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The Matrix trilogy was
not only big at the box office, but created a huge
fan
following as well.
While the costumes of 'The Matrix', 'Matrix
Reloaded' and 'Matrix Revolutions' were each a bit
different, the basic look remains hot, as proven
by its use in the Underworld films and many others.
Here's how to recreate it on a variety of budgets.
From
left to right,
Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity,
Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus,
& Keanu Reeves as Neo.
Photos courtesy of TheMatrix.com
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THE
SUNGLASSES
Purists with deep pockets can find the officially licensed designs here:
The
Matrix Shop
Be aware that sunglass styles changed for each movie in the Matrix trilogy, so there's more than one authentic version for each character.
Knock-offs run the gamut in both price and accuracy. Click on the images below to see what suits your needs and budget. If you'll be wearing these sunglasses on a regular basis, it's a good idea to buy better quality. Cheap glasses are unlikely to be comfortable or to have UVA/UVB protection. The mid-range versions have both.
THE COATS
The first film's costumes were different from those in
the second and third films. Furthermore, fabrics and patterns
changed with the needs of each scene. In other words, you have some flexibility. We'll start with coats available
for purchase and then move on to how you can make your own.
Purists with money to burn can find most of the coats here:
Abby Shot
Baron Boutique
Priests' cassocks can fill in for at least one Neo coat.
There are a number of different styles available:
Catholic Supply
Christian Expressions
Kambriel
Renzetti & Magnarelli
See our notes further down in this
article on how to modify cassocks for better Matrix authenticity.
Here's
a pleather coat that resembles the one Morpheus wears. It's
even custom fitted! Note that Morpheus wears his coat closed
with the lapels
unfolded and laid flat against his chest throughout
much of 'Reloaded'.
There are officially licensed versions of each character's coat ranging in price from cheap to relatively expensive. At first glance, it can be hard to tell them apart, but the difference is in the materials. If you go this route, choose your coat based on how often you'll be wearing it. You don't want it falling apart after just one or two nights out. Each includes the low-cost sunglasses shown above:
Here's
a cross between the Neo and Morpheus coats.
At different points in the trilogy, Trinity wears a trench coat/raincoat, a long dress/coat and a short jacket. If the options above don't meet your needs, try here for the long coat/dress and the raincoat, and here or here for the short jacket.
Niobe's red-brown, faux crocodile outfit is tough to find. However, you can "paint" a vinyl or pleather jacket and pants the right color with Vinyl
Coat.
It's worth noting that you can take a good picture of any article of clothing
to a tailor and get a custom-fitted replica. A pattern would be even better.
Neo's main 'Reloaded' coat is a wool blend fabric, but you can use anything
with some heft to it. Trinity's outfits are all vinyl/PVC. Morpheus' coat has
a reptile skin look.
Speaking of patterns, if you or a friend can sew, this is an inexpensive way
to go. For Morpheus and Neo coat patterns from 'Reloaded',
go here.
For Trinity's outfit, see this
link. For the cassock pattern mentioned earlier, go here.
Purists will want to make some modifications
to the cassock. Tuck up the fabric to create a thin pleat
at the waist and sew it into place. Exaggerate the collar
to make it more kung
fu, leave out the cuffs and don't forget those high
side slits that allow for high kicks and impressive billowing.
Most of these design traits come from Chinese traditional
Mandarin
martial arts formal wear, which also looks like something
out of the Matrix trilogy.
It turns out that Neo's 'Reloaded' coat looks alot like
some historical Polish military coats. Here's
some free patterns!
Of course, the fastest and cheapest way to get a Matrix
coat is to visit your local thrift stores and rummage sales
and look for an ankle length black coat. You can easily
cut the collar flaps off, for example, to get a Neo 'Reloaded'
look, or leave them on for the lobby scene trenchcoat. For
Trinity's look, seek out shiny black raincoats to carefully
modify. Vinyl tears easily. Thrift stores are also good
places to find Agent outfits and other Matrix costume items.
THE BOOTS
Purists can get replicas of Neo's "lobby" boots from the first film at MotorCowboy.com. MotorCowboy also makes custom boots, so they can create any other boots as well.
You can find boots very close in design to Neo's "lobby" boots at these merchants:
Here and here are reasonable facsimiles of one style of Trinity's boots. For her lobby boots, try these. (Hint: Spraying boots with black gloss Rustoleum will
make them look like patent leather, but the process is
NOT
reversible.)
Honestly, for Neo and Morpheus, any black boots should
do the job. The attention will be on the sunglasses, the
coats and, most importantly, the attitude!
NEO
To complete your Neo outfit, you'll need:
* A tight, plain, long sleeved, black top
* Black dress pants
If you want the look from the first movie, you may also want:
* Black military BDU pants instead of dress pants. (Here's what the originals look like.)
* Black belt with silver buckle
* A rappelling
harness
* A set of shoulder holsters: (See the 7700
LeatherLite Shoulder System if you have cash.)
* OR modify military
suspenders (much
cheaper!).
MORPHEUS
To complete your Morpheus
outfit, you'll need:
* A black
dress shirt
* A lime tie
* A round, silver tie tack
* For 'The Matrix', use a black suit. For 'Reloaded', use a purple-blue suit. Get a matching vest & sew white buttons onto it. For 'Revolutions', use a 3-piece black suit.
TRINITY
To complete your Trinity outfit, you'll need:
* Shiny black gloves
* Shiny black pants
Spooky
Boutique
Superfine black metallic jeans
Flirty Lingerie
Lip Service patent vinyl 5 pocket boot cut
* A sleeveless black vinyl, rubber, leather/pleather or PVC top. She wears several. (
Example 1,
Example 2,
Example 3)
Synthetic Bliss vinyl cami
Lip Service patent vinyl lace up back cami
* OR a
shiny black long-sleeved short dress. (
Still from film.)
* For the jacketless look from the first film, use a black belt with silver buckle
AGENT
SMITH / ANY AGENT
For an Agent outfit, you'll need:
* Sunglasses (see the sunglasses
section)
* 3-button,
black business suit. (In the first film, the suit seemed
to be more of a cross between charcoal and brown.)
* Medium width black
tie
* Silver
bar tie clip
* White dress shirt
* Shiny black dress shoes
* Earpiece (modify a clear coiled cord or buy
the real thing).
MISCELLANEOUS
Did you want to be another Matrix character? Baron Boutique makes a Merovingian
Suit. Reference photos of Link, Switch,
Cypher, Persephone, The Key Maker and more can be found at the official Warner
Brothers website.
Lastly, for anything you still might need to round out your costume, Ebay probably has it.
