Welcome to the Costume Shop! Work Study Orientation 2025
We had a great Orientation for our costume shop work study students yesterday! We learned more about weaves and did some small weaving exercises, we practiced doing quick changes (from suits to fabulous 60’s ladies with hats!) and we did a scavenger hunt to pull things from costume stock!welcome to our fabulous new work study students #welcometotheteam❤️#costumeshop #costumefun
Look what Work Study Costume Shop workers Made for King Lear!
Gotta love the teamwork with Ella @echarnizonand Ginger @ginger_hanlon in making this Jumpsuit for the character of Oswald in King Lear played by fellow costume shop work study worker @norahsantoni Ella and Ginger worked together to make this garment and it was a huge success! Here are some pictures of the process from sketch to fabric buying (at Mood fabrics, fabric originally made by Giorgio Armani! @moodfabrics #thanksmood) to seeing Oswald’s final look onstage! #liberalarts #workstudy #costumeshopfun#teamworkmakesthedreamwork #sewingproject #onstage#kinglear #theyearoflear #collegetheaterlife #theater#shakespeare #imadethat
Another showstopper from King Lear is one shouldered purple dress for Goneril made by Assistant shop manager @katie_elspeth_ and a wonderful job making this beautiful dream come true! #costumeshoplife #collegetheater#costumesforstage #dresses👗 #kinglear #shakespeare#dressesforbadasswomen #purpledress💜 #yearoflear#middcollegetheater
Yay for Elsa Marrian @elsamarrian and all her hard work making her own dress for her performance of Regan in King Lear! That’s right. Elsa made this dress every step of the way and wore it in stage. How cool is that? #liberalarts #workstudy#costumeshopfun #teamworkmakesthedreamwork#sewingproject #onstage #kinglear #theyearoflear#collegetheaterlife #theater #shakespeare #imadethat
Huge thanks to Camryn Brielmann @camrynjbrielmann for her beautiful work on Regan’s dress for King Lear! A huge project and such fantastic work making this garment all the way from pattern to final hem!
Let’s hear it for Julia Breckenridge @juliabreck12and all her hard work on Cordelia’s beautiful burgundy silk dress in King Lear! #workstudy #costumeshopfun#teamworkmakesthedreamwork #sewingproject #onstage#kinglear #theyearoflear #collegetheaterlife #theater#shakespeare #itsallinthedetail
Winter Closet Coat Repair/Mending session w/ the Atelier Sewing Club!
Thank you to all who came today to help mend the coats and clothes that are for the Winter Clothing Closet run by Jenn Hayden! Mending and patching is a great way to make your clothes last longer. I hope that these pieces all go to good homes! #newbuttonsnewyou #mending #greenecofashion#reducereuserecycle #mendandmakedo #likenew thanks to @middatelier and @fostercole99 and @katie_elspeth_ for all their sewing help!
Costume Shop Orientation 2024
A good morning meeting of costume interested students in the costume shop playing a few games pulling these fabulous outfits from stock (and even modeling them!) and learning how to properly hang up garments and learning more about fabric very close up under a microscope (using Kayla our newest addition to the shop!) a great way to start the semester! So happy to have you! #meetandgreet #funandgames#butwithstyle #textilesupclose #whatisaweaveanyway#fiberscience #costumefun
Orlando: Costume Work Study
Congrats to Kendall @craftykendall on finishing this lovely 1920s top for @orlandoatmidd so excited to see this on stage! #allthehardworkpaidoff #sewingproject #workstudy#costumeshopfun #historicalperiodglamour
Quick Changes! Quick Changes! Quick Changes!
Meet our star dresser for ‘Found Dog Ribbon Dance’ Hope Jerris surveying her pre-show preset costumes backstage for Norma played by Maggie Blake! April 1, 2024
Welcome to the Costume Shop!
Introducing our latest work study costume shop workers for this semester! Join me in welcoming Sophie, Ella and Ginger to the costume shop! #showmeyoursampler#workstudy#studentcostumeshoplife#sewsewsew✏📐✂️👗❤
Sophie: Hi I’m Sophie! I am a sophomore from Shoreham VT studying neuroscience and global health. In my free time I love to crochet and knit clothing! I love theater and all things performing arts and I am super excited to learn more about the world of costume design and creation!
Ella: “Hi! Im Ella (left) and I’m a sophomore feb from NYC. I am an American studies Major, which has almost zero to do with costuming, but here I am one of the new members of the Middlebury Costume Shop. I am so excited to learn more about sewing and costuming!”
