Costumes & Disguises

Dean: You know, I’ve gotta say Dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes. I feel like a high school drama dork. What was that play that you did? What was it – Our Town. Yeah, you were good, it was cute.

Sam: Look, you wanna pull this off or not?
Dean: I’m just sayin’, these outfits cost hard-earned money, okay?
Sam: Whose?

Dean: Ours. You think credit card fraud is easy?

– Dean and Sam Winchester, 1.16 Shadow

Sam and Dean often dress up in order to impersonate an official to get access to a crime scene, or interview someone, or just to blend in. Starting in season 3, other characters got into the act. This page documents the various costumes and disguises they have worn when their street clothes would not be convincing.

FBI Agents

Sam and Dean’s most frequent disguise is that of FBI agents, especially in later seasons. The authority of a national agency gives them an advantage when dealing with local officials, and the simple costume consists of nothing more than a suit and tie. The brothers generally wear striped ties, red or blue, when posing as agents. Sometimes they alternate and one of them wears a tie with taupe stripes, or they add trenchcoats. In 15.01 Back and to the Future, the Winchesters wear FBI jackets as their disguises instead of dressing up as they usually do.

Sam and Dean talk to Ronald Resnick in 2.12 Nightshifter.

Looking for a shapeshifter in 4.05 Monster Movie.

Investigating strange deaths in 4.06 Yellow Fever.

Searching for a witch in 4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester.

Examining magic related deaths in 4.12 Criss Angel Is a Douchebag.

Trying to find a siren in 4.14 Sex and Violence.

Discovering the Winchester Gospels in 4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book.

Dean shows Castiel the finer points of disguise in 5.03 Free to Be You and Me.

Exploring deaths related to a wax museum in 5.05 Fallen Idols.

Confronting a cambion in 5.06 I Believe the Children Are Our Future.

Finding a hulk-sized problem in 5.08 Changing Channels.

Autopsy practice in 5.14 My Bloody Valentine.

The disguise fails in 5.15 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

Hunting together as the FBI again in 6.03 The Third Man.

Searching for the truth in 6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth.

Tracking a skinwalker in 6.08 All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Samuel and Sam in 6.13 Unforgiven.

Trenchcoated agents in 6.16 ...And Then There Were None.

Bobby and Rufus as FBI Agents in 6.16 ...And Then There Were None.

Dean as FBI Agent Ian Anderson in 7.02 Hello, Cruel World.

Sam and Dean in 7.04 Defending Your Life.

Sam and Dean in 7.07 The Mentalists.

Sam and Dean as Special Agents Smith and Smith 7.12 Time After Time.

Dean as an FBI agent in 1944 in 7.12 Time After Time.

Sam and Dean in 7.13 The Slice Girls.

Dean and Sam as Special Agents Jones and Johnson in 7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie.

Sam and Dean as FBI Agents Bonham and Watts in 7.15 Repo Man.

Sam and Dean in 7.16 Out with the Old.

Sam and Dean in 7.18 Party On, Garth.

Sam and Dean in 8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Sam and Dean in 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?.

Sam and Dean in 8.03 Heartache.

Sam and Dean as Agents Rose and Hudson in 8.04 Bitten.

Sam and Dean in 8.06 Southern Comfort.

Sam and Dean as Agents Roth and Malloy in 8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin.

Sam, Castiel and Dean as Agents Nash, Stills and Crosby in 8.08 Hunteri Heroici.

Sam and Dean as Agents Taggert and Rosewood in 8.11 LARP and the Real Girl.

Dean as Agent Bolan in 8.13 Everybody Hates Hitler.

Sam as Agent Keith in 8.15 Man's Best Friend with Benefits.

Sam and Dean as Agents Bonham and Jones in 8.16 Remember the Titans.

Sam and Dean as Agents Tandy and Lynne in 8.17 Goodbye Stranger.

Sam and Dean in 8.18 Freaks and Geeks.

Dean and Charlie as Agents Hicks and Ripley in 8.20 Pac-Man Fever.

Sam and Dean as Agents Stark and Banner in 9.02 Devil May Care.

Sam and Dean in 9.03 I'm No Angel.

Sam and Dean as Agents Michaels and DeVille in 9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon.

