When working on a contemporary show, odds are you might have a couple of costume t-shirts. When tshirts are used in wardrobe, you might find yourself having to mend or repair these tshirts frequently. T-shirts can be tricky onstage for a couple of reasons. Typically, t-shirts aren’t worn with an undershirt. This means more times than not, these costume pieces will be worn right against the actor’s skin. In AEA (Actor’s Equity Association) rules, if a costume piece is worn as a “skin” (the first layer of clothing an actor is wearing against their body), the piece has to be washed after every show.)Because of this, if there is a…
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Tutorial: How To Quick Rig a Dress Shirt
It happens every show. You have a limited amount of time and you need to help an actor change suits. You only have one minute to complete to change, and it feels impossible. What do you do? This is when you start considering quick rigging for the clothing! Especially in modern musicals, the changes are so fast and frequent that most pieces you see on stage are probably rigged in some way to make them easier to take off and put on. One of the most basic costume-rigging tricks in the book is quick rigging a dress shirt! In this tutorial, we will walk you through step by step the…
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How to Label Theatre Costumes Like a Pro
In theatre, costume labeling is an essential part of the wardrobe process. It helps to keep track of costumes and ensure that they are returned to the correct actors. There are a few different ways to label costumes, and the best method will vary depending on the specific production. However, there are some general tips that can be followed to ensure that costumes are labeled effectively. We will discuss everything you need to know to label costumes for theater. It will cover the different types of labels, how to create them, and how to apply them to costumes. It will also provide some tips for keeping track of labeled costumes. …
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How to Remove (and Prevent) Dress Shirt Collar Stains
Have you ever started pressing one of your dress shirts only to find a pesky ring forming on the collar? It’s a common occurrence, but it can be frustrating. The good news is that many simple ways exist to remove or prevent these collar stains from forming on dress shirts. In this article, we will talk through why they happen, and discuss step-by-step our favorite way to remove them. This post may contain affiliate links. We only recommend products we have tried and tested ourselves. If you use these links to purchase something, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These links help us cover…
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Our Picks for Backstage Laundry Baskets for 2023
As a professional wardrobe technician, you spend a lot of time carrying around laundry baskets. Laundry baskets are an essential backstage tool for any wardrobe crew. Whether they are used for catching quick change discards, tracking costumes, or sorting laundry, laundry baskets are one item there never seems to be enough of. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials, so it can be tough to decide which one is right for your needs. If you aren’t using the correct basket, you might find out rather quickly. This is because it might cause injury to you or injury to your costume pieces. In this article, we will discuss…
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A Complete Guide to Wardrobe Daywork on Broadway
On Broadway, while the dressers come in at night to run the show, there is another team of wardrobe crew in the theatre during the day. These crew members are the wardrobe dayworkers. Wardrobe daywork on Broadway shows helps maintain the costumes and makes them look fresh and new for every performance. While this might seem like a simple job at first, it is an incredible skill to be an effective dayworker. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the job of a dayworker. We will talk about how to approach a new daywork call, as well as ways to make you indispensable to the wardrobe team. What…
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7 Essentials Details to Add to Your Notes to be an Effective Wardrobe Swing
An essential member of any Broadway wardrobe team is its swing Dressers. These dressers might be called to do any track in the show at the last minute. They also might be tasked with knowing multiple tracks of the same show. Because of this, it’s essential for a wardrobe swing to have fantastic notes to reference while moving through the show. When you start training, you will receive notes from the dresser who built the track that you are learning. However, it’s impossible to include every little detail in track notes before they become extremely dense and difficult to read. In this article, we are going to take a closer…
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Sewing 101: How to Add Suspender Buttons to a Pair of Pants
If you are interested in stitching, one of the first tasks you might be given is stitching suspender buttons to dress pants. This is one of the simplest tasks in a costume shop, but it also requires more measurements than you would imagine getting the placement just right. An easy way to spot a novice stitcher is to observe their technique when they are applying suspender buttons. In this article, we will break down the basics of how to achieve the perfect placement for suspender buttons on a pair of men’s trousers. Once you learn these basics, you will be able to carry them with you for the rest of…
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The Ultimate Dresser Apron: What to Keep in Your Toolkit
As a dresser, you play a crucial role in ensuring that performers look their best on stage. With the fast-paced nature of backstage, it is important for you to be able to have the tools you might need at a moment’s notice. This is where a well-stocked dresser apron comes in! Your dresser apron equipped with essential tools and supplies to handle wardrobe changes and emergencies with ease. If you’re new to dressing, you may have questions about what to include in your apron and how to organize it for maximum efficiency. In this article, we will provide you with valuable guidance on stocking your dresser apron, along with tips…
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The Most Efficient Way How to Iron a Dress Shirt
At the beginning of your wardrobe career, you will probably run into a show where you need to iron A LOT of men’s dress shirts FAST. The best way to approach this challenge is to have a system; a way that you iron every shirt using the same basic steps. In my experience, this is the most efficient way to iron a dress shirt. How to Iron a Dress Shirt Clothes really go through a lot of wear and tear during a performance. Especially men’s dress shirts; typically, these pieces get sweaty enough that you will be laundering them at least every other day, if not every day. Why Do…
