19 Character Wardrobe Choices I Just Don't Understand

When costumes go wrong.

Often in film and TV, we are astonished by the efforts of the wardrobe department and how they can help bring to life our beloved fictional characters, like the empowering warrior costumes in Marvel's Black Panther, to the rather historically accurate costumes in the 2019 adaptation of Little Women.

But, sometimes, even the talented wardrobe team can get the character wrong. Whether it's an outfit that doesn't suit the part, or the costume is just way off of the time period the show is representing. 

So, here's a few of my favorite times where I think the characters were just done dirty by wardrobe...

1. Quicksilver's Half-Hearted Superhero Outfit in Avengers: Age of Ultron

Marvel Studios / Via youtube.com

When you think of all the Marvel characters, Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron was really let down when it came to his costume. In comparison to his superhuman counterparts, his attire just looked like a souped-up Lycra gym top over a pair of jean/cargo pants. 

2. Maddie's Confusing Layering in The Suite Life

It's a Laugh Productions / Via youtube.com

For a smart and near perfect student in The Suite Life of Zach & Cody, Maddie's wardrobe was truly echoing a messy mind in this episode. I mean, I'm counting at least three layers that don't match up with each other, plus the socks look like something out of the West Ham United football club. All in all, it's one of the outfits that just don't seem to gel with her character.

3. Carrie Bradshaw Wearing a Belt Around Her Bare Waist in Sex and the City

HBO Entertainment / Via youtube.com

What is it with the fashionista's getting it so wrong? We can't deny Sarah Jessica Parker wore some iconic looks in the Sex and the City series, but wearing a belt around her bare waist is just flat-out ridiculous. No one has ever done this, and why would they?!

4. Dewey Finn's Performance Outfit in School of Rock

Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Dewey Finn just wants to rock out, and then he just wants to rock out with his newfound class! So when the entire film is about teaching his kids to "stick it to the man" and doing what you love, how come when it comes to the moment where he finally gets to perform in battle of the bands, he didn't go for a crazier  outfit? Sure, the school look on the adult is great and the jacket has the words "School of Rock" dazzled on the back, but when I first watched this moment, I expected him to come bigger and brighter with the rocking-out outfit.

5. Andy's Over-the-Top "I'm Not Fashionable" Pieces in The Devil Wears Prada

Fox 2000 Pictures / Via youtube.com / youtube.com

Don't get me wrong: I know where the film was going with this. Young Andy started from the bottom when she landed a job at Runway magazine, and her character was intentionally clueless about fashion, but hear me out: If you are going for an interview or to start a job within the fashion industry, you really weigh up your clothing options. I feel like the wardrobe team in The Devil Wears Prada were tasked with really overselling Andy's lack of fashionable knowledge, to the point that they created an unrealistic, frumpy, and over-the-top version of an inexperienced young careerist. Not forgetting this blue jumper was paired over a very drab and long flowing skirt.

6. Tyler Durden's Athletic Wear in Fight Club

Fox 2000 Pictures / Via youtube.com

Tyler Durden in Fight Club encapsulated the cool, hyper-masculine, and give no f's personality, and this was often represented by his fun and playful outfits. Think about the fur coat, red leather jacket, and iconic colorful shirts. So, when he stepped out in this one scene in the most drab athletic wear, it just didn't match up to his ego. 

7. The Obscene Catwoman Attire in the 2004 Film

Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Ugh, this one is just a simple example of over-sexualizing the Catwoman character. Correct me if I'm wrong because there are so many comics nowadays, but I don't think I ever saw this exact outfit in the comics, and when I first saw this film, I was disappointed with the route they took. What's so wrong with the all-in-one black leather suit? And again, practicalities here, people?!

8. The Rum Tum Tugger in Cats

© Universal Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

If the CGI and the whole of Cats wasn't bad enough, they just had to get in another poor wardrobe choice. The red studded collar, heavy red fur jacket, and the necklace of fish bones just didn't ring true with the idea of the character played by Jason Derulo, especially when we're used to the concept of his cat wearing a slick tight-fitting leather outfit complete with diamanté belt during the original West End productions of the story.

