The Good, the Bad and the Bradys

The Movie: “The Brady Bunch Movie.”

The Setup: Six squeaky-clean step-siblings and their parents from the campy 1970s “Brady Bunch” television series are transplanted to gritty, 1990s Los Angeles.

The Costume Designer: Rosanna Norton, whose credits include “The Flintstones,” “Robocop 2,” “Gremlins 2,” “Ruthless People” and “Airplane!”

Inspiration: Loads of “Brady Bunch” reruns.

The Look: If you hated ‘70s-style clothes, you’ll cringe at the new Bradys. Norton has no mercy, opting for the worst of the worst (not as though there were any memorable Brady high points). The costumes are an extravaganza of double knits in wretched shades (burnt orange, olive green, hot pink) and tiresome prints. While some family members are just funny looking--like Carol (Shelley Long) in jokey shirts with elongated collars hanging over polyester vests--others look mentally challenged. Mike (Gary Cole) is the worst-case scenario in clashing polka dot tie and shirt combinations along with the always attractive plaid blazer.

Quoted: “We looked at stores that sell never-worn ‘70s clothes, but there’s a reason nobody bought them. They’re really ugly--they were ugly then and ugly now,” said Norton, explaining why she custom-made most of the costumes from period fabrics.

You Should Know: Finding period shoes was a challenge and the movie’s budget didn’t allow for custom-made ones. While Norton did dig up some ‘70s platforms and never worn go-go boots for the kids, for Carol she had no other choice but to patronize the chichi Ferragamo shoe store on Rodeo Drive, where she picked up their classic flat pumps with bows in powder blue, coral, banana yellow and red.

Trivia: Director Betty Thomas was so keen on the authenticity of Alice the maid’s (Henriette Mantel) uniform that no ordinary uniform would do. At one point, Norton thought she’d struck gold when she found one of the original Alice uniforms in Paramount stock, but it turned out to be a false alarm--it was only worn in a reunion show “and it didn’t look right,” Norton says. Instead, Norton looked very carefully at old episodes, stopping frames to get the details right.

Sources: Hullabaloo in St. Louis, Aardvark in Venice and Costume Collection in L.A. for some ‘70s clothes and shoes. Period polyester was unearthed at fabric stores in Downtown L.A. The rest of the costumes were made at Costume Rental Corp.