Ginger: I’m Ginger! (right) and I’m a sophomore Feb from Asheville NC studying English and Philosophy. I have been sewing since my grandmother taught me in elementary school and I can’t wait to apply this knowledge to costuming!
Costume shop Work Study: a Queen Elizabeth and a Tailor!
Let’s hear it for Elsa! Who else can go from fitting her awesome pattern for Sasha’s costume in ‘Orlando’ to being fit for her awesome role as Queen Elizabeth in ‘Orlando’? #whenthefitterbecomesthefitted #fittings #patternmaking#costumesinprocess #fittingtime👗 #fittingroomfun#customclothesforthecast #costumemagic #letsputonashow#costumeshoplife #workstudylife special guest stars in this post are @lile_the_crocodile and @jamiemschwa and yay for @elsamarrian!
Finals for Intro to Costume Design!
The Intro to Costume Design class go to pull their final designs from stock yesterday. Nothing like bringing the dress forms down stairs to costume stock for a dress up activity. They did such great work, what a great way to end the semester! #suchagoodclass #greatwork #endofthesemester#introtocostumedesign
Happy Opening Polaroid Stories!
Come see Polaroid Stories on stage this weekend now thru December 2nd! #whatisapolaroid#comeandfindoutmore #comeseeourshow#streetkidsfashion #streetkids#areyousureyouarenotagreekgod @clintonbphotography
Check out this distressed vest from costume stock that was used in ‘Polaroid Stories’ for the character of Narcissus played by @zestyzeph distressed by our own @kayla.a.schwartz! Sometimes we ‘distress’ or mechanically wear down and paint the clothing to make sure it looks right onstage for the time and the place it is supposed to be in. Every piece tells a story! #distressedclothing #costumesfortheshow#distressedpaintingclothing #worksforthecharacter#polaroidstories❤️✨ #curtaintime @clintonbphotography
Look at these awesome bracelets made by costume shop work-study students for our upcoming production of ‘Polaroid Stories’ they are perfect for raver character Narcissus played by @zestyzeph… more to come! #fittings#costumeshopwork #costume #beadedbracelets#wordbracelets💙💚❤️💛 #raveoutfit #characterdevelopment
Happy opening to Greek Tragedy!
Did you know that 80 percent of the clothes that the actors wear in this play are recycled or second hand clothing and all the prop clothing is from the recycle center on campus MiddRecycle or donated from members of the community?#itsshowtime #costumes #designandproduction#socialmediaplay#trollsonstage
Make Up Training
@katie_elspeth_ worked with the cast to practice their stage makeup for Greek Tragedy show. It was super fun and helpful for the Fall shows!
Costume Shop Work Study Orientation – September 23, 2023
Thanks to all our fabulous work study students who came to play a scavenger dress up game from costume stock and a matching costume shop vocab game. It was great getting to know everyone!
Looking for Costumes at the Recycle Center- September 21, 2023
We found a ton of great items to use for some costumes for our fall shows from the MiddRecycle center on campus, costume shop work-study sorted through giant boxes of discarded clothing and found some gems to use in our upcoming shows here with the help of Sophia and Bri and Hope digging through all the recycle stuff!
@middleburytheatre @greektragedyshow
Final presentations in Advanced Costume Design class
May 20th, 2023 – Such a talented class! Lile Casey, Liefe Temple, Aiden Amster, and Maggie Connelly all standing beside their work from the semester.
Draping and Drafting Yennefer’s Jacket from The Witcher III: Wild Hunt– Lile Casey
Throughout my Winter Term internship, I learned how to sketch clothing designs, drape, and draft patterns, and make mock-ups to test their fit. As my final project, I chose to create a pattern of Yennefer’s jacket from The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, one of my favorite video games. I thought it would be challenging, but still possible for me to pattern and test within a week. I also thought that it would draw upon the variety of skills I had just learned and make me feel more confident in challenging myself with complex patterns in the future.
Revisiting Pattern Making- Meili Huang
After an 8-week pattern-making internship this past summer, this winter I revisited the art of pattern-making. I was relieved to see that the skills I had accumulated throughout the summer were not lost. Simultaneously, I embraced the unknown that excited me, brought me challenges, and pushed me to solve problems on my own.
Pattern-making essentially boils down to two main parts — drafting and draping. For the first week, we focused on drafting patterns based on instructions from books of professional pattern-makers. When one does not have special pattern-making tools such as a dress form, drafting makes making a pattern based on a given measurement possible. Draping, on the other hand, requires the pattern-maker to manipulate a piece of fabric on a dress form to create…
Carrying a Design to Flesh: the Making of a Flamenco Skirt – Meili Huang
This article first appeared in the Fall 2021 edition of Clover Magazine, Middlebury College’s student-run fashion online magazine.
