Costume Parade

The costume parade was yesterday, a sort of final fitting/showcase for the completed outfits. Amber and I managed to pull everything together for it, and all of the costumes were completed which was great to see. I think this just goes to show that if we'd known we had a bigger budget to begin with we could have been buying everything that we'd seen and considered too expensive in the first place, but at least it has come together.
There are a few touches that need to be added to some of the costumes - some of the stockings are way too bright, especially the white ones that look too clean and new, and some of the brighter pink ones on the Lily character have come up really neon pink, so we're going to try and dye them down, and it was also suggested that we buy a couple of back up pairs as spare if the dyeing goes wrong or does not work.
With the petticoats I made Frances has said to each of the makers to cut off the overlocking as this is too modern and does not fit in with the historical look we are going for. The makers are also going to give the petticoats another ruffle or two in their own fabrics to make them more personal, and individual to their costume and character.


Reflection: From the costume parade I learnt that even accessories look different on certain models, for example, some of the spats for Lulu looked good on some people, but not on others simply because of their frame. The longer pairs, on smaller girls, draw far too much attention to their legs and don't balance with the rest of the costume. I suggested that I could look and see if I could buy some smaller pairs, but Frances said she was happy for some characters not to wear the spats, and to simply try what we have on the models on the day of the photoshoot, and then the filming.
I'm actually quite thankful now that the film and photoshoot dates were moved back - originally they were going to be on the 10th (today) and that would not have been enough time to perfect everything that we want to. I've learnt that a final show of complete costumes and accessories needs to be well in advance of any shoot days/shows to allow for any changes that need to happen, which seems like such an obvious observation, but it's so important and I don't think I realised just how important before actually attempting this project!
It became clear after the parade that we're going to need lots of hair product - mousse and spray - to try and make the more modern hairstyles fit into the production. This is something totally new for me (as much of this project has been). We have hairpieces already, but may well need more, and with a couple of the models Frances and the director Gareth would like their hair to be slicked back into an androgynous style.