Wiggle Week Tribute: Joan Holloway

I've mentioned my obsession with Mad Men several times here on the blog, but I want to mention it again this week, simply because Joan Holloway's costuming is so relevant to wiggle week. I would venture to say that Christina Hendricks and Janie Bryant (Mad Men's costume designer) have been the driving force behind bringing this amazing dress back to the forefront of fashion trends. We've all heard about Christina Hendricks and her "curvy" body- how difficult it is to dress her for awards shows, how happy people are to see a "real" woman in hollywood, etc. But the truth of the matter is that her body is the ideal shape for pulling off a silhouette like the wiggle dress. Need proof? Look no further:

The wiggle dress celebrates a woman's curves, so what better body type to show it off than a curvaceous bombshell like Christina Hendricks? With the number of designers out there creating clothing that is most suited to a size 0 or 2, it's nice to know there is a style of dress that actually looks better on a curvy woman than it does on a model. Check back later this week to find out where to buy a great wiggle dress for yourself. And I'll also be showing off MY new wiggle dress that I managed to snag second hand for a mere $12! 

Finally- Mom's Valances

If you've been following my tweets and reading this blog, you know I've been spending a lot of time sewing- new dresses for the new job AND valances for my mom's dining room. Well, I haven't been teasing you intentionally, it's just that I haven't had time to take pictures. The dresses look great, but I've been lazy with my hair and make-up lately PLUS I'm still stuck in my glasses and will be stuck in them for another 2 weeks, so I'm less inclined to get out and take photos. Yes, it's vain, I know! And as far as the valances go, they just hadn't been hung up yet, so there wasn't much point in taking a picture. And of course things can't be simple around here- the style of the new valances required a new set of curtain rods- decorative ones- so that had to be taken care of first: the purchasing, the mounting, the adjusting, etc. Finally, they are up:

The picture is blurry and the sun too bright and we hadn't yet "tweaked" them to make them hang perfectly, but you get the picture. I kind of like them.

Hopefully I'll finish the last of my three new dresses and get pictures taken soon. I have to install a zipper in th last one as well as hem it, add sleeves and some other minor details. It shouldn't take more than a couple hours later today. Tomorrow I'm meeting with the ballet company to discuss the costume work they need done, so I'll let you know if that's blog-worthy when the time comes. Speaking of the ballet company, they gave me a copy of last years performance, and I've been procrastinating on watching it. Maybe I should go do that now...

Abbey Road Videos and HairDo Review

As if opening night isn't stressful enough on its own, this particular show was fraught with even more anxiety since the entire show was filmed that evening. It's mostly for archival purposed, but the theatre brings in a 3 person camera crew who edits it together afterwards, so it's more than just a straight-on shot the entire time. A bunch of cuts were posted on youtube this week, so I thought I'd share some of them with you.

First up, "Hard Day's Night." I want to show you this because of the fabulous grey suits I chose for the men in the show:



At this point in the show, their suits are in the more "disheveled" stage- most of them have loosened their ties, removed their jackets, rolled their sleeves up, etc. But you can still get an idea of what the suit itself looks like on Todd (singing lead). The suits came from H&M and were very affordable- only $99 for the jacket and $49 for the pants. We had to perform some minor alterations like taking in the waists and hemming the length on the pants, but overall they have a really nice, slim fit. I also liked that they have a nice sheen to them- almost like a sharkskin suit, but not quite that shiny.

Next up is Blackbird, performed by Michelle. She's a regular performer at AMT and for this show I got to put her in some really spectacular gowns. This particular gown is beaded from top to bottom and looks really beautiful under the lights. I don't think the video really does it justice.



Did you happen to notice her hair- probably not, but if you did, you saw that it's about shoulder-length. Well, in act 1, it's all the way down her back. You can see it in this video of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." Skip to about 1:45 to see her hair if you like:



Looks pretty great, right? I actually used Jessica Simpson's line HairDo to achieve the long, 70's-era locks on Michelle. I purchased it at MaxWigs and it wasn't cheap- $89 for synthetic, but it was worth it. The color she's wearing is "Sandy Blonde," but there are plenty of other color and style options available. The great thing about the HairDo line is that it is intended to work with your own natural hair. You pull the hair at the crown up and out of the way, then you use the clips that are sewn into the hair piece to secure it in place. Let your own hair down over the top of it and it's a perfect seamless blend of natural and faux hair.

