In the past five years I really have seen a wide spectrum of costume exhibits from the big and small screen, here are some of my all time favourites from the eclectic worlds of fantasy, fairytale, sci-fi and comic books. Hopefully one of these ten supercool outfits from my archives will help guys choose their
Halloween look, or at the very least inspire you, for this year's festivities.
Enchanted's Prince Edward
One of my favourite outfits on display at the
Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives at
The Reagan Library in
Simi Valley last July was this comedic take on the classic fairytale
'Prince Charming' look, worn by
James Marsden as the prancing
'Prince Edward' in 2007's
Enchanted.
I love the rich purple colour, overblown shoulders and embroidered family crest of this tongue-in-cheek regal costume designed by
Mona May.
Nite Owl II
At the beginning of March 2009 I had the pleasure of seeing most of the principal character costumes from
Zack Snyder's Watchmen movie adaptation on display in all their glory (and not hidden behind any reflective cases) at
ArcLight Hollywood and
Sherman Oaks cinemas.
In addition to the sexy
Silk Spectre II outfit, I really loved this
Nite Owl II costume the most, which is worn in the movie by
Patrick Wilson. The whole ensemble is obviously an homage to
Batman, although being coppery brown you can see the detail on this superhero costume much more than on the black bat-suits.
If you like this costume, be sure to also check out
Ozymandius, Rorschach and The Comedian's movie costumes from Watchmen designed by
Michael Wilkinson.
Batman
Speaking of the
Caped Crusader, even though I'm a confirmed
Marvel Comics not
DC Comics fan, how could I not be excited seeing
Christian Bale's Batman costume from
The Dark Knight Rises up close at
ArcLight Hollywood last July.
I can't help but think that the bat-suit looks really heavy, so it's amazing that the actors can move around in these bulky costumes, let alone film whole action sequences in them.
Superman
Another iconic
DC Comics costume, the
Superman suit worn by
Brandon Routh in 2006's
Superman Returns, was on display at the
London Film Museum in May 2012.
I much prefer this update on the classic red, yellow and red caped costume than the recent
darker version costume that Henry Cavill wore as Superman in Man of Steel. I think it's because of my belief that superheroes should be allowed to wear their underwear over their tights, it's how they were conceived and drawn for decades and I'm totally able to suspend my disbelief about the impracticality of it, because to me it signifies an iconic superhero design.
Dastan Prince of Persia
Thinking of heroes of another kind and in 2010
Jake Gyllenhaal starred as
'Dastan', the
Prince of Persia in
Disney's cinematic adaptation of the successful sand and sandals adventure video game franchise. Even though the movie didn't perform that well at the box office I still loved his armoured-leather costume (although it helps if you have the muscular body to fill it), which I saw displayed in multiple locations, including the
El Capitan Theatre in
Hollywood.
If you're a fan of the character, be sure to check out even more
costumes and props from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, including cool
'Tamina' and
'Nazim' costumes.
Zorro
Another costume I really enjoyed seeing in person was this simple, yet classic,
Zorro outfit worn by
Guy Williams in the 1950's TV series (I remember watching re-runs of the mainly black and white show when I was growing up).
I saw this
Chuck Keehne designed costume on display at the
Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit at the
D23 Expo 2011 in
Anaheim, California.
Narnia's Peter Pevensie
Another costume which looked great up close was this classic medieval knight battle armour worn by
William Moseley as
'Peter Pevensie' in the second cinematic installment of
The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian from 2008.
If you like this outfit and weapon props, you really check out these other
costumes and battle armours from Prince Caspian designed by
Isis Mussenden on display at
Disney's Hollywood Studios in
Orlando, Florida in September 2010.
Tron
Probably one of the best displayed collection of costumes, were these original outfits from
Disney's classic 1982 sci-fi film,
Tron. The blacklight lighting used at the
D23 Expo 2011 was a great way to showcase the futuristic designs by
Elois Jenssen and
Rosanna Norton, including this actual
'Tron' costume worn by
Bruce Boxleitner as the heroic computer program.
Mad Hatter
Speaking of
Disney, it's no wonder that
Colleen Atwood won the
Oscar for
Best Costume Design for
Tim Burton's 2010 adaptation of
Alice in Wonderland. Her eccentric designs for
Johnny Depp's 'Mad Hatter' were especially spot on, right down to the sewing thread sash.
If you like this outfit, be sure to check out
Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter battle costume where he sported a kilt, plus other fabulous
original costumes from Alice in Wonderland.
Iron Man briefcase armour
And my final choice is
Iron Man's Mark V briefcase armour that featured in
Iron Man 2 when the armored
Avenger is attacked by
'Whiplash' at the
Monaco Grand Prix. It was initially digitally created for the
Marvel sequel, but was recreated as a full-size replica by
Legacy Effects and featured in
the
Hall of Armour set alongside
Tony Stark's other suits of armour in
Iron Man 3.
I know the set was first exhibited at
San Diego Comic-Con, but I was lucky enough to see it later at
Disneyland before the movie opened earlier this summer. I think I love this design so much as I've always wondered how
Tony Stark could possibly keep a bulky high-tech suit of armour in a briefcase, but this special version really helped make it seem feasible.
If none of the outfits featured here are your cup of tea, maybe you should also take a look at these
10 Halloween costume ideas for men inspired by the film and TV exhibits I've seen in the last twelve months.
Happy hunting whether you hire, buy or make your own
Halloween look, and be sure to come back soon for even more cool film costumes and props on display.
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