Page History

Overview

1. Read the play
2. Asses resources: Time, Money, and Labor
3. Consult with the director
4. Get others to help you
5. Get measurements (preferably early, maybe during read-through) and pictures of actors (can ask SM/Producer for audition pics).
6. Do the paperwork: lists, drawings, reproductions of research.
7. Make a schedule.
8. Make/buy the costumes.

Advice

1. Do not panic - write everything down.
2. Make a spreadsheet (see below)
3. Have a travel-size folder to keep things in.
4. Find inspirational pictures. The best place to go to determine the "look" of a costume period is art work and costume books. When looking at these books, you should look for the general lines of the costume first. Detail work comes later. Questions you should ask are: - Where is the waist? - What type of sleeve are we dealing with? - Is the neckline high or low? - Are there any outstanding features that immediately capture my eye? When you have answered these questions, you are ready to start browsing through pattern books for patterns that highlight these features. Once you have achieved the basic look of the period, you can go on with other concerns such as unity of line coordination of color, and overall appearance of the show.
5. Be creative with fabric - dye it, pleat it, make it more fun (just be careful, this takes time)
6. Having costumes is more important than having perfect costumes
7. Be prepared to say no to things. If something is too hard, stressful, or time consuming, let the director/producer know. There is no shame in that.

Documentation

1. Items to buy
2. Items to find
3. What people are wearing
4. How to make things
5. Measurements
6. How much you spent

Resources

Sources (in order of where you should look for things first)

1. Our own costume rack
2. Asking actors to bring in own clothes
3. Other theater groups such as MTG (if they are feeling generous)
4. Thrift stores
5. Garment District (including Dollar-a-Pound)
6. Old drapes, tablecloths, linens, and lace for fabric

Cautionary Words

• Make sure costumes look good under the lights. Talk to the designer.
• If there is a lot of blood in the show, avoid white costumes.

Costume Rack

The costume rack in the Ensemble Office holds most of the costumes and fabric owned by the Ensemble. It has been carefully organized, so please do your best to keep its organization while looking for costumes. There should be helpful signs on the costume rack describing how things are organized and where to find everything; if these signs are not there, let the Producer or Ensemble Officers know.

Timeline

Costume Designer can be a demanding or simple job depending on the show, the number of characters, and the director's vision. When the design is well-planned out, it should not be too time-consuming, but any prospective costume designer should be aware of how much they are willing to commit to the show ahead of time, and should make the producer and director aware of how complicated of a design they can manage with their time and budget.

The Costume Designer should know the period and general style of the show by the end of the first prod meeting. From there, a preliminary design can be made of the general shape and style of the costumes for most categories of actors (i.e. young women, old men, soldiers, servants, nobility, etc. are some of the major categories for most shows).

At the first read-through, the measurements of all the actors should be taken. Refer to the example measurements form for a template. By the first read-through the characters should all be assigned, so make sure you are aware of any double-cast characters.

Read the final cut version of the script. Make notes about specific costume pieces mentioned, referred to, or otherwise noted in the text. Ask the director about any difficult movement for the actors (dancing, acrobatics, climbing ladders, etc. ) which might limit design constraints. Also check for quick changes for double cast actors, or blood effects. 

Start gathering and building as soon as possible after the initial measurements are taken. It is a good idea to first look through the Ensemble's costume stock, then visit Rinaldi, then talk to MTG and G&S, and then try secondhand stores to get any pieces that might be found. Costume Builds should be hosted regularly with advance notice sent to the cast through email at least 2 days ahead of time. Close track should be kept of all spending to keep in line with the budget and also produce the necessary costumes. An email should be sent to the ensemble treasurer before purchases are made. Other places to look are in actor's wardrobes.

Borrowed costumes should be cleaned or dry-cleaned before their return - which you should account for in your budget. MTG and G&S would prefer to have their garments dry-cleaned but a washing machine can do the trick if the costume is not elaborate or easily destroyed. Ask costume lenders what they prefer.

All costumes should be complete by the Costume Parade, one week before put-in. However, don't worry too much if you're still finishing up one or two pieces. Alterations can definitely be made after the Costume Parade, but all actors should be clothed, shod, and decent by that day. The director is allowed to make requests and suggestions, and the costume designer is allowed to loudly refuse any unreasonable ones.

During prod week, the costume designer should be at the theater observing the costumes from the audience and making any needed adjustments that pop up. After the first weekend, the show laundry should be done for things like shirts, socks, and any other items that are in significant need of cleaning before another weekend of shows. Try to separate out colors and things that cannot be washed. Do NOT leave this to the laundry-do-er. 

