Costumes! Costumes! Costumes!

You have to ask yourself, “what is a costume to me?” That is very open to interpretation and everyone has a different answer. Is your costume for self expression? For fun? Do you create costumes to showcase your artistic skill? Do you love the ohh’s and ahh’s as you stride through your chosen venue? Are there contests involved? It’s important to consider these things since your goal with a costume will influence many of your decisions about designing and making the costume, not just in what you choose to make but also in how it’s made as well. Let us begin.

Where you are going to be wearing your costume can have a huge impact on its design. If your planning on attending a spacious indoor event with access to a hotel room, your options are much broader than if your costume is to be worn outside in the hot sun or driving rain. Weather, temperature, access to dressing areas, size of the venue, and your personal plans while in costume all will put different demands on your design.

These considerations are also dependent on how long you plan on being in costume. A very complicated cumbersome costume may be great for about 15 minutes to enter a contest and then rush back to your hotel room for something more comfortable. But if you are looking to maintain your alter ego for 3-5 days 24 hours a day, you are not going to want to be wearing the equivalent of a parade float.

The weather can be your best friend or your worst foe. At an outdoor event you are going to be at its mercy….More at The Art of Costuming: Where to Wear? | Faerieworlds 2012 …

Clever word usage in the title, isn’t it?  Wear…where.

This is a really interesting article about designing your costumes and accessories and some of the elements (including weather) that need to taken into consideration.  In my former profession, theatrical and masquerade costuming, we were very cognizant of these many elements.  Each time we built a brand new costume, either a mascot costumes for a business or school; or a King Lear costume for a high school production, we took into cosideration the appearance from the viewer as well as the comfort to the wearer.  For more information on costumes, visit us at

http://www.costumescostumescostumes.net 

Costumes are an essential part of any stage production. Unless you’re planning to put on Paradise Lost or a nudist version of a popular play, you pretty much have to get your actors some clothes.

When designing costumes, there are four main things to consider. First, the costumes need to fall in with the general look and feel of the play. Nothing is worse than an outfit that sticks out like a sore thumb. Second, a costume must help the actor create the character. In many ways our clothes define who we are and on stage they are meant to give the audience visual cues as to what to expect. Third, when creating costumes, comfort has to be taken into account. Actors need to be comfortable to move about, breathe and speak freely. And last, but not least, there is the budget to consider.

Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll and Hyde Play is set in a fictional pseudo-Victorian London. That was fortunate since this setting allowed us to take a lot of liberties with costumes….More at Dressing the Stage: Costumes of Chemical Imbalance « Thespians …

Don’t you love the title of this post?  Clever wordplay, wouldn’t you say?

There is so much involved in the costuming of a play.  The costume design must fit the character being portrayed.  The fabric needs to historically reflect the period and character, along with the colors.  This article explains some of what goes into the thinking and planning of the costuming for a period play.  For more information about costumes, visit us at http://www.costumescostumescostumes.net

” />

”

” />

” />

” />

” />

” />

” />

” />