Cry Baby: Lenora - Screw Loose Dress

Hello Fellow Broadway Lovers,


So today, I'm going to talk about a completely different character from a completely different Broadway Musical. Lenora from Cry Baby, the crazy, stalker girl. If you haven't seen Cry Baby, as it unfortunately didn't run for long on Broadway, just search on you-tube Screw Loose to get the gist of this Character.

So a quick run down of Lenora; she was played by Alli Mauzey, who later went on to play G(a)linda in Wicked. She is madly in love with the male lead of the musical, emphasis on MADLY.
Anyway, During this song Lenora is wearing this hideous purple dress  (I think it's either made out of taffeta or satin, either way it is still kinda ugly), that is in the typical 60's style. But to emphasize her "crazy" nature, she has tucked the top of the bodice of the dress into the bottom of her bra.

Pics:

In this picture you can see how she's tucked the top of the bodice into the bottom of her bra.

You can also kinda see the edge of the collar she is wearing with the dress.

You can see in this picture that she has a large black belt around the waist of the dress.

Okay, so this last picture isn't actually of the Screw Loose dress but this is how I imagine the top of the actual bodice looks like. As of course we can't see cause its been tucked into the bottom of her bra.

So, when Lenora wears this dress She wear long Black gloves that come up past her elbows. She also wears a black wig like the one pictured above, although she does wear this the most of the show, except for in the finale when she wears a wedding dress. When she sings this song, she also wears this leopard print collar thing that is separate from the dress, I couldn't find a decent picture that shows it, but you can kinda see it in the pictures above. The pink dress is another one of her costumes, which she wears later in the show.

Anyway that's all from me for now

Ciao,

Becca M.

"Bonkers! That's what they're calling me! Not, metaphorically... They mean truly INSANE!"

Wicked: Elphaba Shiz Uniform

Hello Fellow Greenified Guys and Dolls,

*Gasp* A different character *Gasp* a new costume analysis.

So basically I'm on break at the moment so I have way too much time on my hands  (Yay, for this blog, but bad for my wallet cause of Fabric and Sewing supplies shopping trips)

Anyway, Today I felt like doing someone different, and while I love G(a)linda and her costumes, I thought I should do something else. So I've decided to look at Elphaba's School Uniform.

So Elphaba basically wears this costume for the majority of the First Act. There are 5 aspects to this costume, First there is the School blazer, which she wears over top of a false turtleneck and a dress (but it appears to be a skirt until she takes it off for Dancing Through Life and the Oz-dust Ballroom scene).So those are the three aspects of he actual costume but she wears leather boots (like Dr. Martins), that are a dark Brown but If you are making your own costume you could always wear a navy blue or black pair. These boots have no pattern on them. She then wears this knit beanie over top of her wig (which is in a braid) and glasses (Kinda like Harry Potter, but sometimes these are round and sometimes these are oval, it depends on the actor's face shape and what suits them).

So Pictures (Also from Galinda's Wardrobe, in-case you haven't noticed my affinity for this site)

I thought this was a good picture as it shows what the turtle neck really looks like.

So there you have it, the elements of the costume. She basically wears the shoes and the dress for the majority of Act 1 until One Short Day which is when she has her first quick change.  So the Dress basically is paneled from the top until just above the hip and below the waist on the left side where it turns into diagonal pleats. This creates an asymmetrical hemline along the bottom of the skirt. Which I personally think is really cool, but would be super hard to make, and get it to look right.

So the Blazer, has pockets (not false ones like on Galinda's Shiz uniform Blazer) and has a black trim, that goes around the edges of the collar and the front of the blazer where it buttons up (there are usually like 3 to 4 buttons) but the trim finishes just before her pockets. Pic Below:

I hope you can see that. But occasionally the trim goes right around the bottom edge of the blazer, like in this picture:

Also in the picture above, you can see really clearly the diagonal, asymmetrical hemline on the dress.

Anyway, that's all from me for now

Ciao,

Becca M.

"I'm the other daughter! I'm Beautifully Tragic!"

Wicked: Galinda Shiz Uniform

Hello Fellow Ozians,
(yes that is going to become my welcome for each of the Galinda Costume Analysis posts)

Anyway, today I wanted to talk about something slightly different. So instead of talking about Galinda's Bubble dress I'm going to be talking about her Shiz School Uniform!

So Susan Hilferty said, that she purposefully made their school colours Navy and White/Cream  and Galinda being the brightest, lightest character in the school has her uniform completely in white/cream (the white/cream depends on the actress and what she looks better in), while Elphaba being the darkest, most misunderstood character and the future evil villain in OZ has her school uniform completely in Navy Blue and Black. Susan Hilferty (for those who don't know) is the costume designer for Wicked and won a Tony award for er designs

So, Galinda's school uniform has two versions:
                                                              1. With Blazer
                                                              2. Without Blazer.

Version One: With Blazer

So the version with the Blazer, consists of a Blazer (obviously), A pleated A-line skirt, A cream/white (doesn't really matter) beret hat, and oxford heels.See pictures below (individual items and whole uniform).

Pictures (taken from Galinda's Wardrobe):

Currently I am making and collecting items for this costume and I pretty much have everything for this version of the uniform except the handbag. So as you can see in the pictures above, the uniform can appear to be white or an off-white cream colour (yes I spell it with a "u") depending on the lighting but it also depends on the actors skin tone.

