Why Was There a Green Costume on ‘I Dream of Jeannie’?
When you think of Barbara Eden as Jeannie, you probably picture her pink costume with the tiny hat, flowing pants and veil, which became part of her signature look on I Dream of Jeannie. But do you also remember the green version?
The green costume was associated with Jeannie’s dark-haired sister, who was also named Jeannie. However, the green costume appeared before her sister was introduced, and Eden wore it as the original Jeannie.
Jeannie wore the green costume twice
Everett Collection
According to Eden’s official Facebook page, she wore the green costume as Jeannie in two episodes. The first was the Season 1 episode “Jeannie and the Marriage Caper.” It reappeared in Season 2’s “Always on Sunday.”
That was the last time Eden wore the green outfit as the original Jeannie. The first season originally aired in black and white, so viewers wouldn’t have known the costume was green anyway.
Years later, when the season was colorized, the company Sony hired changed the outfit to match Jeannie’s usual pink-and-red costume. Eden’s team has since pointed out on Facebook that the color was wrong.
Then it became Jeannie’s sister’s costume
The green outfit got a new purpose in Season 3. Eden’s dark-haired sister character first appeared in “Jeannie or the Tiger,” which aired on Sept. 19, 1967. Eden played both roles, but her sister wore a dark brown wig and was a lot more devious than the Jeannie viewers already knew.
From then on, the green costume became her look. Eden shared a behind-the-scenes photo from that episode in 2024 showing herself in the dark wig and green costume. Her double, Lainie Nelson, wore the original Jeannie’s outfit.
Barbara Eden had fun playing both roles
Everett Collection
Eden said she enjoyed playing both characters. “Truthfully, I really enjoyed playing them both,” she wrote on Facebook. “Their personalities being so different from one another, it was fun for me!” She said she would get excited when a script came in and she realized the sister was going to be back.
Eden also had some say in the color of the costume everyone remembers best. In a previous interview with us, she recalled meeting costume designer Joie Hutchinson, who asked about her favorite color. Eden told her she didn’t really have one, “but pink, I liked that.” Hutchinson took her measurements and later came back with sketches for the costume. She added, “The costume itself was all I could ever wish for.”
Now tell us, do you prefer the pink or green costume?
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September 2020
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