Michael Madsen tells the best stories. On the QT8: The First Eight, documentary about Quentin Tarantino, Madsen describes how the lack of budget for the wardrobe informed some of the costume choices in Reservoir Dogs. Madsen said,

We (him and Tim Roth) hugged each other, both covered in blood syrup. When it dries it gets sticky. We were hugging each other and we couldn't get apart. The wardrobe people were convinced if we unlocked we would rip the clothes up. We didn't have much of a budget for clothes. In fact that was my suit. He (Tarantino) told us to come to work in black suit with white shirts. They provided the ties. If you look at Steve Buscemi he's wearing black jeans. My jacket and trousers, they don't go together they're from two different suits."

I thought it would be fun to do an article, pulling some information from various sources and doing a listicle of other fun wardrobe facts from each of the Tarantino films.

PULP FICTION - Costume Designer Betsy Heimann

What's in the briefcase? A question to which Tarantino notoriously replies "it's whatever the viewer wants it to be." The most popular theory is that the gold shimmer is the aura of Marcellus Wallace's soul. A rather obscure theory is that it could be the gold reflective suit jacket worn by Val Kilmer as Elvis Presley in True Romance. Why not.

Betsy Heimann is one of my favourite costume designers. I wish she was used more by Tarantino but this would be her final pairing with the director. You’ll be able to see her work in the upcoming Chris Pratt film, Tomorrow’s War. You can also catch two interviews I’ve done with Betsy about her work on Out of Sight and Green Book.

JACKIE BROWN - Costume Designer Mary Claire Hannan

In one of the scenes there is an exchange/drop which takes place in a shopping mall. The vast shopping mall, further south in the South Bay area, is the Del Amo Fashion Center, 3525 West Carson Street at Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance. At some point it was acquired by the Westfield company, the location is still there, but it has been remodelled to the new era.

A few years after Jackie Brown, one of the mall's deserted stores was transformed into 'Saguaro Square', the 'Arizona' department store in which Billy Bob Thornton worked as a very Bad Santa.

KILL BILL VOL 1 - Costume Designers Catherine Marie Thomas & Kumiko Ogawa

The Bride's yellow outfit was inspired by the outfit worn by Bruce Lee in his final film, Game of Death (1978). (Yes some of these facts may be common knowledge, indeed pulled quite literally from IMDB Trivia, but we have a lot to get through ok?)

KILL BILL VOL 2 - Costume Designers Catherine Marie Thomas & Kumiko Ogawa

The boots Uma Thurman has on when she is buried alive are the same boots that Michael Madsen used in Reservoir Dogs (1992) when he cut off the police officer's ear. The same straight razor is also used. In fact Madsen also talks about those boots in the documentary. Madsen recalled,

"I didn't have black shoes, he wanted everyone to have black shoes I didn't have any. But I had black cowboy boots see. So that's how the razor ended up being in the boot."

DEATH PROOF - Costume Designer Nina Proctor

Stuntman Mike's clothing style is derived from real life movie stuntmen who would dress in a similar manner. The look included: satin racing jacket, black denim jeans, black t-shirts and turquoise jewellery.

Stuntman Mike's Hero jacket which was expected to fetch between 4-6k at an auction held through Prop Store back in 2007.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Costumer Designer Anna B. Sheppard

Whilst tunnelling through the annals of the web I found some nasty crap about Nazi Memorabilia collectors. Safe to say I'll be deleting all my cookies and web browser history after this. An interesting interview with the costume designer Anna B. Sheppard can be found on the wonderful Clothes on Film blog. When Editor Chris Laverty asks Does Quentin Tarantino take an active interest in how costume influences character? Sheppard recalls,

Naturally Quentin took a very active interest in all of the costumes as it was his first period film. I had to do a lot of visual presentations and sketches to give him the opportunity to choose his favourite pieces from a selection.

Further conversations and quotes can be found on the wonderful Bamf Style who documents the Ivory Dinner Jacket worn by Lt. Aldo Raine played by Brad Pitt. The dinner jacket made by Giorgio Armani in collaboration with Sheppard is a two-button white dinner jacket with peak lapels would normally retail for $4,375.

DJANGO UNCHAINED - Costume Designer Sharen Davis

Django's blue costume is based on the famous painting "The Blue Boy". This painting inspired F.W. Murnau's film Emerald of Death (1919). Murnau is best known for creating the "Unchained" camera technique.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, this Fauntleroy outfit is further echoed in one scene where Roman Polanski walks to his car sporting a blue velour suit with ruffled white cravat.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT - Costume Designer Courtney Hoffman

There is a terrific interview in Vanity Fair with the costume designer Courtney Hoffman, who has since turned her hand to directing. Hoffman recalls when designing Samuel L. Jackson’s navy cavalry coat that it had to have something of a Tarantino trademark. “Historically, some of the coats did have that that yellow lining. And if you think back to Quentin’s other films—like Uma Thurman’s character in Kill Bill—he is known for his yellow. So it’s kind of that Tarantino yellow.”

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD - Costume Designer Arianne Phillips

I personally think this is Tarantino's best work since Pulp Fiction. And his love letter to Hollywood had the beautiful costume calligraphy of Arianne Phillips. In an interview with Fashionista Phillips was asked about the iconic Champion tee-short worn by Pitt throughout. Phillips recalled,

The 'Champion' shirt came directly from Quentin. It wasn't written in the script, but it was something he thought about. Just like Brad's T-shirt that he wears on the 'Green Hornet' set — a 'Lion's Raceway' T-shirt — Brad loved those T-shirts.