A Working Costume Designer’s Guide to Fit

233 Pages·2023·8.5 MB·English

by  Jeanette deJong

A WORKING COSTUME
DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO FIT
A Working Costume Designer’s Guide to Fit explores the concept of fit in theatri-
cal costumes – what it is, how to assess it, and how to achieve it.
Being able to assess whether a costume fits or not is a learned skill, which
takes practice as well as information about what the fit standards are for differ-
ent types of garments. Filled with detailed step-by-step illustrations, this book
provides all the knowledge readers will need in order to achieve the perfect fit
for their costumes, including:
• How costumes can support actors onstage when they fit correctly.
• How to take measurements and how to assess them.
• How to conduct a fitting and what materials are needed.
• How to resolve a number of issues that may arise during a fitting.
• How to fit a mockup test garment in preparation for building a costume
from scratch.
• How to adjust a garment or mockup to fit better.
Chapters 8–14 also explore different categories of garments and discuss how
to check them against the wearer’s measurements before trying them on, what
the standards of fit are for each category, and how to fit an existing garment.
This is an essential guide for students of Costume Design courses and pro-
fessional costume designers of any experience level.
Jeanette deJong is an Associate Professor of Costume Design, History, and
Technology at the University of Oregon. A member of United Scenic Art-
ists, she has been designing costumes and teaching Costume Design since
1984. She is also the author of A Working Costume Designer’s Guide to Color
(Routledge, 2021). Her professional design credits include shows at Cincinnati
Playhouse in the Park, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre
Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Utah
Shakespeare Festival, and Illinois Shakespeare Festival, amongst many other
theatres. Her technical costume credits include shows at Glimmerglass Opera,
Williamstown Theatre Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre,
and Parsons-Meares Studio, New York.
A WORKING
COSTUME
DESIGNER’S
GUIDE TO FIT
Jeanette deJong
Designed cover image: © Jeanette deJong
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Jeanette deJong
The right of Jeanette deJong to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: DeJong, Jeanette author.
Title: A working costume designer’s guide to fit / Jeanette deJong.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022036823 (print) |
LCCN 2022036824 (ebook) | ISBN 9780815352181 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780815352174 (paperback) | ISBN 9781351131353 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Costume design--Handbooks, manuals, etc. |
Tailoring--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC PN2067 .D385 2023 (print) |
LCC PN2067 (ebook) | DDC 792.02/6--dc23/eng/20221107
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022036823
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022036824
ISBN: 978-0-815-35218-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-815-35217-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-13135-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781351131353
Typeset in Bembo
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1 “FIT” and Why It Matters 3
2 Measurements 9
3 Obtaining Garments for Costume Use 25
4 Preparing to Conduct a Fitting 33
5 Standards of Good Fit 40
6 General Method for a Garment or Mockup Fitting 47
7 Interpreting What You See During a Fitting 55
8 Bodices 63
9 Sleeves 97
10 Tailored Shirts and Blouses 109
vi Contents
11 Suit Jackets, Sports Coats, Blazers, and
Period Indoor Coats 123
12 Fitted Garments Without a Waistline Seam 164
13 Skirts 170
14 Trousers and Jeans 187
Bibliography 218
Index 219
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A very heartfelt THANK YOU to the people who have helped me along the
way to creating this book:
Owen Saffell and Charlie Saffell-deJong for their love and support;
Lucia Accorsi for her patience;
Heather Bair for her kindness;
And, especially, THANK YOU to all of the directors, costume shop man-
agers, costume technicians, actors, and students who have shared their artistry
with me.

INTRODUCTION
I have been a theater costume designer, technician, and educator for over
35 years. All three aspects of my background have informed and enriched the
other two. As a teacher, I have found that there is a wonderful array of good
costume books with terrific chapters, yet there can be missing pieces of prac-
tical information when one wants to complete a project. Focused on a specific
subject and shaped by years of experience, this book is intended to be one of
those “missing” practical chapters, a resource that can be turned to in order
to solve a problem. Often, once designers or technicians are out of school and
working, they find that there are gaps in what they need to know to success-
fully complete a project or assignment, no matter how excellent the program
from which they graduated. My goal is to help answer questions that come
up once a designer or technician is working and no longer has an instructor
available to help them in person.
FITTING THE ACTOR is a reference for working designers and tech-
nicians. While fit is not as immediately noticeable as the color or texture of a
garment, it will communicate information about the character to an audience.
Understanding how to assess fit with confidence and how to improve the fit of
a costume are learnable skills. I started my design life by being afraid of trying
to fit an actor too closely and ended up with oversized, baggy costumes. Over
time, I have learned about how garments should fit based on period and type
of garment, and how to look closely at a garment in order to assess whether a
costume fits a character appropriately.
In preparing this book, it became clear that the word “fit” has two separate
but related meanings. The first is FIT, an adjective that describes how a gar-
ment rests on the wearer’s body and the standards of how the garment relates
to the outlines of the body. The second is FITTING, a verb that describes of
DOI: 10.4324/9781351131353-1