She dances a LOT in the show and the piece has never once even started to come loose, so you know it's quality. Here's a picture of the hair in action:

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I highly recommend the HairDo line. I own the bangs myself, and after seeing how great this piece has worked out, I'll probably use more pieces in shows in the future. Have any of you ever tried this line? What do you think of it? Would you ever wear fake hair in real life? It's one thing to do it on stage, but another thing entirely to pull it off in real life. I've done it, so it's definitely possible! Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

Abbey Road Show Pictures

Since I love to post pictures of the shows I design, here are some action shots from "The AMT Band plays Abbey Road."

Remember my pink and green vinyl outfit?

Well, there's actually another costume over it that gets ripped off and reveals the tiny vinyl costume underneath. Missy, one of our dancers, plays both characters that these costumes were designed to represent.

Another great dance feature is Bethany in this lovely lyrical dress that I covered (and I mean COVERED) in rhinestones. It sparkles like you wouldn't believe!

You may remember from a while back that I commissioned some special jewelry for this show. I love adding that special finishing touch to costumes. If you look closely, you'll see that the girls are wearing these necklaces (available on Etsy soon).

And finally, Missy's most risque dancer outfit in the show (yes, that's a whole lot o' black vinyl):

Our photographer got a lot of good group shots, too:

Of course, all our singers need a great band to back them up. I love how the boys in the band look in their red and white outfits. Some were a little upset with my choice to put them in skinny jeans (red ones, to boot!), but I like how it all came together.

If you want to see more, you'll have to come and see the show! Have a great night, everyone!

Some weeks are harder than others

Yes, I am aware that I've been M.I.A. since Tuesday. Sometimes that's how it goes in the entertainment industry. There are shows that go up without a hitch and you just seem to breeze right through tech week into opening night with enough time for a pedicure and an oil change. Other weeks are like the one I just had.

We opened "The AMT Band plays Abbey Road" last night. Catchy title, right? I'm being sarcastic, of course. That's just about the only criticism I have of this show, though. The title stinks. Everything else is pretty amazing- the show is a visual stunner, and I'm not just talking about the costumes. The entire set is like one giant light box- it reminds me of Mondrian's color blocking artwork. Actually, there's even a costume I made that is inspired by Mondrian's color blocking as well, only I used the color palette of neon pink, neon green and black as opposed to his palette of red, white, black, yellow and blue. I promise to post pictures of the show eventually. Much like everything else with getting this show together, we're behind on getting actual show pictures taken. We did, however, have a photo shoot for the promotional materials a couple of weeks ago, so I'm happy to share some of those with you:

See the cool light boxes?

Left to right: Sam, Gus, Michelle, Todd and Jared- the talented singers in our cast.

As you can see, this picture above features Missy, one of our talented dancers, wearing the Mondrian-inspired gogo dress made with neon pink and green vinyl. Yes, vinyl. It's always classy in my costume shop! ;)

Anyway, as I mentioned, this show was particularly hard to get up for a number of reasons- most of them related to the technical elements of getting a show together. And because of that, I'm not going to bore you with them. I'm just going to say that some weeks are harder than others. On top of everything, I managed to get a flat tire while out running show-related errands. Like I said, some weeks are harder than others.

But no matter how hard the week, all our efforts paid off. The show is without a doubt a great one. Our artistic director, Andrea, has outdone herself on this one. She was given the concept of creating a show in two acts. The first act needed to be the Beatles' album "Abbey Road." Note-for-note, the music absolutely HAD to remain the same as the album. Our cast and band took on the challenge and they sound amazing. As for the visual, she created a beautiful, artistic visual "ballet" for lack of a better word. I don't want to tell you too much, in case you want to come and see it (and I strongly recommend that you do if you live in the area), but just know that it is whimsical at times, dark and edgy at others, but the entire act is so well done, I was in awe when I saw it all "Come Together." (Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.) For act 2, she chose to rewind back to the Beatles early music and then take the audience on a fairly chronological journey sampling music from most of their albums. There are some original arrangements, and others done a la "Across the Universe" or arrangements of other artists' cover versions of Beatles songs. Much like the first act, there are a lot of interesting visual choices utilizing the light boxes, among other conventions.

