Why do we dress the way we do?

Haute CoutureRefers to high fashion, one of a kind

designs.

Royalty determined style

• Dictated and determined fashion

• Sumptuary laws governed what peasants and merchants could wear.

Where do ideas for dress come from?

• Everywhere• Parties• High fashion• Chance• Anticipation and manipulation• Conformity vs. Nonconformity

How does fashion (which is the generic word for the

business of clothing) anticipate as well as

manipulate the trends?

READY TO WEAR = $$= HAS TO SELL

Theories regarding the Reasons for dressing a particular way

• Shifting of erogenous zones

Shifting of erogenous zones• Attract the male attention• Female-Revealing• Male-Change the shape of the silhouette

To assert wealth

• Opulence to make you look richer than others

• Self indulgent dressing to show wealth

To identify Gender• Sometimes

reversed for effect.

• Message: • Attract• Gain respect• Tell personality• To repel

How does the fun of playing with clothes affect fashion?

• Fun to play with one’s appearance

What does the language of clothing say about us?

• Evokes response

• Demands attention

• Comfort

• Convenience

• Utility

Conspicuous Consumption

• Shows Wealth

Why is rarity important?

• It sets you apart.

John Malloy’s Dressed for Success

• Dress for power• Dress for socio-economic message

How does clothing identify us with certain groups?

• Color = purple

• Wealth rather than birth

• Image makers

Costumes

Costuming• Costuming is one of the

integral parts of the play production that suffers the most.

• The costume is not merely a means of characterizing a role as attractively as possible.

• Color and silhouette is a vital part of the total stage design.

Color• Harmony with

other colors

• Appropriate to historical period

• Can destroy the atmosphere

Effective Costuming• Expresses the personality of the

character

Effective Costuming

• Should reveal social status, tastes, idiosyncrasies

Effective Costuming

• Should aid audience’s understanding of the actor’s relationship to the play itself

Color Coding

• Matching characters by color or pattern. Example: Romeo and Juliet

Steps to Costume Design• Study the play

• Budget

• Obtain actors’ measurements

• Collect fabric samples (under lights)

• Costume Parade

• Deal with problems

Steps to Costume Design

• Always consider problems

• Work with rehearsal clothes and shoes

• Keep actions of the actor in mind Example: dancing or fighting

Appropriateness – Costume Silhouette

• Each historic period has its own distinctive line and form in dress

Appropriateness – Costume Silhouette

• Material and cut must be appropriate to the social background and period of the play.

Color, Line, and Material• Comedies, farces,

children’s plays, and fantasies are normally made of light material and are bright or pastel in color and frothy in design

Color, Line, and Material• Restoration Comedy – satins, laces,

and brocades

High Comedy

• Taste and social grace, fashionable

Symbolic and Allegorical• Require thought and meaning

Realistic Plays

• Suitable for the character

Costumes and Color

• Color interprets inner meaning which evokes an audience response

Obtaining the Costumes

• Work Sheets

• Costume Charts

Costumes Charts

• Design

• Measurements

Rented• Expensive

• Fit

• Substitution

• Available for a short time

• Quality

• Cleaning

• Returning

Borrowing• Mismatch• Fit

Making Costumes

• Building = making costumes• Velcro = stronger than zippers and

buttons, but must not be seen• Cost• Time

Care of Costumes• Wardrobe Manager or Costume Master/Mistress• Cleaning and Repair• Dressing Areas• Quick Changes

The Actor and the Costume

• Actor must wear costume properly

• Actor must be disciplined and responsible