed by Julie McHaffie
Wigs Designed by Stacy Butterworth

Sew Fancy article on the costume design from both seasons. Racked article on costumes in ASoUE. NSS Magazine article on the clothes.  Ten Reasons to Watch the Series. Buzzfeed article about Eighteen Facts about the Hair, Makeup, and Costumes. Interview with NPH on Season 2 Costumes.

61. Black Panther, 2018

I have been an MCU fan ever since the first Iron Man movie dropped, so you're probably wondering by now why this is the first MCU film on my list of Awesome Costumes. If you haven't already read my 5 part blog on Supersuits, I spent a good deal of time and energy analyzing all of the different iterations of all the superhero's suits that have been made into live action shows. The problem with costumes in superhero movies has been that the super suit itself gets all the attention.  It is either just like the comic book and therefore great or nothing like the comic book and therefore bad.  I am completely oversimplifying this but you get the point. The rest of the costumes in the movies are basically forgettable when compared to the awesomeness or awfulness of the supersuit in question.  I by no means am intentionally denigrating the majority of the design work done in those other superhero movies, I'm just trying to point out that I can't remember what Pepper Pots is wearing in Iron Man but I can tell you exactly what Tony Stark's suit looks like. So, in that context, when this trailer aired during the previews of Spider-Man I was completely blown away.  Ruth Carter did an astounding job blending tribal African culture with Futuristic fashion to come up with her "Afrofuturistic" costume designs for the entire population of Wakanda and they are brilliant. I would go so far as to argue that the rest of the Wakandan costumes far outshine Black Panther's supersuit, besides the fact that we'd already seen it in Civil War.  So yes, for me this is the one MCU movie that the entire wardrobe is the star of the movie over and above the superhero's own supersuit and that's why this is the only MCU movie on my list.

Costumes Designed by Ruth E. Carter (Oscar win)
Makeup Dept Head Joel Harlow
Hair Dept Head Camille Friend

NY Times article on "The Afrofuturistic Designs of Black Panther" with photos. Interview with Ruth E. Carter. CNN article on her Oscar win. W article on Ruth E. Carter. Harper's Bazaar article on Designing for the Revolution. Ten things you didn't know about Ruth E. Carter, a retrospective of her career.

62. Titans, 2018 DC Universe

My relationship to Teen Titans goes back to when I watched the 2003 animated series with my son, who was head over heels for Raven.  We were totally content watching reruns on the Cartoon Network when they stopped showing them in favor of Teen Titans Go! which I hated, but the kids loved even more than regular Teen Titans, which irks me but there's no accounting for taste.  I was super excited when the new DC app dropped and I found out that they were doing a Teen Titans live action series.  And then almost immediately the haters started trolling the internet, angry because Starfire was cast as an African American.  Starfire is an alien with orange skin, pink hair, and green eyes in the comic books.  What difference does it make if she's played by an African American?  People can be so bloody stupid sometimes. ​And yes, so many awesome costumes in this production, so well acted and designed, and the only thing out there about focuses on the racists trolling of Starfire rather than the amazing costume designs.

Costumes Designed by Joyce Schure and Laura Jean Shannon
Makeup Artist: Gillian Brown
Hair Dept Head Debra Johnson

Vox article analyzing the racist attack on Anna Diop as Starfire.  An article responding to the racist Starfire criticism.  Gizmodo on Starfire's costume.

63. Bohemian Rhapsody, 2018

Freddie Mercury died in 1991 and for us Gen X-ers that was the day the music died...well the first time that the music died because in 2016 we lost David Bowie and Prince.  So, Bohemian Rhapsody was the band biopic we'd all been waiting for.  Hopefully it won't take another seventeen years to get a biopic of Bowie and Prince. Queen guitarist and drummer, Brian May and Roger Taylor, co-produced the film and gave costume designer Julian Day, access to their warehouse of old stage costumes, as well as mentored the actors who were playing them in their specific instruments and singing styles.  If this movie was just a period piece that cataloged Freddie's fashion choices and stage costumes, it would be worth the price of admission.  However, the movie brings so much more to the table: first and foremost the creation of Queen's iconic music, and second the bandmates' very passionate, sometimes contentious but always loving relationships with each other.  Bassist John Deacon was so devastated by Freddie's death, that he not only quit Queen, he quit music altogether and chose not to be involved in the making of the movie because it was still too painful.  Besides the Queen related topics, the movie also delves into Freddie's relationship with Mary Austin, Freddie's bisexuality, the AIDS epidemic, and the LIVE AID concert.  Rami Malek turned in such a stunning performance that he won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG award for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, which was aided and abetted by the very talented team of designers: Jan Sewell, Mark Coulier, and Chris Lyons who did his hair, makeup, prosthetics, and teeth.  Julian Day and Chris Lyons would team up again to turn Taron Egerton into Elton John for Rocketman.

