Wonder Woman Lynda Carter Television Series Costume
COSTUME DESIGNER
The costume designer for all three seasons of the Wonder Woman television series is a man named Donfeld (aka Donald Lee Feld, 1937-2007). In 1978 he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for a Drama or Comedy Series for the episode from The New Adventures of Wonder Woman titled Anschluss 77. There is a great interview with Donfeld in the magazine Back Issue # 5 in which he talks about the costume in detail. Occasionally these sketches come up for auction and usually sell for US$1,000+. In 2004 one sold for over US$4,000. Click on the image or text link below to view some of Donfeld's original designs.
COSTUME SALES
A costume worn by Lynda Carter in The New Adventures of Wonder Woman went up for sale in 1999 through Butterfield & Butterfield auctioneers in Los Angeles and sold for US$16,900. The book The Investor's Guide to Vintage Character Collectibles by Rex Miller estimated the value of the costume by 2004 would be worth approximately US$25,000. Bracelets from the first season of Wonder Woman (ABC series) were purchased by fellow Wonder Woman collector Steven a number of years ago from a memorabilia store in California for US$3,000 and came with a certificate of authenticity. Lynda Carter's golden lasso from The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (CBS series) went up for auction in 1994 through Camden House in Los Angeles. It was estimated to sell for between US$1,100-2,000 - unfortunately the results of the auction are not yet know to webmaster.
AZARIAN COLLECTION
John Azarian currently owns two complete Wonder Woman costumes. The first is Lynda Carter's New Adventures of Wonder Woman costume (often referred to as the CBS costume) including tiara, earings, bracelets, boots, lasso, belt and bodice. This costume was featured in the book Wonder Woman: The Complete History. The second costume is the blue spandex diving costume used in The New Adventures of Wonder Woman as well as a pair of knee pads used in the episode Skateboard Whiz (1978). John's collection features hundreds of costumes and props from other series and movies including Batman, Superman, Supergirl, Get Smart and I Dream of Jeannie to name a few. Images used below are taken from the book
COSTUMES ON DISPLAY
In June 2002 John Azarian's costume went on display at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City in an exhibition titled That's Entertainment. The same year Azarian's Wonder Woman tiara and bracelets were displayed at an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. In the exhibition Wonder Woman's tiara sat alongside some of the most famous tiara's in history, including tiaras owned and worn by Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. In 2006 a Wonder Woman costume, complete with cape and original sketch by Donfeld, was on display in California's Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing as part of the The Art of Television Costume Design exhibition. Two years later the costume is on display again, this time in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in an exhibition titled Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. On 5 May 2008 Lynda Carter attended the opening ceremony at the Met dressed in a royal blue dress and was wearing her original gold bracelets from The New Adventures of Wonder Woman. Lynda Carter has a complete costume in her Washington home. In a television interview she showed the interviewer a display cabinet where she keeps her original lasso and bracelets (both ABC and CBS versions) with a framed TV Guide cover behind them. Click on the thumbnails below to view full size images of these Wonder Woman costumes on display and Lynda Carter wearing her gold CBS bracelets. In 2011 the CBS costume went on display at the Indianapolis Children's Museum - click on the link below to view photos of the exhibit as well as behind the scenes photos of the costume.
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