Hopefully I'll recover soon and get back to blogging regularly! In the meantime, enjoy another photo from the show:

Fabulous Etsy Find

Ok, this isn't technically an Etsy "find" for me since I commissioned these pieces, but they could be considered an Etsy "find" for basically anyone else. Check out these super cool up-cycled necklaces made by BBBellezza:

Super cool, right? I contacted Kim (the artisan behind these cool pieces) because I'd seen her up-cycled and recycled jewelry before and was impressed with her work. In addition, she's local to Lancaster, and I love supporting local artists and businesses whenever I can. Anyway, I explained the concept of a costume I'd designed for the upcoming "Abbey Road" show that I'm currently working on. As great as the costume was, I felt it needed a cool finishing touch and her nuts-and-bolts-style pieces were perfect. We got together to discuss the concept in a little more detail and these necklaces are what she came up with to complete my design. I couldn't be happier with them, but the even better news is that if YOU like them, they are going to be available in Kim's fall collection on Etsy. You have to wait a couple of months before they'll be available, but I think they're worth the wait. In the meantime, visit her Etsy Shop to peruse her other pieces.

Couture Allure

So I FINALLY got on the Mad Men bandwagon and put seasons 1 and 2 in my Netflix queue. I am now officially addicted, not only because I'm dying to see more of Don Draper's past and find out who knocked up Peggy (we're supposed to think it's Pete, right? But I suspect there may be a little twist headed my way. Time will tell...), but I am also obsessed because I live and breathe for the fashions. Actually, that is the primary reason many of my friends told me to get on board with this show. They all kept saying, "You'll LOVE the costumes!" Naturally, as a costume designer, that was quite appealing to me. I actually really love designing period costumes because there's an extra challenge of not only being historically accurate, but also of trying to stay within those confines while also making the looks fresh, new and unique. But my point is that my friends know me VERY well because I love the show and I love the costumes. If it weren't for all the issues women dealt with back then, I would have loved to live in the 60's.

Recently, I was perusing the interwebs for some costume-related research and I stumbled across Couture Allure, which for anyone who loves the clothing of the 50's, 60's and even 70's is a treasure trove of amazingness and wonderment. Are those even words? Who cares! This site is to die for! Need proof? Here it is:

Cotton Floral Full Skirt Dress, $185

I adore this yellow dress because it also reminds me of what Chuck might wear on Pushing Daisies, another favorite show because of the fashions. But it also reminds of something Betty Draper would sport if she got together for lunch with some of her lady friends.

Fuchsia Wool Wiggle Dress, $175

If this fuchsia frock doesn't scream "Joan Holloway" I don't know what does! Joan is one of my favorite characters for a lot of reasons, one of which is her clothes. She always looks flawless and so super sexy. Her red hair is fabulous, too. She is the iconic sexy secretary of the 1960's and she knows it. Her form-fitting dresses show off her curves in the most feminine way.

Cotton Striped Full Skirt Dress, $375

Another perfect Betty Draper dress, this one more of an every day frock. It features one of my very favorite color combinations- yellow and grey. I adore the way the stripes are sewn to create a chevron effect down the front of the dress. Stunning.

Navy Wool Dress, $145

Can't you just picture this on Peggy while she makes eyes at Pete Campbell? Maybe he'd rip the collar on it, too...  

Green Wool Dress, $195

I adore this suit and I could absolutely picture it on Rachel. She'd wear it to one of her "business meetings" at lunch with Don where they'd smoke cigarettes and talk candidly about the sexual tension between them. She is a fabulous character and I'm looking forward to seeing more episodes about her. I love that she is a strong woman defying convention (and her father) and really working hard to make something of her store and herself. This period in our history was huge for women and I like the Rachel represents that small but powerful group who refused to let the fact that they were women stop them from reaching their goals. (See, it's not ALL about the smoking and the affairs!)

Apricot Organza Party Dress, $165

Now that I've covered my favorite characters, I'll switch gears and just show you my favorite dresses from this site. Since I pretty much always dress like I'm going to a cocktail party, I'm going to post my favorite cocktail and formal dresses. I like picturing myself in them at the opera or a symphony performance or a White House state dinner or something else as unattainable as the dress. 

Full Skirt One-Shoulder Dress, $275

This red one actually reminds me a bit of my red dress that I made last Christmas. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather because I'd really like to wear it again. The heavier cotton sateen and the sleeves make it a little warm for July. But I digress...