Version Two: Without Blazer

So the version with out the blazer, consists of a light pinstriped (white and a light grey or blue I believe) blouse with poofy sleeves, an asymmetrical waistcoat, the same A-line skirt as in the Blazer version, the same oxford heels, the same handbag and a cute little tie/brooch thing (not really sure how to describe it). Pictures below (whole outfit and elements).

Pictures (Again, taken from Galinda's Wardrobe, which is really a wonderful resource!):

*Gasp* No Hat!!!

So again, the colour of the uniform really does depend on the lighting and the actor's skin tone. I thought i would include the picture with no hat, to give an idea of what the wig looks like without it.

So it really is a gorgeous outfit, and I know that I'm going to forever love my oxford heels which I bought for this costume (lets admit it, oxford heels are awesome!). Plus the thing about this outfit is that each of the pieces can be worn separately and with aspects of everyday clothes (YAY!).

Anyway, that's all for now,

So farewell my fellow Ozians,

Becca M.

"Dearest Darling-est Momsie and Popsicle! There's been some confusion over rooming here at Shiz! But of course I'll RISE above it!" *Toss, Toss*

Wicked: Galinda's Bubble Dress Part 2.

Hello Fellow Ozians,

In my last post, I touched on a few of the features of Galinda/Glinda's bubble dress.

But because this dress, has so much to it. There is more than meets the eye!

The Bodice and the Skirt are separate pieces, and although I tried really hard I couldn't find a decent picture.

So, just a basic overview of the dress:

- Made out of Ice blue satin, a lot of underskirts and pearlized sheer blue organza
-The Bodice has boning in it, to "keep Glinda in" the dress as Susan Hilferty said
- In the dress on broadway there is over 100,000 sequins on it which have all been hand-sewn on.
- There are 5 different petal sizes, the top row (the smallest size) is sewn into the waistband and the bottom row (the largest petals) is sewn completely onto the underskirt.


So today, I'm gonna talk about the back of the dress, and the collar which Galinda wears, and which is detachable.

The collar from what I can gather (sewing pun, sorry couldn't help myself), is made out of wire that has been bent into the desired shape and soldered at the corners to stop the metal wire from tearing the fabric.
The fabric used is the same pearlized sheer blue organza that was used for the skirt petals.
Then sequins have been sewn in the top 2 corners of the collar.

See pictures below (taken from Galinda's Wardrobe, Bubble Dress AUS research page):

As shown in the pictures above, my ideas about the collar fits nicely.

Also as seen in the pictures above, the back of the dress plunges down below the shoulder blades and has an invisible zipper (this is the Australian Bubble Dress, the German Dress has hooks and eyes).
Of Course, as is obvious in the photos, there is a small petal covering the lower part of the zipper and the bodice. This is where they hook Galinda into the Bubble (Picture Below paragraph, of Galinda in Bubble), and there is usually a Carabiner connected to the dress, which is the why the oddly placed petal is there. To hide it.


Pic of Galinda in Bubble (for those who haven't seen Wicked):

Anyway, Thats all from me for now! I hope to be posting about my own Bubble Dress creation soon.

Caio,

Becca M

"Its good to see me isn't it!? No need to respond that was rhetorical!"

Wicked: Galinda's Bubble Dress

Hello Fellow Ozians,

Any one of you that has seen Wicked! the Musical, whether it was on Broadway, or a replica production. All of us Ozians can agree that we LOVE the Bubble Dress.

For those of you who have not seen Wicked, here are some pictures of the dress below:

(These are taken from Galinda's Wardrobe, the link is also below)

As you can tell from the pictures, this is an absolutely gorgeous dress!

Lately, I have been dedicating myself to analysis this costume, and with the help of websites such as:

http://www.galindaswardrobe.com/

and the Galinda's Wardrobe Forum:

 http://z8.invisionfree.com/Galindas_Wardrobe/index.php?act=idx

and blogs such as:

http://musical-costumers.blogspot.co.nz/


Amazing Resources such as these helped me immensely in my analysis.



So far, I have managed to conclude:

Fabric: - base bodice and skirt: Crepe-Backed Satin in powder blue
            - Skirt Petals and Fabric over top of base-bodice: Pearlised Sheer Organza in ice blue.
            - Underskirt: Crinoline, some netting and a tonne of Tulle (metaphorically)
         
The skirt has 34 petals, on the official Broadway costume but If you are making one of your own, sticking to that number isn't a must.
The same goes for the sequins, they used up to 100,000 sequins, all hand-sewn on the official costume. On the bodice and on the skirt petals, there are multiple types and sizes of sequins sewn on. This is to create the effect of rainbows when the light hits the skirt.


Patterns I would suggest for this dress (If the links get outdated please message me!):

http://www.simplicity.com/p-12498-disney-cinderella-and-fairy-godmother-misses-costumes.aspx
http://www.simplicity.com/p-8201-misses-costume.aspx

Both patterns of course, don't have the petals. But If you have any tissue paper lying around (the stiff that they stuff in shoes and shoe boxes when you buy them) you can tape together some pieces and make your own. I'll post some pics of what I did later!


Caio,

Becca M.

"OOOHHH! Pink goes GOOD with Green!"