Costumes Designed by Julian Day (BAFTA nominee)
Hair and Makeup Designer Jan Sewell (BAFTA nominee)
Prosthetic Makeup Designer Mark Coulier (BAFTA nominee)
Special Effects Teeth Chris Lyons

64. The Umbrella Academy, 2019 Netflix 

I binged this right after it came out.  As you know I love comic book movies and this was one I'd never heard of.   It was written by Gerard Way of alternative rock band fame, My Chemical Romance, a band I'd heard of but never listened to, and illustrated by Gabriel Ba for Dark Horse Comics in 2007.  Gerard Way has an interesting backstory.  He started out as an artist, interning for Cartoon Network, until 9/11 when he felt that he was wasting his time and should instead form a band.  My Chemical Romance helped him deal with both his personal issues such as depression, alcoholism, and drug abuse, as well as global issues in the aftermath of the attacks. In 2007 he became sober and while still making music, started writing comic books.  There are currently three Umbrella Academy graphic novels in print.  The first season contains ten episodes that roughly correspond to the first graphic novel, Apocalypse Suite.  A second season has already been given the green light and will focus on events from the second graphic novel, Dallas.

Costumes Designed by Christopher Hargadon
Makeup Department Head Linda Preston
Hair Department Head Ryan Reed

65. Doom patrol, 2019 DC Universe

Doom Patrol is another TV show based on a comic book series I'd never heard of before.  Doom Patrol came out right after Titans finished its first season, with characters from Doom Patrol appearing in one episode of Titans.  The Doom Patrol is a superhero team of misfits that are led by Dr. Niles Caulder, a mad scientist who's made it his life's work to collect these unfortunate accident victims and patch up their physical as well as psychological wounds.  His team is made up of Elasti-girl, formerly Rita Farr, a has been 1950's actress whose body melts; Negative Man, formerly Larry Trainor, a 1960's test pilot whose plane crashed causing him to merge with an electrical entity that he can't control; Crazy Jane, formerly Kay Challis, a physically and sexually abused five year old turned 1970's psychotic woman who manifests 65 different personalities each with their own superpower; Robotman, formerly Cliff Steele, a 1980's race car driver who was killed in a car wreck and lost his family in the process; and finally Cyborg, formerly Victor Stone,  a 1990's high school football star who was injured when his parent's lab exploded and was implanted with cybernetic technology to save his life. 

If you've missed watching Brenden Fraser since The Mummy series wrapped, here's your chance to see him playing Cliff Steele, think Jimmy Bobby from Taladega Nights stuck inside of Tony Stark's Iron Man suit forever. He's not actually in the Robotman suit, but he does all the voice acting and the flashback scenes.  Matt Bomer plays closeted gay man Larry Trainor, with such vulnerability and passion, it's amazing to see that his acting transcends his Mummy-esque bandage-wrapped face. Of course Bomer isn't in the mummy costume either. Like Fraser, he only does the voice work and the flashbacks. Diane Guerrero's Crazy Jane had six times the personalities to create than Tatiana Maslany did in Orphan Black but without most of the costume and makeup help.  She mostly stays in her basic black rocker clothes, unless she's manifesting Karen, a 1990's rom-com personality who wears pink a lot and has blonde hair. My favorite of her personalities is Hammerhead, a very aggressive super-strong dude.   Jovian Wade plays Cyborg, who wasn't in the Doom Patrol comics and should have been on Teen Titans with Beast Boy, but is on this show instead. The most surprising performance is April Bowlby as Rita Farr.  She is totally channeling the 1950's acting style perfectly. Last but not least, Alan Tudyk (Wash from Firefly) plays their arch enemy, Mr. Nobody, through the magic of CGI.

Costumes Designed by Carrie Grace and Laura Jean Shannon
Makeup Dept. Head Travis Pates
Hair Dept. Head Elizabeth Robinson

No one has written anything about the costumes or makeup that I can find.  It's too bad.  Maybe if it gets picked up for a Season 2 then someone will write about it.

66. RocketMan, 2019

Julian Day had just wrapped Bohemian Rhapsody when he was tapped for Rocketman.  Contrary to first appearances, Day didn't just go to Elton's closet and pull out his old Bob Mackie stage costumes.  He didn't do that for Bohemian Rhapsody either, he just used Queen's amassed collection for research in order to duplicate their stage looks.  Day was granted access to Elton's wardrobe as well, also for research, but director Dexter Fletcher was not interested in recreating reality.  He was directing a musical fantasy that used theatrical excess to show Elton's rise to superstardom.  So almost all of the costumes Elton wears are completely new. The one iconic costume that was recreated, in Swarkovski crystals rather than the original sequins, was the Brooklyn Dodgers costume that Elton wore to play Dodger stadium.  Even though the costumes are Julian Day originals, they were still inspired by Elton's looks and in the end they were also signed off on by Sir Elton himself.  I can't wait for the DVD to come out so I can watch all the special features on the costumes.

