Dressmaker's Social with Vicki Halliday

Wow, that was a fun evening. Vicki Halliday also known as @vicki_mostly_sews on Instagram is one interesting lady 😝 

Vicki kindly agreed to talk to us about her day job... A Wardrobe Supervisor at the Guildford School of Acting... At tonight's Dressmaker's Social. 

I decided I would try and live Instagram her talk. So here are my frantically typing and photo's of Vicki's wonderful talk! Thank you Vicki!!! 

Getting ready to start...

We're off... Theatre Wardrobe Supervisor @vicki_mostly_sews is telling us about herself. From science to theatre degree and into costume she is now head of wardrobe at Guildford school of acting GSA. Her job is seasonal. Works in a university working with young learners and professionals and works on 20 shows in an academic year. Most of the work is third years working real theatre so the students know what it's like in the real world. Job is doing everything necessary to hit the deadline. 200 costumes for the Our House production. Lots of planning and organising.

Vicki started her costume career as a dresser at Glyndbourne. She has worked as a costume assistant at the English National Ballet and worked at the Royal Opera House. Whilst there she was able to go through their stock of costumes in Wales and make giant umbrellas out of crinolines.

"We have a big stock of costumes. Different sections. Wired stuff goes in panto. Every show and every day is different. Use as much as we can from stock. Hire things, military etc. Buy things or make them. Steer away from making as production times are short. Costumes have to perform too so there are lots of problems to solve. Then comes the laundry and maintenance and packing up!"

Budgets vary from about £5000 for a big show down to £900 for a play. Use charity shops and eBay a lot!

Name dropping time. as requested by Maria... She has dressed a member of S Club 7 or Steps when she worked on a production of Grease. She has also helped Charlie Dimmock into a dress and Michael Aspel a jacket.  

Disasters... Things might not work on stage under lights etc. Need to be pragmatic and not emotional! A girl got stuck in a dress and rather than cutting the zip the dress was cut. Had to be fixed for the next night 😳

Touching time! Sequin dresses are from Performace of into the woods. Two needed as one was a prop.

A wig for Rapunzel, with a detachable plait. Made of Raffia and soaked in fire retardant that took 3 days to dry. 

Clothes from a Shakespeare production including hand printed dresses and customised gilets.

A dress made by Vicki for The Importance for Being Ernest. 

Thank you so much Vicki for your awesome talk. 

Vicki has guest posted on the blog before and you can check out her refashioners post here!