Pink Silk Cocktail Dress, $135

Full Skirt Party Dress, $750

Cream Satin Party Dress, $475

I really don't have any words for the last two other than "Oh. My. God." It must be so much fun to work on the wardrobe for a show like Mad Men. Someday, maybe... In the meantime I'll just enjoy this amazing website and their even more amazing vintage fashions.

Shoesday Tuesday- Out of Time!

So I just realized that I promised you all a Shoesday Tuesday later today, but I totally forgot about my plans for the evening with my friend Amy. So, the point I'm trying to make is that I don't have time to put together a thoughtful and interesting Shoesday Tuesday post, so I'm totally copping out and giving you photos from opening night of the fiercest shoes in the show- I have 2 favorites. Enjoy!

Honestly- if ever there were rock star shoes, these are it!

In case you're having trouble seeing these crazy shoes, here's a close-up:

Even though they aren't my favorites, I sort of love that there are black-on-black Converse chucks in the show. You can barely see them, but  I promise they're there:

There's something really cool and hipster-esque about black-on-black Converse chucks, don't you think? Love 'em.

And since I feel guilty about this cop-out post, I'll finish with a photo of the black-light dance costumes I showed you a while back:

Super cool, right? Ok, once again I'm sorry for the cop out. I hope you enjoyed the costume photos instead!

Sorry I've been M.I.A...

... but I'm in the last couple of days before we open California Soul, so I'm pretty busy. You know I want nothing more than to be able to blog all day, but this week it just doesn't seem to be in the cards. I even missed Shoesday Tuesday yesterday!

But I figured the least I could do was to check in and give you a little preview of what I'm working on. There is a section in the show with lots of 60's style hippies. We had a photo shoot last week and here are some pictures from it:

They did the photo shoot without the set, so this really is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how it will all look, but I think they're pretty fun pictures anyway. Have a great Wednesday and hopefully I'll be back to blogging by the end of the week!

P.S. All pictures are courtesy of American Music Theatre.

What I Did Today...

Sorry for being a bit MIA the last 2 days, but I am currently in production for the next show of the season at work, so I'm pretty busy. And when I get home from work, I'm often pretty exhausted. And the apartment is a disaster and really needs a deep cleaning (it's really embarrassing at this point), but I'm wiped out, so it's getting done little by little. For example, last night I was taking out the trash around midnight and on the way back from the dumpster, there were dozens of fire flies all over the place. Some people call them lightning bugs. They are so gorgeous the way they glow. I was absolutely mesmerized and I just stood there in the grass watching their lights glow. I remember being a little girl and visiting friends of the family up in a rural area of Maine. (Who am I trying to kid? ALL of Maine is rural!) Anyway, I remember the lightning bugs/fire flies were glowing bright orange. And last night down here in rural PA, they were glowing bright yellow. Does anyone know what makes the different colored lightning bugs? I suppose I could Google it, but it's late and I'm sleepy. How does this relate to this blog or the title of this particular post? Well, I spent most of today working on a costume that actually reminds me quite a bit of the lightning bugs:

Forgive the pins holding the sequin trim in place- it's not quite finished in the picture. And also forgive the messy fringe- I didn't smooth it all down perfectly before snapping the picture. Oops! Anyway, you may think this costume reminds me of the lightning bugs because it is literally neon, but that's not the only reason. In the show, it will be featured in a full black-light number, which I find pretty exciting. As you can see, the entire costume is covered in fringe, which reacts to the black light really well. There will be another dancer in a yellow version of the same costume- kind of like the two colors of fire flies- orange in Maine and yellow in Pennsylvania. And no, I did not choose those colors to copy the bugs, it is merely a coincidence that they are so similar.

I am not sure if I have mentioned it before, but I LOVE designing costumes for dancers. First of all, they have the most perfect bodies, so there are rarely limitations in terms of how form-fitting or revealing a costume can be. Second, their costumes are all about movement, so it's fun to come up with ways to make the costume move based on the choreography. Can you guess the type of dancing that will be done in this black light costume? In case you can't tell from the picture, the base underneath the pink fringe is white, so there will be a fun contrast in colors under the black light since white glows purple. I'm excited to see it all come together, but I have to wait a couple more weeks for that.

I'm sorry if this post wasn't very fashion-y, but please understand when I'm mounting a show, there's not much else I think about. In the meantime, if you have any questions about my work as a costume designer, clothing designer, seamstress or style consultant, leave a comment and I'll either answer it there, or if there are a lot of questions, I may do a Q&A post to answer them.