Every piece of clothing we wear — from a pair of everyday jeans, your favorite little black dress, a put-together suit jacket or blazer to a stunning couture dress on a red carpet or a costume piece on stage — comes from pattern making. Pattern making is the art of translating the design of a garment to a real piece of apparel that fits a human body. By either drafting pattern pieces on paper (AKA flat patterning) or manipulating a piece of flat fabric to fit the…
Spaces to Make on Campus – Madison Brito
While not uncommon to hear fashion mavens around campus bemoan our lack of sartorial resources, Middlebury actually boasts a host of opportunities for those in search of them. Our campus seems to mirror our generation’s renewed interest in the handmade with a well established and growing community of makers. For our sewists, knitters, or textile creators of any form, the outlets on campus abound, and each one is suited to fit a diverse range of needs and wants.
A Different Kind of Costume: The Middlebury College Antique Clothing Collection
The Middlebury College Antique Clothing Collection (MCACC) is an oasis for fashion and history enthusiasts alike. Every one of MCACC’s 700+ garments from the 1820s to 1930s is imbued with deep cultural significance, offering lessons in American, women’s, and the college’s history alike. The Collection, created by Professor Mira Veikley over the last few years, positions Middlebury as a further font for the study of history through the sartorial eye and is an ever-expanding resource for the campus and larger Middlebury community. Click here for the figshare of the MCACC items:https://middlebury.figshare.com/collections/Middlebury_College_Antique_Clothing_Collection/6294990
Winter Term 2021: Intro to Corsetry
“Tighter! Cinch it tighter!”
Middlebury students from around the country and Canada came together to make their first corsets in this J-term 2021 class.
Student Spotlight: Madison Brito
While the past year has seen a spike in heavily individualized style and a desire for the homemade, reused, or simply eclectic, a passion for making is nothing new to our campus. This winter term, Carol Wood and Robin Foster Cole even had 10 students left on the waitlist for their 15-seat Introduction to Corsetry class – a course that required owning a machine and basic sewing abilities, no less. From freshmen who have been makers since they were six years old to seniors with elementary alteration skills, an outwardly niche subject is compelling enough to our students to embark on a four week, intensive winter term course. What compels us to want to make garments from centuries past and create things with our own hands when outsourcing is easier than ever is another article itself, but the course is no doubt a testament to our liberal arts education – we can discuss poetry from the 19th century in one class, while literally constructing lingerie from that century in another. Introduction to Corsetry involved a mixture of historical lessons on the garments and their siblings or silhouettes while we continuously constructed a corset at a fast clip – by the second day of class, we had all made an entire ‘fit’ corset out of muslin fabric – and all of this was completely remote. For Alexis Welch, Corsetry “has been one of the most successful zoom classes [she has] taken at Middlebury.” Below, students share their experiences…
Student Spotlight: Lauren Lardinois
Bits of thread follow me wherever I go, sticking to improbable places with tenacity, my project a shedding pet that hasn’t learned to stay off the couch.
Time is told by the unspooling of my bobbin. My hope wraps around those last few coils, as if wishing could stretch them…just…one…inch…farther.
Winter Term 2021: “Patternmaking through Draping” Internship
Katie Concannon
The Inspiration: Cinderella (2015) Work Dress
For my final project of my Winter Term Internship, I chose to recreate Ella’s work dress from Disney’s live-action remake of Cinderella, released in 2015. On my first watch, I was enamored by this dress. I was attracted to it because of the structured bodice, flowing skirt, and the delicate, almost transparent portions of fabric at the sleeves. It also held an element of mystery because I’ve yet to find a satisfactory recreation of the garment online. While mimics of various Cinderella dresses are common for cosplayers, children’s costumes, and brides, all of the examples…
Summer 2020: CCI Internship Projects
During the summer months of 2020, Middlebury College students interested in costume, clothing, and all things wearable got up to some interesting internships! They each developed an independent project including budget, project scope and tracking, and learning outcomes. With guidance from the Middlebury College Costume Shop and funding from Middlebury College’s Center for Careers and Internships (https://www.middlebury.edu/office/careers-internships) as well as an outside agency, they quite successfully accomplished their projects
Cinderella Waltz
Written by Don Nigro, this story turns the classic familiar fairy tale of Cinderella on its head.
THEA0205: Costume Design I: Beginning, Fall 2019