9. Kurt Hummel and His Marching Band Vibe in Glee

20th Century Fox Television / Via youtube.com

Kurt Hummel was a great character in Glee and often sparked a lot of moral conversations thanks to his storyline, which was full of trials and tribulations. But when he is a character that is overcoming bullying and learning to freely express himself, I still couldn't help wonder what is going on in this scene?! The one time you decide to surprise the school and come back, you're echoing a marching band gone wrong complete with a top hat and fingerless gloves? I just didn't get it for him.

10. Serena's Tiny Jacket and Tie Combo in Gossip Girl

Arnaldo Magnani / Via Getty Images

Serena Van Der Woodson was considered the "It girl" of the Upper East Side, and boy was this reflected in her outfits throughout the seasons of Gossip Girl. But what happened here? A jacket that's way too small to pull off layered over a -T-shirt and tie? Oh, and don't get me started on the wannabe kilt. This look just didn't capture Serena's flair for looking good!

11. Deadpool In X Men Origins: Wolverine

Marvel Entertainment / Via youtube.com

I'm sure the rest of the world agrees with me here when I say the first glimpse into the Deadpool character in X Men Origins: Wolverine absolutely bombed. Burgundy pants and a few black lines drawn over his chest just didn't do it for me. I know it was the early days for the character, but even a simple version of his iconic black and red suit would have been better to get the character started, right?!

12. Simon Phoenix in Demolition Man

Silver Pictures / Via youtube.com

You're telling me that Simon Phoenix, "the most crazed and dangerous criminal of the 20th century in which only the toughest cop could be a match for him," is kitted out in an orange vest and dungarees? It's just not how I envisioned a psychopathic criminal mastermind killer to look.

13. Ripley's Last Stand Costume in Alien

20th Century Fox / Via youtube.com

Apart from the later controversy surrounding this scene and the question of if Ripley became sexualized in the first Alien film, the main reason I disagree with her character's wardrobe being stripped down is also because of practicality. Are we really expected to believe we've got a fighting chance of surviving aliens in tiny white panties and a vest? I think the wardrobe team should have let Ripley finish her fight in a badass and strong suit that matched her character's spirit.

14. Johnny in The Room

Wiseau-Films / Via youtube.com

Cult film The Room is a chaotic enough watch, but in what world did Tommy Wiseau think baggy cargo pants and heavy boots, topped with a V-neck T-shirt, blazer, and chunky belt would ever help him secure his onscreen girl?!

15. Batman's outfit worn by Adam West

Greenlawn Productions / Via youtube.com

OK, I know the '60s weren't quite able to pull off the kind of Batman looks we are used to in the 2000s, but this Batman outfit really is unfortunate. Actor Adam West looks like he's stepped his whole body into a pair of grey tights, and the belt is like some of my stationery popper wallets!

16. When Anne Boleyn's Ruffs Were Worn Like This in The Tudors

Showtime Networks / Via youtube.com

This look always got me, OK. I don't want to be the person that says, "Oh, this is really not historically accurate," but, in the Tudor times, if Ruffs were a piece of clothing that were pinned into place and often attached to partlets (partlets that were purposefully made to cover a low-necked dress), then why oh why are we seeing a Ruff randomly worn around Anne Boleyn's neck like a necklace? With also a visibly low-necked dress below it? It makes no sense to me?!

17. Feyd Rautha in Dune

Dino De Laurentiis Corporation / Via youtube.com

The younger nephew and heir of the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is meant to be as cruel and cunning as his uncle. Even in a thong. This wardrobe choice just terrified me, and not in the intended way.

18. Zed's Borat-esque Outfit in Zardoz

20th Century Fox / Via youtube.com

I have so many questions, and one of them is how do you go from playing James Bond to wearing this Borat-like monster of an outfit in a sci-fi fantasy film?! Connery's character, Zed, is also a brutal exterminator, so the question of practicalities really is coming into play here again and why the wardrobe team thought this was a killer look. Pardon the pun.

19. The Goblin King in Labyrinth

LucasFilm Ltd. / Via youtube.com

The Goblin King, the powerful and enigmatic king of the goblins and child-kidnapper is definitely a one of a kind character in the fantasy film Labyrinth. Thirty-six years later and the world still doesn't know why his costume included those horrific crotch-hugging leggings. Bottom up I can just about deal with.

What do you think is the worst wardrobe mishap on the list? Or can you think of any other characters who just got let down by their costume?!