ABC ‘Desperate’ to save cash on wardrobe

According to an internal memo, it looks like some belt tightening has hit the costuming department at some of ABC’s biggest primetime shows.

The network, home to highly wardrobed dramas such as “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Desperate Housewives,” has circulated a memo titled “new wardrobe guidelines” that outlines the “maximum allowable spend” for categories of clothing for each character.

No more than $150 may be spent on men’s or women’s accessories; no more than $250 on a pair of women’s shoes (only $200 for men’s shoes). Handbags should cap out at $300 and men’s suits at $1,500.

One source involved with an ABC show called the memo evidence that the network is “cheap,” but Charissa Gilmore, a rep for ABC, says that the memo is nothing more than a guide. “Probably everyone is looking at costs,” says Gilmore, “and there are guidelines for every single department.”

Despite the source of the memo saying that the guidelines are new and definitely a change from previous season’s guidelines, Gilmore says the memo is probably part of a larger set of guidelines established last summer, and not a response to a specific cost-cutting drive.

Also, Gilmore drives home the point that the costs allotted are just suggestions. “All of our people can go over. If someone argues that we need red-soled (Christian Louboutin) shoes to show that Lucy Liu is the power attorney (on ‘Dirty Sexy Money’), then she’s going to get them. It’s about making smart decisions.”

(source)