Frock Flicks - Costume Movie Reviews

Frock Flicks - Costume Movie Reviews

Ever watch a historical movie and thought "what the heck are they wearing?" We've studied real historical clothing, and we love to pick apart Hollywood's idea of period costume. But it's not just about history, it's also about symbolism, style, and more. Grab a cocktail and join us to bitch about crazy costume movies and TV series, fabulous historical costumes, and what it all means.

Episodes

The Great, Episodes 9 and 10

August 28, 2025 • 42 mins
We review the ninth and tenth episodes of this darkly comedic take on 18th century Russian Empress Catherine the Great starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. We have mixed opinions about the finale, make some hopefully interesting digressions, and give season one a solid B grade for absurdist history.
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The Great, Episodes 7 and 8

August 28, 2025 • 30 mins
We review the seventh and eighth episodes of this darkly comedic take on 18th century Russian Empress Catherine the Great starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. Beautiful textiles and excellent fitting abound, but we are getting bored of all the repeats and want more from the court dress.
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The Great, Episodes 5 and 6

August 28, 2025 • 31 mins
We review the third and fourth episodes of this darkly comedic take on 18th century Russian Empress Catherine the Great starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. Not much new happens in the costume department but we discuss it nonetheless.
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The Great, Episodes 3 and 4

August 28, 2025 • 37 mins
We review the third and fourth episodes of this darkly comedic take on 18th century Russian Empress Catherine the Great starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. The designer's departures from historical accuracy work well with the show's comic tone and only loose relationship to history.
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The Great, Episodes 1 and 2

May 22, 2020 • 49 mins
We review the first two episodes of this darkly comedic take on 18th century Russian Empress Catherine the Great starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. The series is similar in tone to show runner's Tony McNamara's The Favourite. Costume designer Emma Fryer's work is close enough to Catherine's era, and most importantly, it is well-made and well-fitted.
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Celine Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire

May 8, 2020 • 65 mins
We review this late 18th century-set French, female-focused film. We agree it is a beautiful movie, with well-done, if non-specific, costumes. We also discuss what we are watching during quarantine.
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Downton Abbey - The Movie

September 20, 2019 • 60 mins
We review the Crawley clan's jump from TV to the big screen. Fans of this historical soap opera will delight in seeing the aristocratic family and their servants again. While we adored the glorious 1920s costumes by Anna Robbins, we have some issues with the predictable plotting.
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Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots

January 8, 2019 • 60 mins
We review this attempt at a biopic about the famous 16th-century Scottish queen. This movie weirdly wastes time on a reductionist view of Elizabeth I of England at the expense of Mary's story. With costumes designed by Alexandra Byrne, whose designs feature denim, saddlebags, and a whole lot of WTF, we end up asking WHY a lot.
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Yorgos Lanthimos's The Favorite

December 10, 2018 • 54 mins
We review this tale of court intrigue set in the early 18th century. Two women (Sarah Duchess of Marlborough, played by Rachel Weisz, and Abigail Masham, played by Emma Stone) vie for the attention of English Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman). With costumes designed by Sandy Powell and a historically accurate view of female power and sexuality, we find a lot to praise!
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Jamestown, Gunpowder, London

November 9, 2017 • 50 mins
We discuss the Association of Dress Historians conference in London and give you an inside peek at what's coming up with costume movies and TV as well as what's in the works for the blog. Next, we do in-depth reviews of the TV series Jamestown, which has aired in the UK, as well as Gunpowder, which stars Kit Harrington and is coming soon to HBO. Get your snark on for a monthly or twice monthly romp through historical costume movies...
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Versailles S2, Search Terms, Patreon

October 12, 2017 • 41 mins
We kickoff our new podcast format with bits of news from the costume drama world, a behind-the-scenes look at Frock Flicks HQ, and a review of the first episodes of Versailles season two. Get your snark on for a monthly or twice monthly romp through historical costume movies and TV.
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Patreon Preview

February 22, 2017 • 27 mins
Get a taste of our subscription-only Patreon podcasts with this preview where we discuss what we've been watching recently, including Victoria and Six Wives with Lucy Worsley. Plus we look at how criticism fits in an academic and journalistic context.
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Mel Gibson's Braveheart

January 27, 2017 • 75 mins
For Snark Week, we take on that clunker of medieval Scotland' Braveheart. Oh yes, shitty kilts, stretch panne velvet, and patriarchy abounds. Listen to us get progressively drunker and shoutier as we decry all the crappy costumes and history in this classic film. We're joined by Scottish dress historian Brenna Barks.
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Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak

October 26, 2016 • 42 mins
We look at this gothic-horror story chock full of elaborate late Victorian costumes. Director Guillermo del Toro and costume designer Kate Hawley combine powers for a dark and spooky visual treat (with a few tricks).
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Outlander Season 2, Episodes 12 and 13

July 12, 2016 • 49 mins
We're joined by Brenna Barks, historian of 18th century Scotland and its dress. We discuss the finale, but spend even more time on the second season as a whole, getting into the real history behind the Jacobite Rising of 1745, the historical accuracy of the costumes, and reflect on how well the season's costumes worked.
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Outlander Season 2, Episode 11

June 21, 2016 • 23 mins
There is still lots of wool, but luckily the Duke of Sandringham and Mary Hawkins show up to give us a small taste of shiny. We discuss wigs, the lack of shagging, and various plot points as we hurtle onwards in the Jacobite Rising.
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Outlander Season 2, Episodes 9 and 10

June 14, 2016 • 30 mins
We cover two very wooly episodes, and get into Dougal's hotness, how the costumes are working with the characterizations, the recreation of an outfit from a real painting of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the battle of Prestonpans.
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Outlander Season 2, Episode 8

June 1, 2016 • 28 mins
Jamie and Claire are back in Scotland and back in wool. We are joined by two historical costumers and fashion historians, Lisa Vandenberghe and Francis Classe. Lisa is also a former professional costume designer for TV, film, and theater.
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Outlander Season 2, Episodes 6 and 7

May 24, 2016 • 23 mins
Claire wears an historically accurate robe volante in episode six, and an evocative but not quite right francaise in episode seven. Oh, and boys wear things too. Recorded in Paris.
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Outlander Season 2, Episode 5

May 10, 2016 • 50 mins
Claire has new dressing gowns, Jamie's boots get analyzed, there's historical crochet, Bonnie Prince Charlie gets some gorgeous gold trim, and we finally see and exhaustively discuss the brown and yellow floral dress. Also, we discuss issues with changing the past and future, and the issue of rape as a plot device in Outlander.
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