Costumes for the Stage

A Complete Handbook for Every Kind of Play

Sheila Jackson

• Publisher: New Amsterdam Books
• Year: 2001
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9781461663287
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Drama

This updated edition of Costumes for the Stage aims at simplicity in all aspects of designing and making costumes. It is designed primarily for those who need to dress plays on a small budget, whether for amateur, semi-professional, or professional groups. Starting with five pages illustrating the basic shapes of each period, Sheila Jackson provides practical advice for every kind of play, together with drawings, diagrams, and patterns from which to work. Included are sections on Greek plays, medieval miracles and mysteries, Shakespeare, seventeenth century, eighteenth century, Victorian and Edwardian costume, the twenties and thirties, and the present day. Each section covers the details of men's and women's clothes (hats, collars, shoes, jewelry, etc.) as well as methods for adapting and simplifying the style of the period. There are also sections on pantomimes and musicals, pageants and school plays, and invaluable advice on underwear, fabrics, measurements and fitting, the use of color, and simple ways to make masks, crowns, and decorations. The revised edition features expanded text and new illustrations. Hundreds of line drawings and no-nonsense, authoritative text combine to make this an essential book of costume design.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Planning and equipment
• 2 Measurements, patterns and fitting
• 3 The changing shape of period costume
• 4 Greek Drama
• 5 Medieval costume, miracles and mysteries
• 6 Shakespeare and the sixteenth century
• 7 The seventeenth century
• 8 The eighteenth century
• 9 The nineteenth century
• 10 From 1895 to the First World War
• 11 The twenties and thirties
• 12 Yesterday and today
• 13 Underwear and nightwear
• 14 Thinking about design
• 15 Trimmings
• 16 Adapting a hat
• 17 Fabrics, plain and patterned
• 18 Some simple methods for accessories
• 19 Musicals
• 20 Pantomimes
• 21 Pageants and carnivals
• 22 Especially for schools
• 23 Curtain up
• Bibliography
• Index