Costumes Designed by Julian Day
Hair and Makeup Designer Elizabeth Yanni Georgiou
Special Effects Teeth Chris Lyons

Hollywood Reporter interview with Julian Day. Women's Wear Daily article on Day's use of Swarovski crystals. Independent article on recreating the costumes. Top Shop blog interview with Julian Day.

67. The Boys, 2019  Netflix

If I haven't made it clear already, I love superhero movies.  This one turns the whole genre on its head.  In this the superheros are the bad guys and the criminals are the good guys trying to stop them.  From left to right the supes are: Starlight, The Deep, Translucent, Queen Maeve, Black Noir, A-Train, and Homelander.  They are mostly riffs on DC characters.  The Deep is Aquaman, Queen Maeve is Wonder Woman, A-Train is Flash, and Homelander is a cross between Superman and Captain America.

Costumes Designed by Laura Jean Shannon, Joyce Schure, Carrie Grace, Rebecca Gregg
Makeup Dept Head Katie Brennan
​Hair Dept Head Karola Dimberger

Laura Jean Shannon is no stranger to comic book/ superhero movies.  She was the costume designer on Doom Patrol, Titans, Iron Man, Blade, Scott Pilgrim, Preacher, Black Lightning, and My Super Ex-Girlfriend. I haven't found any interviews with her on this show yet, but I'm sure someone will write one eventually.  It's too good not to be news worthy.

68. Little Women, 2019

 I may not have seen all twelve of the prior adaptations of Little Women, but of the ones that I've seen, this is by far the best.  And yes, I read the book first.  Honestly, what women hasn't read this book when she was a little girl?  Everyone loves Jo and hates Amy and cries when Beth dies and no one really feels one way or another about Meg.  This is the first time I've seen the story told where I cared about all the characters equally.  And I was surprised that I was on Amy's side by the end of the movie.  The costumes are both wonderfully detailed and accurately "poor-ish", especially compared to Laurie.  No one wears a hoop at home, Jo never wears a corset, they wear woolen pantalettes under their layers of skirts to keep warm.  Their clothes are homemade, get dirty, and get singed by the fire.  It's not often that you see period pieces like this one where the women are dressed down.  I especially loved the homemade costumes for Jo's plays and Amy's Parisian wardrobe.  If you look really closely you might notice all the clothes swapping that's going on.  Jo and Laurie wear each other's clothes, Jo and Beth wear each other's clothes too.  Marmee wears pieces that end up on all the daughters as they "grow up".

Costumes Designed by Jacqueline Durran (Oscar and BAFTA Win)
Makeup Department Head: Judy Chin
Hair Department Head: Frioa Paradottir

New Yorker interview with Durran.  Vogue interview with Durran. Bazaar interview with Durran. La Times interview complete with costume renderings.

69. Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn, 2020

Finally, after a long run of not very good superhero movies, DC has finally put together a movie that wasn't an origin story, didn't restart a franchise, wasn't color desaturated, and didn't violate the laws of the universe that they were playing in. Birds of Prey is a HUGE improvement over Suicide Squad, has FIVE females who talk to each other about things other than a man, who work together instead of in competition with each other (again, over a man) and who actually advance the plot and couldn't be replaced by a pretty lamp.  Margot Robbie in particular, does a stellar performance as Harley, as in she actually listened to the fans, agreed with them, and worked on her dialect and characterization. She is a waaaay better Harley than she was in Suicide Squad.  The only reason this film was made was because of Margot Robbie's insistence that Harley needed another movie, this time done right, just like Ryan Reynolds demanded and got another chance at Deadpool.   It was written, produced, directed, costumed, makeup-ed, and haired by a team of kick-ass women and I love everything about this movie.

Produced by Margot Robbie, Christina Hodson, and Sue Kroll
​Screeplay by Christina Hodson
Directed by Cathy Yan
Costumes by Erin Benach
Makeup by Deborah La Mia Denever
Hair by Adruitha Lee

The Fashionista interview with Erin Benach. The Credits article about Harley.

70. The Great, 2020 Hulu

There are so few women who ruled an empire-- Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, Christina of Sweden, Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great, Victoria--that it's common to depict these women as aberrant to social norms with gross sexual proclivities.  Clearly only unnatural women would seek or even want power.  This is a series that turns all of that "horse" nonsense on its ear.  It's timely for our current situation, corrupt leaders in government and a global pandemic to contend with.  Plus the costumes are gorgeous.

Costumes Designed by Emma Fryer
​Hair and Makeup Designer Louise Coles

Fashionista interview with Emma Fryer. Women's Wear Daily article about costumes in The Great.