Dean as Agent Lee Ermey in 9.06 Heaven Can't Wait.

Sam and Dean in 9.09 Holy Terror.

Sam as Agent Perry in 9.12 Sharp Teeth.

Sam and Dean in 9.13 The Purge.

Sam and Dean as Agents Nicks and McVie in 9.14 Captives.

Sam and Dean in 9.15 #thinman.

Sam as Agent Leiter in 9.17 Mother's Little Helper.

Sam and Dean as Agents Bonham and Peart in 9.20 Bloodlines.

Sam and Dean as Agents Spears and Aguilera in 9.22 Stairway to Heaven.

Sam in 10.01 Black.

Sam as Agent Lemmy Kilmister in 10.02 Reichenbach.

Sam and Dean as Agents Smith and Smith in 10.05 Fan Fiction.

Sam and Dean as Agents Frehley and Criss in 10.08 Hibbing 911.

Sam and Dean as Agents Gabriel and Collins in 10.11 There's No Place Like Home.

Sam and Dean in 10.12 About a Boy.

Sam and Dean as Agents Grohl and Cobain in 10.13 Halt and Catch Fire.

Sam and Dean as Agents Moore and Ranaldo in 10.14 The Executioner's Song.

Sam and Dean in 10.15 The Things They Carried.

Sam and Dean as Agents Allman and Betts in 10.16 Paint It Black.

Dean in 10.20 Angel Heart.

Sam and Dean in 10.21 Dark Dynasty.

Dean and Rudy in 10.23 Brother's Keeper.

Sam and Dean in 11.03 The Bad Seed.

Sam and Dean as Agents Collins and Gabriel in 11.05 Thin Lizzie.

Sam and Dean as Agents Collins and Gabriel in 11.06 Our Little World.

Sam and Dean as Agents Elliot and Savage in 11.07 Plush.

Dean in 11.09 O Brother Where Art Thou?.

Sam and Dean as Agents Osbourne and Butler in 11.11 Into the Mystic.

Sam and Dean in 11.12 Don't You Forget About Me.

Sam and Dean in 11.13 Love Hurts.

Sam and Dean as Agents Rizer and Bean in 11.16 Safe House.

Sam and Dean in 11.17 Red Meat.

Sam and Dean in 11.19 The Chitters.

Sam and Dean as Greer and Ehart in 11.20 Don't Call Me Shurley.

Sam and Dean in 11.21 All in the Family.

Dean, Mary and Sam as Agents Cassidy, Shirley Partridge and Bonaduce in 12.03 The Foundry.

Sam and Dean in 12.05 The One You've Been Waiting For.

Sam and Dean in 12.07 Rock Never Dies.

Sam and Dean in 12.08 LOTUS.

Sam, Dean and Castiel in 12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets.

Sam and Dean as Agents Moon and Entwistle in 12.11 Regarding Dean.

Sam and Dean in 12.13 Family Feud.

Sam and Dean as Agents Baker and Clapton in 12.15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell.

Sam and Dean as Agents McVie and Fleetwood in 12.16 Ladies Drink Free.

Dean and Mick Davies as Agents Strummer and Vai in 12.16 Ladies Drink Free.

Sam and Dean as Agents Stark and Martell in 12.18 The Memory Remains.

Sam and Dean in 12.21 There's Something About Mary.

Sam and Dean in 13.04 The Big Empty.

Dean and Sam as Agents Page and Plant in 13.05 Advanced Thanatology.

Sam and Jack as Agents Elliot and Paxton in 13.06 Tombstone.

Sam and Jack in 13.07 War of the Worlds.

Sam and Dean in 13.09 The Bad Place.

Sam and Dean as Agents Elliot and Savage in 13.11 Breakdown.

Sam, Castiel, and Dean in 13.13 Devil's Bargain.

Sam and Dean in 13.19 Funeralia.

Sam, Bobby, and Mary in 14.02 Gods and Monsters.

Dean and Jack as Agents Berry and Charles in 14.06 Optimism.

Sam and Dean in 14.12 Prophet and Loss.

Dean and Castiel as Agents Page and Jones in 14.14 Ouroboros.

Sam and Castiel as Agents Scholz and Delp in 14.15 Peace of Mind.

