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Where do sneakers and T-shirts come from?

posted by Margaret Whitaker on Mon, Sep 8, 2008
in Costume shop

It feels so very good to get Yellowjackets up and running.  Our first show of the season is open and here in costume land all is well.  I am not sure what will be interesting to you all to read, so perhaps this should be an introduction/primer to what it is like to be a costume design assistant.  Let me know if this is dreadful and I will make sure to be more entertaining next time. :}

On this show, I mainly spend a lot of time shopping. I also make shiny charts and produce paperwork, organize receipts, and do returns.  (On this show, I am very lucky and our lovely intern Lauren is available to pack up return boxes for me...  We shall see if I can keep her for such fine tasks throughout the season!)

When you see the show, pay careful attention to the shoes.  Of all the things we have spent time and energy on, the shoes may be the standout items.  Some of the shoes were shipped from a mysterious website that was nearly too good to be true, and the boxes themselves came directly from China. They were dusty and beat down and well, looked like they had been transported from 1994 thanks to a certain Delorean retrofitted with the Flux Capacitor!  Needless to say, they represent some of the most authentic footwear we have in the show, so please give special note to Damian and James and their excellent footwear.

One of the other things I get to do in this position is research specific items, which can be really fun!  I spend a lot of time on the internet hunting down information to make sure some of the more period specific touches are as accurate as possible.  Its kindof like being a dramaturg for a bit, as I try to make sure we don't make a hideous mistake and accidentally use, for example, a Rush T-shirt that postdates the play.  Heavens forbid that we accidentally put up a shirt that is from '98, rather than our Rush Presto shirt that is from 1989.  Test for Echo would have been a subtle faux pas but I can guarantee that there will be Rush fans who would have noticed such an error.

So that is a little taste of the kind of work that I do here in the costume shop.  Tune in next time for a lively primer in 1910's undergarments and the joys of renting period clothing!