18th Century Male Peasant Shirt: 


The first thing we are creating within the costume store project is an 18th Century shirt. We are given an example shirt to work from and work out as a group how to construct the garment. Our construction tutor wanted us to work more independently so we had to work out the steps and methods of construction first and then discuss with him if we were going about this the right way, also the most efficient and practical way.

For this garment I was given a week to construct the shirt as I had a work placement for the other week given for this project. Through this I needed to make sure I used my time extremely wisely as I had to get the project completed within the week.



Below are images of the finished garment without the button holes completed as these are going to be done separately

18th Century Peasant Shirt- Reflection:

Looking back at the work I have created within the week, there are quite a few things I need to look back on.

Due to the nature of the work we are doing it is very easy to forget the delicate nature of the work we are doing and just go into the mind set of getting the work done in the deadline.

I feel with this particular project I have done just that. The accuracy of my work was slightly lost due to the short time scale we had to work within. It was a hugely different time scale to work in to what we are used to.

Another thing I needed to look at was taking more care when using a white shirting fabric. The fabric picked up marks so easily and this made the finished product look less crisp and fresh.  

Costume Store- From the Beginning 


The SDP project is split into two projects. The first and main part of the project is the Costume Store. In this part of SDP we'll have to look at a number of garments ranging from shirts, waistcoats, breeches and blouses, each of these from a range of eras.
This project is design to develop us as individual costume markers, we need to be able to problem solve and see the construction development for ourselves.

The project will be split up into a 3 different sections:
. First 2 weeks- Edwardian Shirt
.After Easter- 3 weeks- 18th Century Breeches/ Waistcoat
. 2/3 weeks - Blouse - Early Victorian
                                 - Late Victorian
                                 - 3rd option possible



The very first week of the costume store I was on a placement week, this meant that when I came back to the costume store I had a week to create an Edwardian shirt.
Due to the loss of a week I had been allocated a more basic shirt to make it possible to create in a week. To create a feel of a more industrial working environment, we had the patterns provided for us and needed to work within a team to cut out our pattern pieces and do it in a way as to waste as little material as possible.

Work Experience- Les Miserables 


For this week I have been doing work experience with the costume department of Les Miserables. This was a huge opportunity for me to work within the industry and follow people who work within the costume store, doing all different roles.
On Tuesday I spent the afternoon in the costume workroom making alterations and then watch the show from the sound box. The show was fully booked on a Tuesday night so I wasn't able to sit in with the audience. I found it incredible that in my week at the show. It was full nearly every single night. For such a long running show it was still as popular and amazing as ever.

Through this work experience I got to follow the head of the costume department and the team that works with her. On a evening show the costume team needed to be in for 1.30, this is to give the team enough time to sort the washing from the previous shows and to also make sure any damages, breakages or general issues discovered from the previous shows.
During this time I got the chance to also help with this. The main things to come up into the costume store were such things as: broken hooks, eyes, brackets. General wear and tear of the costumes in the knees which needed patches. In the male costumes this is was particularly common because they are incredible hard worn.
Also during my time at Les Miserables the department was preparing for the cast change in the show. Some of the actors and actresses would be changing, so during the costume workroom time breaking down the new costumes that were being brought in for the new cast members, these needed to be altered from fittings and broken down if necessary.

The second part of my work placement was following the dressers doing  set up and then dressing through the show. Having never seen the backstage workings of a West End show. For a costume student this was really amazing and fun to soak up the atmosphere, while working in a professional atmosphere.

The overall experience was incredible. I got the chance to really see how the costume department worked in a professional environment. I have only ever experienced more amateur work so it was good to  be able to take what I have seen from Les Miserables and hopefully take that knowledge back into my own work,