The Occasional Woman — Costume or The Real You?

Theatrical costumes at work.

Well, Hi there readers! And welcome to The Occasional Woman! Some of you may not know that I do other things besides making and altering custom clothes for Transgendered humans — but I do. The rest of the time, I work in the Weird & Wonderful World of — Theater! I design costumes for shows, and I work in costume shops of theaters, building stage costumes. And I wanted to discuss how both of these disciplines affect each other in my professional life.

What’s the difference between the two fields, you may ask; and, why should I care? I’ll tell you!

Actors don’t generally just bring clothes with them for theatrical productions, as many people seem to think. Nooooo…. The process starts with the director, who is often known as God, at least to him/herself. He/she gets hired to put a show together, and generally has some idea what he/she wants it to look like: Post-apocalyptic Berlin, the fleshpots of Cincinnati, the moon, Ibiza, or the holodeck of the Starship Enterprise. Then, a production manager and stage manager come in, and other professionals are tracked down (like animals) and hired.

There is a set designer, a lighting designer, a sound designer, props person and a costume designer. Endless meetings are scheduled and endured, the Vision of the director is pondered, then all of the designers come up with sketches and ground plans and lighting schemes and props lists. As a costume designer, I corral and measure the actors who are hired for the show, and I do tons of research on the agreed time period and the look of the set, and then dream up and sketch what I think will look good. We have another meeting, and present our research and sketches. When everything is approved, I get “petty cash” and start shopping, thrifting, borrowing and building costumes for the show! Fittings! Insanity! Rigging — which is making adjustments to costumes for quick-changes, microphone packs, possible theatrical-blood squirting, stuff like that.

So, how does this process compare to designing, making and altering outfits for specialized customers? A few ways!

Lorraine with a satisfied customer.

The biggest difference is intent. Costumes for an actor/actress are intended to convey a character; clothing is intended to showcase you. A performer cast in a show doesn’t really have a say in their costume; they wear what we tell ’em to wear, and don’t give a rat’s patoot whether it makes their caboose look big. Clients — we care a lot how the outfit makes your derriere look! A costume is generally made to be worn many times a week, must withstand frequent washing or dry-cleaning, and be made so that it can be worn by other, future actors in other shows. A custom garment is tailored just for you, sometimes for only one wearing — a wedding gown, a special occasion dress, skanky disco frock, you aren’t going to trot these things out seven times a week!

What makes these two diverse disciplines similar is a different kind of intent — that of the wearer. You are your own director, props manager and set designer! You can ask yourself: do I want to present myself as me, me as a woman, me as a man, my hidden self or my real self? And it is my job to costume you as the person you want to be. I want your tushie to look its vibrant best, and bring out and showcase your real self.

So when you decide how you want to look for the show that is your life, give me a call! We’ll figure out the best role for your clothing to play in your life!

Happy Trails to all of you, and I’ll see you on the flip side.

Visit The Occasional Woman website.

Tags: clothing, costume, crossdressing, fashion, featured, Transgender

Category: Style, Transgender Fashion