After the close of the show, all costume pieces should be collected and inventoried. Actor's own clothing should be returned to them at strike, and everything else should be laundered/dry cleaned (as appropriate). Be sure to return all clothes (to actors and to Rinaldi and to other theater groups) in the same or better condition as they were given in. This means clothes must be clean and show no signs of having been borrowed. The borrowed clothes should be returned to Rinaldi within a week of closing, and the remainder should be organized in the Ensemble Office.

Functions

Function of Costumes

1. Defining character differences
2. Setting a character in time and space (history, geography)
3. Age and gender
4. Rank or status
5. Personality
6. Mood

Theme, Concept, Mood

1. Realism
2. Stylization: exaggeration of shape
3. Stylization: exaggeration of silhouette
4. Distillation of period - mixing of periods
5. Abstraction, Color
6. Texture

Previous Version 1

====== The Psychology of Clothing ======

    - James Laver in book “Clothes” – clothes are worn for 3 reasons
      - Utility – the least important factor (depending on importance of other two reasons)
      - Hierarchical Principle – clothes lend social status and display the wearers’ importance to the world
      - Seduction Principle – clothes are donned to make the wearer as attractive as possible within the framework of what is considered attractive at any particular time in history
    - Change in fashion is result of class struggle, and is used as a way in which the upper classes can declare their superiority
      - What is considered “socially proper” can keep members of society in their appropriate niches independent of laws to do so
        - Sumptuary laws
        - Unwritten rules of society (even naming conventions, Du Tour vs. Dutour)
        - What clothing lower class jobs (menial labour) entailed
    - How do we express superiority through dress?
      - Conspicuous consumption – expensive materials and many layers, extreme girth
        - When the world is hungry the physical ideal is large
        - An Edwardian gentlemen needed 16 different costumes to be correctly attired for every high status activity, with matching accessories
      - Leisure – clothes that make it impossible to do practical work (corsets, long fingernails, foot binding, stilettos)
      - Waste – practical things are not beautiful
        - Military officers’ and polo players’ uniforms, fox hunting suits are expensive to maintain and are easily ruined
      - Vicarious consumption

Fashion dictates with no regard for the individual and no concern for how the style will look on many who copy it. It declares what will be considered beautiful and, therefore, what will be thought ugly by reason of no longer being fashionable.

The past is always seen through the eyes of the present, and the appreciation of the styles of the past is influenced by the style currently in vogue.

===== The Meaning of Clothes =====

//(Note that most of the factors listed below are easier to express in period costume)//

    - Age
      - Young – more shape, tighter fit
      - Old – less fitted, more layers, older style
      - There are exceptions to the rule which say certain things about the wearer
    - Occupation
      - Uniforms
      - Hierarchy religion
      - Utility
      - Exceptions to the rule and what they mean
    - Social Status Class
      - Practical vs. Impractical clothing
      - Cost of the garment - fabric, dye, cut, trim, color
      - Exceptions to the rule (Henry II of England was said to "wear his boots without a fold")
    - Geographic Area
      - Country - kerchiefs and kilts
      - City
      - Building - a bank or a day spa
      - Room - your bedroom or the front parlor
    - Season and Weather
    - Time of Day and Occasion (any garment worn at an inappropriate time holds attention)
    - Activity
    - Historical Period
    - Gender
    - Intention or purpose in wearing the clothes – past or present

==== Psychological Factors ====

    - Clothes express peoples attitudes towards themselves and their society, both in what they wear and how they wear it
      - Whether to conform or rebel
      - To achieve slight rebellion in how an accepted piece is worn
    - Clothes can be worn to try and change an existing condition
      - Moving up the social ladder
      - To alter the wearer’s mood
      - Extrovert - to cause a stir
      - Introvert - for security, to become one of the crowd
    - People often select clothes to fulfill the desire to be attractive to the preferred sex
      - Items are chosen because they are thought to have sex appeal (they may be mistaken like Malvolio in 12th Night)
      - Parts of bodies that are thought to be sexy are different in different periods and in different cultures (when wearing a kimono, for instance, it’s the back of a ladies neck)

What was once considered attractive in a specific historical setting must be considered along with the standards of beauty accepted by a contemporary audience.

A costume designer must understand both the objective and the subjective factors that work together to determine why people clothe themselves as they do in order to fully develop the possibilities presented by the characters in a given situation.

This understanding comes from observation & research!

Previous Version 2

====== All About Sewing ======

===== A Glossary of Terms =====

Selvedge – the outer edges of a width of fabric are finished off as they are woven; this is the selvedge edge

Bias – the diagonal grain of the fabric, in a 45° angle from the selvedge. Bias grain stretches and results in clingy silhouettes when placed vertically to the body; very widely used in the ‘20s and ‘30s.

