To create an illusion, actors had to rely first on their own wardrobes. And it was only the largest theaters, with their own rich collections, that could furnish additional accoutrements. The Revolution was to see the end, in part, of a century-long debate on the historicity and verisimilitude of costumes, while continuing to propose stereotypes to represent the foreigner. This was manifested on the stage, first among those actors most committed to the new civic rights, by the display of cockades, the use of ordinary clothes, the image of the sans-culotte. Yet the examination of death inventories, those detailing the available stock contained in costume shops, demonstrates that the variations in clothing worn on stage during the Revolutionary decade remained fairly minor. The pace of events, the financial problems of acting troupes and artists, the predominance of repeat performances compared with new plays are so many explanations for this phenomenon.