Theater Offers Fashion-ating Design Insight
July 20, 2004 | Levent OZLER
Corsets, crumpets, and costumes lent a 19th-century air to modern-day women Saturday afternoon at the Wayside Theatre's Curtain Call Cafe on Main Street.
About 30 mothers and daughters sipped lemonade and tea while listening to Tamara Carruthers, Wayside's resident costume designer, explain the intricacies of stitching a 19th-century dress for the stage.
For starters, Carruthers said, a costume designer has to understand the play to which she has been assigned. Then she has to learn about the characters. And, perhaps most importantly, the designer has to have a grasp of the era.
"That's one of my favorite things about my job," Carruthers said. "Researching the time period."
Knowing the era helps her know how women wanted their bodies to look at different points throughout history. That knowledge allows her to understand what shape each dress should take, Carruthers said.
That shape comes from what's underneath.
"You can't understand what it's supposed to look like on the outside unless you understand what it's supposed to look like on the inside," Carruthers said.
That's why actors at Wayside Theatre wear corsets beneath their costumes, she said.
And that's why, when she builds a corset, she uses stiff fabric that doesn't stretch.
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