Straight Grain – the weave of a fabric running parallel to the selvedge; the most stable grain

Cross grain – the weave of fabric running perpendicular to the selvedge

Bobbin – the spool of thread that feeds from the underside of the sewing machine

Industrial Machine – high powered, used in the garment industry (also the Rinaldi costume shop)

Domestic Machine --meant for home use (Doris, her replacement)

Overlock/Merrow Machine – trims and finishes the raw (cut) edges of fabric. (Overlocks are domestic, merrows are industrial.)

Muslin – a type of cotton fabric, usually unbleached with a tabby weave, and available in many weights. Also the “mock-up” of a garment that is fitted to the wearer and which becomes the pattern for the finished item.

Interfacing – a fabric used inside a garment to stabilize an edge. Usually used on curved edges to prevent stretching. Can be sew-in or fusible. Fusible interfacing has a glue coating on one side that fuses to the fabric with the application of heat.

===== USEFUL ITEMS =====

MOST OF THESE SHOULD ALWAYS BE PRESENT IN THE ENSEMBLE OFFICE COSTUME SPACE; IF THEY AREN'T, GO TO SEW-LOW AND BUY THEM (unless marked in italics)

If you are confused by the terms on this section, use Wikipedia or go ask the fine people in the Rinaldi costume shop, or take Stagecraft, there will be a quiz

*Seam Ripper* – for ripping out stitching

//Seam Gauge// – for measuring seams, hems and allowances easily (just use a ruler, it's not that much better)

//Tracing Wheel// – used with tracing paper to transfer markings from pattern to fabric

//Tracing Paper//

//Silamide// – waxed thread for hand sewing (not worth buying on the Ensemble's budget, but you could always ask Rinaldi if they'll give you some)

*Cone or Spool Thread* – for sewing machines and bobbin-winding (industrial machines use anything, domestic machines use small spools, and overlock/merrow machines use cones; look at your machine before you buy)

*Hand Sewing Needles* – eye and point at opposite ends, they come in many sizes and shapes

*Machine Needles* – have one flat side at top (industrial have a round shank) (read the package and look at your fabric to know what kind you need before you buy)

*Grommets* - so useful

*Snaps* - so useful

*Hooks and Eyes* - so useful

(Snaps, and Hooks and Eyes, Buttons, and Zippers can always be recycled; before you throw something away, remove the fastenings so you don't have to buy more!)

===== SEWING MACHINE NOTES =====

    - Do not panic if a needle breaks while you are sewing; it happens. Replace the needle by unscrewing the old needle from the holder and pulling it out. Needles have a flat section on one side of the shank, this goes into the slot facing back. Push it in as far as you can, and tighten the screw as far as you can. The needle always threads from front to back.
    - The bobbin goes into the bobbin case so that the thread pulls off clockwise. The bobbin case is under a sliding top near the presser foot (or elsewhere, look at your user guide). The bobbin pops into the well, and the thread hanging off it should be pulled into its groove.
    - To pull up the bobbin thread, thread the needle. Hold the end of the thread in one hand and turn the flywheel until the needle thread pulls the bobbin thread to the top. Pull the bobbin loop through, and you have the second thread.

YOU CANNOT SEW WITHOUT THE PRESSER FOOT DOWN!

For more information, consult your sewing machine manual.  There is also a store in Cambridge which repairs old and sells new sewing machines.  If there's really a problem, go ask them (and the author will go look up which square it's in, it's right by a T stop, Doris came from there).

==== THINGS NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT SEWING MACHINES: ====

    * The bottom layer of your sewing will “creep” because of the better traction of the feed dogs – therefore, if you want to ease something into a seam, put the larger amount on the bottom side and the machine will do your easing for you
    * All bobbin cases (some machines don’t have them) have a little metal slot which the thread goes through. If you put the bobbin in line so the thread unwinds naturally in the same direction, then you have it in the right way.
    * If in doubt about the way to thread a machine, remember that nearly all machines go from the spool to a hook, through a tension disc, to another hook, and either down or over a set of bars or a series of hooks to the needle.
    * Most needles thread from front to back, but some go left to right. Those that go left to right often have the thread go down the side of the machine rather than down the front.
    * All machine needles have an obvious front and back.
    * 20% of the time, if the thread is breaking, the needle has a rough spot or is in backwards.
    * 50% of the time, you have tension issues. Other causes are weak thread and machine timing.
    * Excessive knotting and looping means the top thread does not have enough tension on it.
    * Most patterns use 5/8” seam allowance. There may be a tape mark on the machine at this point.
    * All machines will have tension problems. Experiment.