Sam and Dean in 14.16 Don't Go in the Woods.

Dean and Sam as Agents Kilmister and Clarke in 14.19 Jack in the Box.

Sam and Dean in 14.20 Moriah.

Sam and Dean in 15.01 Back and to the Future.

Sam and Dean in 15.02 Raising Hell.

Sam and Dean in 15.04 Atomic Monsters.

Dean as Agent Dukes in 15.07 Last Call.

Castiel and Jack as Agents Swift and Lovato in 15.15 Gimme Shelter.

Sam and Dean as Agents Singer and Kripke in 15.20 Carry On.

Other Law Enforcement

Sometimes in uniforms, sometimes in suits, the brothers use other badges to ask the necessary questions.

Sam and Dean as U.S. Wildlife Service Agents Hamill and Ford in 1.03 Dead in the Water.

Homeland security officers in 1.04 Phantom Traveler.

Minnesota State Troopers in 1.15 The Benders.

SWAT agents in 2.12 Nightshifter.

Sheriff's officers looking for the big bad wolf in 3.05 Bedtime Stories.

Sheriff's officers facing the ghost ship in 3.06 Red Sky at Morning.

Detective Dean in 3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me.

Sheriff's officers in 4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Sam and Dean as game wardens in 10.04 Paper Moon.

Sam as an officer 10.09 The Things We Left Behind.

Dean and Castiel as Texas Rangers Russell and Kilmer in 13.06 Tombstone.

Sam and Dean as U.S. Wildlife Service Agents Hamill and Ford in 15.05 Proverbs 17:3.

Healthcare

When victims of supernatural attack are still living, or appear to have been struck by disease, it is often necessary to poses as medical officials - or fellow patients - to gain access.

CDC Officials in 1.18 Something Wicked.

Sam as Psychiatric nurse in 2.13 Houses of the Holy.

Orderly in 4.13 After School Special.

CDC officials in 5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester.

Patients in 5.11 Sam, Interrupted.

CDC agents fighting swine flu in 5.20 The Devil You Know.

Sam as a doctor in 10.03 Soul Survivor.

Castiel as Dr. Novak in 14.12 Prophet and Loss.

Firemen

A full face mask hides the identity, and the equipment allows for the hidden storage of holy water.

Firemen in 1.22 Devil's Trap.

Priests

Priests are welcome as comfort to a grieving family, and people are willing to admit many things to them that they may not to the law.

Priests in 1.14 Nightmare.

Samuel and Dean showing it runs in the family in 4.03 In the Beginning.

Priests in 12.04 American Nightmare.

Reporters and Journalists

Short of police officers, no one is more free to ask questions than journalists.

Dallas Morning News reporters in 1.17 Hell House.

Weekly World News reporters in 2.03 Bloodlust.

Architectural Digest writers in 2.08 Crossroad Blues.

Reporters investigating the 3.11 Mystery Spot.

Bobby as a journalist in 6.21 Let It Bleed.

Dean and Castiel as reporters in 8.10 Torn and Frayed.

Lawyers

Lawyers in 2.05 Simon Said.

Bobby as an Assistant DA for the District Attorney in 3.01 The Magnificent Seven.

Insurance

Insurance investigators in 1.13 Route 666.

Claims adjusters in 2.07 The Usual Suspects.

Sam, armed with a clipboard, is an investigator in 3.02 The Kids Are Alright.

Sam and Dean as insurance agents Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore in 14.04 Mint Condition.

Technical Workers

Technical workers in their uniforms appear genuine, and can gain near unlimited access.

Alarm company workers in 1.16 Shadow.

Security service technicians in 2.12 Nightshifter.

Electricians in 2.15 Tall Tales

Dean as P.A. in 2.18 Hollywood Babylon.

Phone company workers in 3.14 Long-Distance Call.

Frank and Dean as phone company workers in 7.11 Adventures in Babysitting.

General Labor

Circus workers in 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown.

Janitor in 4.13 After School Special.

Baggage Handlers in 7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo.

Unusual Disguises

There are occasions when none of Sam and Dean's usual disguises are appropriate, and they have to resort to extraordinary measures. Listen to Jensen talk about those shorts at Asylum 2009.