Have a great weekend!

AMT Christmas Show Pictures

As you all know, American Music Theatre's Christmas Show opened over the weekend. I currently work there as the resident Costume Designer and Wardrobe Manager and I have to tell you that I absolutely LOVE what I do. I got into costume design completely by chance, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I've learned a LOT over the last few years, so if you ever have any questions about how things are done, please feel free to leave a comment or email. Today I want to post a few pictures from the show because I'm really happy with how it came out. The first section of the show is like a Victorian post card. It's a very energetic opening, followed by several beautiful arrangements of contemporary and traditional Christmas songs. The dancers are busy in the beginning with just about every style of dance. I honestly don't know how they do it in the heavy dresses I've put them in:

The singers don't have it any easier with full length gowns in heavy brocades and velvets, not to mention the men in all their layers, plus wigs and hats- it's a lot to pull together, but I'm happy with the outcome:

There are so many capes and muffs, and even additional dresses for some of the singers who have to quick change into them before their next song. After the Victorian section of the show, we move on to "Christmas Around the World." This section cracks me up- there's a Swedish Chef food fight on stage, a man in full Can-can drag, and Irish step dance, O Tannenbaum sung in its original German and a Caribbean limbo game complete with audience participation. It really flies by. My favorite costumes are the French Can-Can dresses that were made by one of my seamstresses, Vanessa. She really rocked these dresses and I hope she's as proud as I am of how they look:

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the dresses are lined with sequin fabric and over a dozen layers of red and green ruffles. They're really fun. (P.S. Isn't my friend Jen a babe?) Another standout performer in my opinion is Todd Mitchell who sings the above-mentioned "O Tannenbaum." I think he actually likes his lederhosen:

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the "Frosty the Snowman" number with another fabulous dancer, Samantha. She starts off in a huge snowman costume and then is revealed as the "Sexy Frosty" and literally burns up the floor with her spectacular tapping. I honestly have no idea how her feet move as fast as they do. She's ridiculous.

Act two has my favorite part of the show. "Shelly," a little girl character who appears in nearly every AMT Christmas show (played by Michelle Mishler), spends the beginning of the act on a magical trip to Toyland where she discovers a woman in a light-up dress (sorry no picture yet), as well as dancing and singing elves, and of course, Santa Claus.

   

The Toyland Elves were my favorite costumes to work on for several reasons. First, just look at them! The fabrics alone are super fun- so much color and pattern. Also, I loved creating outfits for each person rather than have all matching elves because then the costumes could reflect each person's unique personality. For example, my good friend Brance (in orange and yellow above) used to do this "leg guitar" trick, so when I chose his wig, I purposely picked one that was styled like Elvis only in a bright, funny color. The elves are not traditional looking elves because the backdrop the scenic designer chose was styled much like Who-ville, so I thought that stylized elves would work best as opposed to the traditional ones we're all used to seeing.

Finally, the last section of the show is very presentational, and I love that style of show as well because it means I get to shop for beautiful gowns, snazzy tuxes, sparkly shoes and jewelry. Let's be honest- who wouldn't want to shop for gorgeous clothing? For the performers, it means singing a song in one gown or suit, then running off stage to quickly change into their next formal outfit- it's like the prom on over-drive. One of our singers, Angela Birchett, is fun to dress because her skin tone works really well with just about any color. I love to put her in rich jewel tones like this aubergine:

I chose the color combination of gold and white for the final song in the show because it complemented the scenic design which was- you guessed it- gold and white. Once again, I enjoyed choosing a "look" for each person as opposed to being very matchy-matchy. You can see each woman in the cast has her own style of gown. It's hard to tell in the picture, but each man also has his own color and style of vest, tie and pocket silk combination, although their suits are all the same white tuxedo with white patent shoes. I think they look pretty sharp, myself.

I hope you've enjoyed this little trip into costume world. If you live in the area (Lancaster, PA) and would like to see the show, drop me an email or a comment. It's a great family show- the singing and dancing is spectacular, there's something for everyone and it moves along quickly, so kids and adults are entertained throughout. It's directred and choreographed by Curt Dale Clark and Marc Robin, who also live locally here in Lancaster and who work at the Fulton Theatre downtown.

P.S. All pictures are by Ken Bruggeman and courtesy of AMT