Behind the Laugh TracksIn front of the live studio audience, everything was all punchlines and pratfalls — but when the cameras were off, dark and messy things took place on the sets of the TV comedies America never missed.
Vote up the stories that give you a better appreciation of sitcom style.
The 1990s were something of a golden age for the sitcom form and anyone who has seen any of the beloved shows of the era knows all about '90s TV show outfits. The decade saw the release of high-profile offerings such as Friends and Frasier - both of which would dominate the ratings and had long runs - as well as quirkier series such as The Nanny and 3rd Rock from the Sun. This time period also saw the great success of sitcom stars such as Roseanne and Will Smith, in addition to the appearance of very interesting guest stars all over the place.
Just as importantly, the ‘90s are renowned for a unique sense of fashion, and sitcoms often reflected the period in the various costumes characters wore. As interviews with both the stars and costume designers themselves demonstrate, there’s more to ’90s sitcom costumes than meets the eye.
Created as something of a spoof on the hit home improvement series This Old House, Home Improvement starred comedian Tim Allen as Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor. Blundering but lovable, Tim was the center of the show, though it also focused on his family and his long-suffering co-star, played by Richard Karn.
Since Tim Allen is a long-time Michigan resident, his character often appeared in sweatshirts and other clothing bearing insignia from various schools in his home state. This was at Allen’s insistence, and it resulted in many such schools sending him clothing. It was also in keeping with Taylor’s salt-of-the-earth male persona. When Allen returned to television years later for Last Man Standing, he continued this trend of showing up onscreen in Michigan gear.
Seinfeld has become famous as the "show about nothing.” Despite its supposed callousness, however, the show excelled at sketching out its characters in remarkable depth. As a result, they all became known for their own particular foibles and mannerisms. Kramer, for example, was marked by his outlandish sliding entrance to a room, which exemplified his frantic energy as a character. And, unsurprisingly, clothes played a key role in each character, both in terms of style and in terms of function.
Stephanie Kennedy, who was in charge of costuming for the series, actually designed two separate pairs of Doc Martens to enable this particular feat. “Those shoes made him Kramer,” she remarked. Even more remarkably, it turns out Michael Richards dressed nothing like his character in his personal life, at least according to Kennedy.
The 1990s was a fascinating decade for the sitcom. There are many examples of the form that were eyebrow-raising at the time and have only become more so in the years since. 3rd Rock from the Sun, for example, focused on a group of aliens struggling to fit in on Earth. Given their rather skewed understanding of the planet’s inhabitants and their lifestyles, it made sense this would be reflected in their clothing choices.
“I decided that the aliens’ look should be a misinterpretation of the styles of that era [The Golden Age of Hollywood],” costumer Melina Root noted in an interview. “We came up with the cosmic thrift store concept: The aliens’ mismatched outfits express their complete misread of the history of human dress.”
Roseanne was one of the most important sitcoms to emerge from the 1990s, as it focused so rigorously on a working-class family's struggles and triumphs. In keeping with the show’s general aesthetic, Roseanne often wore clothes one would expect from someone who doesn’t always have the money to buy new ones. Of particular note was a hideous chicken sweatshirt, which became firmly associated with both the character and the show, to such a degree it was even featured in the revival.
Roseanne Barr herself noted, “The chicken shirt, it was just the ugliest shirt I ever saw and we had this bet between us, the actors; if you show something really bad on TV, it takes off. It was like another rebellious artistic statement, that it looks like art when it’s on TV.” After its first appearance, it was in almost every episode, and there was even an incident where the various members of the family took turns wearing it.
Series set in high school often reflect how adults view teenagers rather than how teenagers view themselves. Nowhere is this more clear than in wardrobe choices. This is precisely what made Moesha such an extraordinary series. Focusing on the adventures of Moesha, played by the singer Brandy as she navigates the fraught waters of high school, it was remarkable for the extent to which the costumes for the characters actually reflect how teens understand themselves.
Unsurprisingly, this was a deliberate choice by Yolanda Braddy, the costume designer for the show. After scouting various locations to see how teenagers actually outfitted themselves - including both high schools and the mall - she “put [her] twist on the styles that [she] saw to create individual characters.” As a result, the series featured a look that manages to be both authentic to the time and yet specific to its individual characters as well.
Few sitcoms from the 1990s have achieved quite the level of ubiquity as Friends, which remains one of the most popular shows from the decade. It is something of a time capsule for the era, and much of this stems from the characters’ wardrobes. However, it is precisely the characters’ clothes that crystalize one of the most common criticisms of the show: these characters couldn’t have possibly afforded their lifestyles given what the audience knows about their lives and occupations. As it turns out, much of this was deliberate, as costume designer Debra McGuire noted in an interview.
“There was a lot of pressure to make the characters’ clothes very casual. I wasn’t into it,” she recounted. “I thought we needed aspirational clothing to make people want to know more about their lives. [...] For instance, I dressed Joey in an Armani jacket. He was meant to be an unemployed actor, there is no way he could have afforded it, but the vintage jackets I found didn’t have the right drape.” She went on to note how she strove to create individual color palettes for each character.
