Big-budget film and TV productions typically have a wardrobe department, but that doesn’t mean stars can’t bring some of their own pieces to the set. On the contrary, a number of actors have brought their own clothes and accessories to work, and sometimes that’s what really sold their character.
To kick things off with Hollywood royalty, we have Grace Kelly. After her wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco, Kelly retired from the screen, but she shot one last film before walking down the aisle. That was 1956’s “High Society,” which was appropriate considering her own upper-class upbringing, but even more relevant considering she was about to become a real-life princess. However, her own high society knowledge wasn’t the only thing Kelly brought to her character. Another notable detail was her character Tracy Lord’s engagement ring, which happened to be gifted to her by her husband-to-be.
We say “gifted” because while some say Lord’s engagement ring belonged to Kelly, she was originally given a different band when the prince proposed. As for “High Society,” Kelly was said to be wearing a costume jewelry ring for the role, per Brides. However, that simply wouldn’t be enough for Her Serene Highness, and Rainier told his bride that he would buy her another (read: real) ring specifically for the role, but to alternate it with the original band. As anyone who’s seen “High Society” knows, Kelly took him up on the offer, and the rest is history.
Eleanor’s iconic ring really belongs to Michelle Yeoh
Sticking with the stars who have worn their own jewelry in a movie, next up is Michelle Yeoh. Fans of “Crazy Rich Asians” will no doubt remember Eleanor Young’s spectacular emerald ring, which (spoiler alert) she passes on to Rachel Chu when she finally accepts her as a member of the Young family. However, it may come as a surprise to some that the ring that appeared in the film was not the original prop.
Speak with Vulture in 2018, the film’s director Jon M. Chu revealed, “We had already designed a ring and our mock-up looked so sh***y that Michelle thought, ‘That can’t be the ring I’m wearing.’ …I’m like, ‘I know, I know. I’m so ashamed of it, but we don’t have the money. ” Cue Yeoh’s suggestion: ‘I have a better ring than that.’ No kidding, there! The film’s costume designer told me The Knot of the piece: “Emeralds can have a lot of cracks, a lot of flaws, but this one was really a flawless emerald, which is hard to find. It’s very classic. It looks like something Cartier could have designed in the 1920s.”
Yeoh also spoke about the ring with The Knot, explaining that it was non-negotiable for her to wear a piece that she truly believed Eleanor would wear. For starters, she said, it had to be a real gem. What’s more, she said of the quality of the ring, “Eleanor was a character who knew that what she wore had to be flawless.” The Hollywood superstarwho also wore the ring to the 2019 Golden Globes, also shared it E! Insider that the ring was a character in itself, and as such would do nothing but be a showstopper. Well, her ring was that and then some.
Kelly Rutherford’s Birkins were hers
No “Firkins” for Kelly Rutherford. The “Gossip Girl” star, who has become known on social media as “The OG Birkin mom,” used her own handbags during her tenure as Lily van der Woodsen, and yes, they were all real.
Speaking of bringing her own Hermès bags to work, Rutherford said Harrods (rather modestly, considering): “Yes, they were all mine – but that was only because we couldn’t get them anywhere else at the time.” That was something Rutherford also spoke to in an interview Elle. “Hermès was clearly Hermès, but not everyone wore it,” she told the outlet. And sure enough, Hermès was notoriously difficult to buy around that time. However, similar to how Michelle Yeoh felt about Eleanor Young, Rutherford had a very clear vision of what her character would possess. Since she had already purchased a few bags from the brand, using what she had was an easy solution.
It is worth noting that Rutherford did not intend to appear boastful in using her own very expensive bags. On the contrary, the actor (whose The son’s name is Hermèsbtw) has been very down to earth about her collection. In her conversation with Harrods she even seemed to shy away from it calling it’s a collection. “There weren’t that many,” she said. Rutherford also told Elle that she took a rather measured approach when purchasing her bags. During the filming of “Melrose Place,” she said, “I just bought that one bag because it was so expensive. … And that’s how I built my collection: I treated myself to a bag at the end of every season.’ Sage advice for any aspiring collector, and also wisdom that we would expect from Van der Woodsen himself.
Blake Lively regularly contributes to her characters’ castes
From Kelly Rutherford to her “Gossip Girl” character’s daughter, and then Blake Lively. Lively has long made it clear that she does not work with a stylistfamous telling Glamour in a 2011 interview in which she chose her own “fits.”, “This is one of my favorite hobbies! And I’m going to pay someone to steal my hobby from me? That’s a terrible idea!”
While Lively talked about her red carpet and event appearances when she spoke to Glamor several years later, she shared Fashion she also liked to use her own stuff for the camera. “I often come with my own wardrobe,” she joked, pointing to a pair of pants she used in “The Age of Adaline.”
Lively also told Vogue that her love of collaborating with the costume department on everything she worked on stemmed from her time on “Gossip Girl.” She said of the show’s costume designer, Eric Daman, “(He) was just so spectacular and inventive and he really took that idea to the next level of characters looking real. … They had such a distinct look, and I just find that so inspiring. To this day, I bring that with me to every character.” Lively and Daman would team up again for ‘It Ends with Us,’ Daman recounts Variety”She wanted to bring her own stuff. … I feel like I’m really here as a costume designer to provide the tools and help these actors create the most amazing character possible. And if that means using a custom pair of Louboutins from Blake Lively’s closet, then I’m in.” Of course, in the case of ‘It Ends with Us’, some thought Lively’s outfits missed the markbut no one can say she didn’t put her own spin on it.
Elizabeth Taylor regularly rocked her own rocks
Back to the stars who brought their own jewelry to the screen: Elizabeth Taylor was known for her love of statement gemstones, and she certainly made her mark in her films by wearing some of her most fabulous pieces on screen. One particularly moving piece, however, came in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’, and was a decidedly simple chain.
Taylor’s necklace, with a heart-shaped diamond pendant, was always going to be a sentimental choice, as it was given to her by her third husband, Mike Todd (and as the actor’s assistant told People(he had also given a matching copy to her mother). However, it became all the more moving after Todd died in a plane crash while the movie was being made. She would wear it again in her next film, ‘Suddenly, Last Summer’.
Of course, not all of Taylor’s jewelry was so understated and sentimental, but rather fantastic and a way to make a statement with her characters. Such was the case with the movie “Boom,” in which she played a spectacularly wealthy dying woman. Naturally, Taylor wore the 33.19-carat Krupp diamond for the role, or the diamond that was renamed The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond in 2011. Other standout pieces included the La Peregrina pearl, which she wore during a blink-and-you’ll-miss cameo in “Anne of the Thousand Days.” Taylor wasn’t even mentioned in the movie, but she certainly made her presence known, and decades later we’re still talking about it.
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