Is it OK to wear & wash Hero Costumes?

[aeris504]

I recently obtained my first 3 movie Wardrobes...all screen worn, Hero ones from PremiereProps.
One was an outfit from The Hulk (Jennifer Connelly's pants and long sleeve shirt), and two of them were shirts from Beautiful Creatures (both from Alden Ehrenreich who played the lead character Ethan).
I bought these with the intention of wearing them. I'm a girl who is Jennifer Connelly's exact size/measurements, weight, and height as far as I can tell from online research. She is my favorite actress (It all started with Requiem for a Dream lol). So I bought that outfit with intentions of wearing it on a regular basis. BTW, anyone who has anything else from her that they can sell to me, send me a PM.
I bought Ethan's shirts to wear as Pajama shirts basically...because I wanted a few keep-sakes from the movie (I was an extra in it).
I intend on keeping the costumes permanently and would not resort to reselling them unless I was in a dire need of cash suddenly.
I guess this is my long winded way of asking if repeatedly wearing and washing the Hero costumes diminishes their value? Is it considered disrespectful or unkosher, for lack of a better word, to wear them as normal clothes instead of using them as display pieces to be admired from afar?
They didn't arrive in the mail yet, so someone correct me if I'm wrong before I start wearing them :confused

 

[moviebuff5]

If they were stunt pieces with blood or cuts that could be screen matched or a custom creation for the movie then you would probably be devaluing them. For regular clothes that were used on screen, you are probably fine until they show signs of wear and tear. I have personally looked at some movie clothes to wear, both as costumes and as normal clothes. You bought them with the intention to wear them, not to appreciate, so you may as well go for it.

 

[Smitty77]

Ah he'll I'd do it. Lol go for it, ya only live once! Lol

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Any alteration diminishes the monetary value. When worn and after washing it, you basically remove its collectibility for others, making it just regular clothes with a less than ordinary history.

It's yours and you can do with it what you want. :thumbsup

 

[aeris504]

Thanks guys
So all things considered, I guess I'll compromise. I'll wear the outfits as originally intended...but if it ever comes down to me ever having to sell them for whatever reason, I'll do so at a greatly discounted rate and mention in the description why.
Good points "Too Much Garlic"!

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Collectors go for pristine and untouched/unused by others but the actor or actress in the movie. So, as creepy as it may sound, it's the blood, sweat and tears of the character on screen that in part determines the price.

They will still be screen used pieces once you've worn them, but if reselling later... their value is basically down at retail price. Maybe a little more. But not really much.

 

[robstyle]

Just an FYI, wardrobe people will have steamers and off the shelf fabric fresheners/cleaners or simply send lots off to the dry cleaners during and even after a production wraps. Reason for sending them off after a production wraps is many tend to come and film pick up shots to fill in scenes where needed. Its not every time or even most of the time, but its been known to happen.

 

[YenChih Lin]

Better not wash it…

 

[NCC1968]

"I'm a girl who is Jennifer Connelly's exact size/measurements, weight, and height" is the best part of the post :love


If they are regular clothes w/o bits that may come off....glitter....extra lil buttons.....anything glued on........go for it.

 

[Megamicrofish]

Wear them and post pics

 

[aeris504]

Collectors go for pristine and untouched/unused by others but the actor or actress in the movie. So, as creepy as it may sound, it's the blood, sweat and tears of the character on screen that in part determines the price.

They will still be screen used pieces once you've worn them, but if reselling later... their value is basically down at retail price. Maybe a little more. But not really much.

It doesn't sound creepy to me at all. That's sort of the reason I bought the clothes, just wasn't sure if future buyers would be concerned with maintaining the actors', uh, well, body fluids and skin cells. Ha, I don't feel as creepy myself now knowing that's basically the same reason other people buy Hero movie costumes. Well, you've convinced me NOT to incorporate them into my own wardrobe in order to maintain the integrity of the costumes

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Oh, personally, if I bought screen used wardrobe, I'd wear it. I'd just know I wouldn't ever be able to sell it for anywhere near the price I bought it for. It basically goes down to just above retail in my view if washed and worn after the fact.

I honestly didn't intend to convince you not to do it... I was just expressing that most monetary value and screen matching possibilities would be stripped from the piece. The hero pieces command such high value because they are screen matched making them stand out above just being one of many made by the wardrobe department for that particular character.

If you don't care for resale value, but just want to wear the wardrobe worn by your favorite actress, then it really is your choice what you want to do. There's a certain cool factor in that, I suppose, to know that this was worn by this and this in that scene in that movie. Not everyone wants it as a framed display piece hanging on the wall.

So to answer the topic title question, then yes, it's most definitely OK to wear & wash hero costumes. If you bought it, you own it and can do whatever you want with it. :thumbsup

 

[carterfan]

I'm a pretty hardcore collector and part of the reason I collect is to preserve a piece of history. That being said it doesn't bother me if people wear background costumes, but hero or iconic pieces being worn makes me cringe. Of course once you own something you can do what you please with it but if I was buying it from you I would want you to disclose that it has been worn by you. Just be upfront and honest! Either way enjoy your collection!

 

[IndyFanChuck]

If wearing it makes you happy, go for it. You bought the pieces because of your connection to that actress and role. ENJOY IT! :thumbsup

 

[RonsMovieProps]

I'm a pretty hardcore collector and part of the reason I collect is to preserve a piece of history. That being said it doesn't bother me if people wear background costumes, but hero or iconic pieces being worn makes me cringe. Of course once you own something you can do what you please with it but if I was buying it from you I would want you to disclose that it has been worn by you. Just be upfront and honest! Either way enjoy your collection!

This!

I've thought about wearing one of my DOOM costumes or my Slak bounty hunter costume for halloween one day, but I just can't bring myself to do it. My background costumes? Probably would, but haven't.

 

[DD977GM2]

When do we get to see you in Jennifer's outfit???:devil

 

[CessnaDriver]

Eff it. They're yours now, what do you want to do preserve them for someone else to enjoy the money you spent? Collectors do this quite a bit, worrying about preserving the value of things. Life is too short, we're all gonna die and youth does not last so flaunt it now. Unless something is massively special or very rare and valuable, I see no reason to not enjoy them.

 

[Linnear]

So many of our customers have asked me that question. Many don't ask and just do it! But they are also fans who often just care much more about having fun and not up tight prop collectors like many of us are!

You do what makes you happy.

Alec

 

[Smitty77]

Yes post pics, please

 

[aeris504]

The Jennifer Connelly costume just arrived in the mail yesterday. I'm pretty sure it hasn't been washed (which is a good thing) and I found 3 or 4 strands of her long, dark hair on the shirt.
The only thing I'm confused about now is the fact that the size tag inside the pants has the words "stunt harness" written on it in marker. The Wardrobe Tag and Premiere Props Certificate of Authenticity both say it's Jennifer Connelly's. Is there a chance this is the stunt person's outfit...or do the actors themselves sometimes wear stunt harnesses? It was advertised as worn by Jennifer, so i hope that's the case.