Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Beautiful Custom Clothing: Part Three Assembling The Elements

        Well, I tried to post this last week, but apparently the blog glitched. Human operated error I'm sure. So back to our awesome Two-Face Costume (Sorry anyone who wondered what was up last week). Once you have the pattern and mock-up, you start cutting in real fabric. I must say this was a little nerve-wracking as I both couldn't find white suit fabric and also, sprang for the really nice breathable suit material for this puppy so I've made Kevlar bullet proof vests for less than the supplies on this ran me. I ended up making Nash cut the fabric because my hands kept shaking. He did a great job which I really appreciated as he's turning out to be a great cutter. No surprise the man is good with a knife or a pair of scissors to anyone probably.



        One of the great things about costumes or one-offs (especially for stage or performance) is you can break the rules or change them as you like. I borrowed several elements from different fashion shows, especially British runway fashion for Spring 2013 which we will probably not see around here until 2015. We're so behind the times. Mostly I wanted to address some of my clients requests not to flash cleavage with traditional buttons and add some booty! Since it was a comic and the shirt pictures did not clearly have buttons, I used industrial velcro to close the front (Hey if it's good enough to stop mortar fire...it's good enough to use on the girl guns.). No flashing!
            My other big spring was using a fur clasp on the vest which was an insane indulgence. Thanks to my old boss I had a couple laying around. It's very Channel 1950s classic. The back had vented flaps so well. I love her style. Lastly, look at that color matching. The entire thing appears to match perfectly, but the black is actually slightly larger and the white slightly smaller to create a balanced optical illusion. So much work. I had to redo this 4 times and switching on the thread for this was a nightmare. Still, completely worth it.
          Ah well, I get to hear how this survived con in a few days and make any repairs/improvements necessary. I had one girlfriend who said the average actor rips his clothes within 7 hrs. of a performance so a 2 weeks show...everyone needs touch-ups. Can't wait! Love doing weird and wacky stuff like this.

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