I have written about eco friendly and green theatre practices twice before: See here and here.
Whenever I find something clothing related that can help our planet I want to share!

I have recently been diving deep into the UK television programming and have come across a show called "Second Chance Dress". The premise of the show is a bride is looking for her wedding dress and is given the choice of three other women's used bridal dresses. This is fun television and it is GREEN! Buying second hand dresses and even re-purposing second hand dresses (premise of a TLC show "Something Borrowed, Something New") is a great way to keep good quality cloth and clothing out of landfills. So many companies in the fashion industry burn last season's clothing/scraps/unsold pieces as opposed to donating or selling items, that it is a great practice to buy high quality, sustainable sourced fashion, or vintage/consignment/thrift. I understand some in theatre/film/television need to use fast fashion in their designs (I do sometimes) but, if you can re-purpose pieces in designs or everyday life, try to incorporate the practice.

I am so happy to see a show (even if it's not their main objective) that is shedding light on reusing fashion.

One of my post popular articles was my 5 Quick Change Tricks. I recently designed a musical (Bye Bye Birdie) that included on stage quick changes for eight characters in rapid succession. I think it is time to revisit quick changes.

In addition to the above pictured changes (description of change in captions) we created a flip skirt which the actress was able to unfasten while twirling and refastening showing another side with new fabric. I also had four gents who needed to change on stage. To create this quick pace change I found a pattern for baseball/bomber jackets and had my stitcher make them reversible. The guys did flips, spins, etc. to pull their dark New York jackets inside out reveling bright colors for Sweet Apple.
The director caught me off guard with his request for on stage quick changes but with the help of the costume shop supervisor and some very patient stitchers I was able to create the overall desired effect. The actors loved their unique quick change pieces and the audience had a blast watching them perform the choreography. 
​Photos by: Rachael Kennedy

As any freelancer will tell you there are busy spells and dry spells during the year. They never fall in the same month/season/etc. EVER! This makes having a second job difficult unless you have a saintly understanding boss. For those of us who haven't found our saint, here is a list of some things I have found to keep my creativity up, my self healthy, etc.

1. Create a schedule-I still don't take my advice all the time. But, when I take the time to create a schedule it keeps me sane. Between jobs I try to schedule time at the gym, to look for future jobs, to socialize, to get that housework done that I left for "another time". 
2. Relax-I am one of those people who tends to feel antsy when I have "nothing to do" but I have to remind myself that I do need a bit of time to relax. 
3. Research-I use my free time between jobs to research things in my industry as well as things I like. Through that research I create these blog posts!
4. Side hustle-I don't technically have a side hustle but many freelancer I know do have one. For an example see this interview I did with my friend Kim! It's always nice to make a little money on the side. 
5. Explore-Get out of the house! When I'm on the job I know what is happening around my favorite job haunts (I do a ton of shopping in NYC as a designer). Sometimes I decide to treat myself to a coffee near some shops to look around at what is "in season". Sometimes I just go to the park and walk around and people watch. Maybe visit that new place that opened while you were busy with your last project.

Hopefully this list will help you find some things to fill your time between jobs. 

I have written about different "killer fashions" on this blog before:

• killer-clothing.html
• sample-pack-makeup-history-lipstick.html
• sample-pack-makeup-history-rougeblush.html
• sample-pack-makeup-history-eye-makeup.html

​I find the lengths we as humans have gone to be "stylish" insane. Any new little snippet of information about such-and-such a person in such-and-such an era doing such-and-such to be fashionable I gobble up like a cat sneaking into your tuna fish sandwich. It is something Costume Design adjacent that I do as a hobby. If there is ever a deadly fashion section of jeopardy I will gladly be your phone a friend if you promise to pay for another few books on the subject. (Does jeopardy have phone a friend or is that just Millionaire?) 
Recently I finally got my hands on a small book I have been wanting for quite some time:
Killer Fashion by Jennifer Wright. I went down to my local used book store (go green!) and found they had a copy! I have been eyeing this book as it blends together two of my favorite "odd" loves; Edward Gorey style art/poems and deadly fashion facts. This little 55 page book is a joy at every page turn.
It has also given me some more deadly fashion topic ideas to research. For instance, did you know in the 1920s some women would manicure their nails with radium to make their nails glow and sparkle in the low light of the night clubs?! Maybe I need to make an addendum to my nail polish history post.  

In May while I was between jobs for a short stint of time I started following a prompt list to practice my drawing. It was a great choice and helped me rev my drawing which I had let fall to the way side while working as a Costume PA. Some days I would design a specific costume/clothing while others I'd just draw the prompt literally. 
The prompt list I followed was a month long list, but I became busy and fell behind on it. I thought I'd create a shorter list for others to follow if they are like me and enjoy creating something around a prompt. So, without further ado, here is a short, noncommittal drawing prompt list for you to peruse. 

If you want to follow the prompt you can start on the top and work down, the bottom and work up, or print it out and tack to a dart board. Enjoy the weird list of 14 words! I'll be starting this list once I finish my current jobs. Hop over to my Instagram to see my drawings for this list and others! #DesignthePrompt