With a series like Teen Wolf, some fans might think the costumes aren’t that important. After all, high school students in a small town are just going to wear the styles of the day, right? Not exactly. In Teen Wolf, the clothing could actually provided some interesting cues for the audience.
Many of the longer-running characters on the series saw their clothing evolve as their characters went through major changes. Likewise, the clothing could be used to tell a story about the character as well. It sometimes even conveyed hints about what was coming. Costuming in a series like Teen Wolf would wind up as important as the makeup effects.
Jackets Often Hid Harnesses
Despite Teen Wolf’s reputation for shirtless scenes, there are a surprisingly large number of jackets in the series. The reasoning there is two-fold. One, a lot of scenes were filmed outside at night in Georgia during cooler temperatures. The other? Those jackets could be used to hide things.
Many of the fight scenes and larger stunts in Teen Wolf required actors to be in a harness so they could be pulled quickly across a set. Jackets hid the harness without the effects team having to paint out as much of it. If a scene involved multiple characters in jackets, there was probably a stunt involved.
No One Wore Glitter
During the run of Teen Wolf, and even now, glitter is a bit of a staple in feminine teen wardrobes and makeup. Not in the Teen Wolf world.
When costume designer Barbara Vazquez spoke with MTV in 2013, she remarked that glitter just wasn’t her thing when asked about items off limits in the costume department. Fans might glitter in some of the rave scenes, but that was all thanks to the “glowing” makeup, and not included in any costuming.
Also a no-no for the show? Any clothing that had patterned lines too close together because of the way the lines would appear to “strobe” on camera. Stripes and plaids worn by characters on the show all had wide set patterns.
Lydia’s Chloé Bag
Lydia Martin might have been one of the best dressed citizens of Beacon Hills. While everyone else looked like they actually attended high school, Lydia dressed for the life she wanted outside of Beacon Hills. That included expensive dresses and designer handbags. One bag in particular wasn’t just Lydia’s; it belonged to Holland Roden.
In the first episode of Season 3, Lydia carried a Chloé bag that retailed for $2,000. Though Vazquez loved the bag for the character, it wasn’t actually in the budget to purchase it and use it. Roden lent her own bag for her character’s use, and it was kept in a safe on set when she wasn’t filming with it.
All Of The Clothing Was Altered
According to Vazquez, 98% of the pieces worn by characters on the show were altered before they were used. So, if fans are hoping to find exact replicas of outfits for cosplay purposes, they might have a difficult time.
Alterations could be anything from taking in a t-shirt to have it fit an actor better, adding sleeves to a dress, or adjusting the hem of a pair of pants. Everything was changed to fit the actors exactly. Of course, this practice isn’t unique to Teen Wolf. Most television shows that don’t have a costume team sewing outfits from scratch every week will still alter the things bought off the rack to fit their actors.
Allison’s Mixed Patterns Were Meant To Show Her Past
Allison Argent loved a good layered look. Most of her outfits in the series involved jackets and t-shirts paired with patterned skirts. She mixed colors and patterns more than any other character on the show.
Her style was meant to reflect just how much she’d picked up from all of the places her family had been. The Argents spent most of Allison’s life moving from place to place, and Allison’s look would have evolved with each move. Her clothing was a nod to that.
Stiles’ Lacrosse Number
Stiles spent most of his early days of the show as comic relief, but he also happened to be a character whose clothing had a lot of nods to the 1985 movie. One of those nods was in lacrosse.
Though the movie highlighted basketball as Scott McCall’s sport, fans will notice a link in Stiles’ lacrosse number. Scott’s basketball jersey in the movie was 42. Stiles’ lacrosse jersey in the series is the opposite — 24. It’s a nice way to nod to the source material, but demonstrates how the show would put its own spin on Teen Wolf.
Lydia’s Love For Skirts
Characters like Allison, who spent a lot of time fighting, often wore jeans or leggings. So did Kira when she ed the series. More often than not, Lydia wasn’t in pants. She was the one woman in the show who seemed to prefer her short skirts over anything else.
Lydia’s style only shifted once she began training with Jordan Parrish. Though she still wore skirts, she was more likely to have leggings or skinny jeans on after the fact. Her slow movement away from skirts (and even away from pointed heels to boots) was a sign of her character evolving into a fighting member of the pack instead of someone who constantly needed to be protected.
Scott’s Vanishing Sneakers
Another character who went through a definite style evolution on the series is main character Scott McCall. When Teen Wolf began, Scott and Stiles wore very similar outfits: jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. As Scott began to embrace his True Alpha status, his style changed dramatically.
He got a leather jacket thanks to his love affair with motorcycles, but that wasn’t the only change. Scott also moved away from t-shirts to henleys. One bigger change? His footwear. Fans will notice he wears a lot less sneakers in the later seasons of the show. Instead, he moves towards boots.
Marie-Jean’s Handmade Clothing
When Barbara Vazquez paid a visit to MTV’s Teen Wolf After After Show, she got to share one surprising tidbit about some of the costumes in the series: a few were handmade.
For the most part, a show like Teen Wolf means purchasing stylish clothing teenagers would be wearing at a modern high school. For a few characters, however, that’s not going to fly. Characters like the Dread Doctors and Marie-Jean wouldn’t be able to find their clothing in a department store. While the Dread Doctors could be a combination of found pieces, Marie-Jean’s clothing in the flashback episode was all handmade. In fact, everyone’s clothing in the small French village that gave werewolves their origin was.
Stiles’ Graphic Tees
Like his friends, Stiles’ style did evolve over the course of the series. He went from a love for graphic t-shirts to slightly more sensible clothing. That graphic tee obsession early in the show, however, was a lot like his lacrosse number.
The movie version of Stiles in 1985 had the same love for graphic tees. Both characters wore clothing that employed humorous sayings or nods to pop culture of the day. It was another way to link the series back to its source material without going over the top.