# In bigger budget WWII movies are the military uniforms created or rented? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096 "2011-11-06T20:44:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/1 "2011-11-06T20:44:03Z")
Just curious. In some of the larger big budget WWII movies there are (I imagine) hundreds of uniforms required for the main actors and extras. Where do these typically come from? Made by the wardrobe people, or do they rent them from some giant costume supply house? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/2 "2011-11-06T20:47:09Z")
I don’t know, but your question reminds me of _Memphis Belle_. The costume department went to all of the trouble to create ‘50 mission crush’ hats for the officers, but made them in the pattern of British hats. They could have just bought them ‘off the shelf’ from Avirex/The Cockpit, and they would have been accurate. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/3 "2011-11-06T21:11:52Z")
Don’t the big studios have huge storage warehouses? They probably already have plenty of WWII uniforms stored. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/4 "2011-11-06T21:24:06Z")
Right, but if Steven Spielberg wants his extras to wear authentic WW2 uniforms, and he doesn’t think the WW2 uniforms in the warehouse are authentic enough, then new uniforms will be made. I mean, how much can 1000 uniforms cost? $50,000? $100,000? That’s barely 0.05 of a percent of the movie’s budget. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/5 "2011-11-06T22:12:17Z")
The main characters will usually have uniforms made to fit, while secondary and background characters would usually have hired uniforms or old ones out of storage. Same with Police procedural TV shows, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/6 "2011-11-06T22:39:52Z")
I always figured that they just placed relatively big orders with the reproduction uniform manufacturers; their uniforms are generally aimed at re-enactors, so they’re pretty accurate. I also suspect that TV and movies are actually what keep those reproduction companies in business- one “Band of Brothers” or “Saving Private Ryan” would keep them in business a lot longer than WWII re-enactors would. ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/7 "2011-11-07T02:33:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I mean, how much can 1000 uniforms cost? $50,000? $100,000? That’s barely 0.05 of a percent of the movie’s budget. $50 a uniform? I think you underestimate what it costs to make a full set of clothes like that. Modern uniforms cost that much just for the pants. Period outfits are going for $110-$150 per piece (pants, shirt, jacket) so you could get to $500 per uniform easily with boots and accessories. Mind you, $500,000 is still just a drop in the bucket of a major studio budget. But it’s a number that will draw the attention of the penny pinchers. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/8 "2011-11-08T00:30:51Z")
These days they don’t even need to hire 1000 extras. They can create vast crowds with a handful of people, and a little computer trickery. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/9 "2011-11-08T03:23:58Z")
I seem to recall reading that Spielburg just reused a bunch of the props and equipment (and at least one of the sets) from Saving Private Ryan to make Band of Brother’s, which is part of how it was possible to afford it on a mini-series budget. So there’s at least some reuse. But yea, there’s probably at least one new big-budget WWII film a year, it’d be kinda silly not to reuse stuff. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/10 "2011-11-08T04:06:38Z")
They probubly still have uniforms from \* Hogans Heroes\*. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/11 "2011-11-08T04:11:09Z")
I recall this in the Hogans Heroes book that came out a few years ago. That jacket has been in three films so far. > [@](#): > > 1. Does Bob Crane wear a vintage A-2 in “Hogan’s Heroes,” and is it the same jacket as the one worn by Frank Sinatra in “Von Ryan’s Express”? > > Second question first: Yes, the jacket is the same, and this has been confirmed by Bob Crane’s son Bob in interviews associated with the 2002 film, Auto Focus. In this film about Bob Crane, Greg Kinnear plays Crane and wears the original jacket, which has remained in the possession of Crane’s son. > > Now, for the jacket itself. It is not a vintage A-2, but was likely made by a costume department. While it is certainly reminiscent of original A-2 jackets, a close examination will reveal that it is not. > > ``` > * There is no throat clasp. > * There are no collar snaps. > * The lining is very dark and appears to be rayon. For the early part of the Hogan's Heroes series the lining over the collar stand is a contrasting tan color. This is later changed to the darker color, perhaps because the jacket was relined. > * The wind flap over the zipper is much too narrow. > > ``` > > Furthermore, the leather appears unusually thin and soft, likely to improve comfort under film lights, the leather color is very dark and not like most vintage A-2’s, and the shoulder decal, which does not look quite like originals, lacks the “Army Air Forces” text. [http://www.acmedepot.com/a2jacket/a2paq.shtml#TOC-14](http://www.acmedepot.com/a2jacket/a2paq.shtml#TOC-14) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bigger-budget-wwii-movies-are-the-military-uniforms-created-or-rented/602096/12 "2011-11-08T13:45:29Z")
I expect in the majority of cases, extras costumes are rented, it just doesn’t make commercial sense to make everything from scratch. There’s a whole industry serving film and television specialising in the making and rental of realistic costumes – in London, two such are [Angels](http://www.angels.uk.com/) and [the costume studio](http://www.costumestudio.co.uk/). I visited the costume studio recently (a vast warehouse) and they were preparing a special delivery for some big production - they were sorting out racks of about 50 authentic police uniforms. These companies also make to special order. If you click on the credits section of the Angels site, you will see their film credits, including the likes of Star Wars and Gladiator.