Fly Girl Tops

Last year I was asked by costume designer Jessica Pabst to create what she kept referring to as "fly girl tops" for a musical at Second Stage called Nobody Loves You. For those of you who may not get the reference, fly girls were the backup dancers on the variety show In Living Colored that aired back in the 90's.

Pictures of the process...

This is the rough sketch Jessica drew (on a post-it note!) to convey how she wanted the tops to look.

This is a front view photo of the top I took to show Jessica my progress while I was making them. In the final look, the trim connected all the way around to make a continuous line rather than being tucked into the neckline of the shirt as seen in this photo. 

Back view progress photo. You can see it needs some pressing at the top. 

Production photos of my top being worn on stage. I made four tops altogether, including one for an understudy. It was really exciting seeing something I made being worn on the stage of a professional Off-Broadway theater, especially since I was given comp tickets and got to take my good friend Emma. The last time I had seen something I made onstage was back in college, so this was definitely way more exciting.

Arlington

I recently had the honor of working with Al Silber at the Vineyard Theater on the one woman show Arlington. Here she is in a costume designed by Jess Goldstein (Jersey Boys, Newsies). The dress was custom made, the cardigan was from Nordstrom Rack, the apron is vintage and the shoes were from Ralph Lauren I believe. Behind her is Ben Moss in a Gap tshirt and Old Navy chinos. Just a couple of days ago, Al was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, which is more than well deserved. Congratulations, Al!

Etsy!

Sorry it's been so long! Unfortunately I do not have any of my own interviews to share with you at the moment but interviews can be tough to come by sometimes. One of the toughest things to cope with in this business is how to handle the time off between jobs. That is why I first created this blog and it's been so encouraging to see how many views the site has been getting. That is why I thought I'd share another side project of mine with you all. I've taken the plunge and finally started an Etsy shop! I hope you'll take a moment to check it out.

And since I don't want to leave you completely interview-less, please enjoy this interview with costume designer Christine Bean from "The Blacklist." I've worked with Christine a couple of times now and she is one of the most talented, kindest people in the business.