Costuming Essentials

I love designing costumes for others. It pushes me to think in new ways and explore new techniques. I would never have even considered making something like the above photo for myself but it looks lovely blowing in the wind across the playa at burning man.

The entire coat is crazy quilted from pieces of old Hawaiian shirts. Up close you can see the zigzag stitching and extreme clash of colors and values. His goal was for it to be as gaudy and jarring as possible. The top is a copy of a Hawaiian shirt that I made a pattern from and then used flat patterning and pattern drafting techniques to turn into a voluminous coat. Copying a readymade garment and using it as what is known as a block or sloper from which to make style changes without losing the old garments fit is one of my favorite techniques. It is extremely effective and easier then starting totally from scratch.

One of my favorite costumes I ever put together was for a Victorian themed ball. I started with a evening gown from a thrift store. It was a strapless slightly corset like top and a long skirt. To create a bustle effect I pinned an underskirt just in the back of the skirt. Next I took some fabric I had bought to make a titanic-like gown. I still was hoping to make the gown so I could not sew the fabric to the dress or cut it much. I cut off as little as possible to make some off the shoulder sleeves to give the proper upper body silhouette. I folded under the raw edge and used safety pins to carefully attach the sleeves to the  dress. I tied the rest of the fabric around my waist and then used ribbon and a couple more safety pins to shape the ends into a bustle. Simple but effective… I felt like I stepped out of La Mode Illustre