The Power of Costume
Last week we presented a brand new public workshop for our friends at MM LaFleur, and it’s got us thinking about the power of costume.
(First of all, consider this a public manifestation of more workshops where the organizers say, “and of course, we’ll dress you.”)
When you’re doing a show, there’s nothing quite like the first day you get to wear your full costume onstage. You’ve done all the work to create a character within a particular world and a particular moment, but up until now, the work has been mostly internal. Now you get to look in a mirror and see that character come to life. You get to literally walk in their shoes!
Between the two of us, we’ve gotten to slip into hundreds of years of clothing styles, from corsets and bustles and hoop skirts and trains to contemporary clothing both sublime and ridiculous. We know what costume can do for embodiment.
Put on a 25-pound brocade Elizabethan court gown with a 3 foot wide “bum roll” (yes, that’s a real term)? You’re definitely gonna take space in a different way. Button yourself into a turn of the century frock with an enormous hat and gloves? You’re going to move and sit differently.
While you may have never experienced anything quite so extreme, we bet you know the transformation that can occur when you slip on your favorite blazer or your signature bold lip. (Heck, even mascara for that zoom call can make the difference sometimes.)
We’re all aware that we occupy a world where we are judged on our outward appearance, and that can feel maddening. The financial and energetic burden of maintaining the “standards” of outward appearance set by our industry, our company, our culture, or even our gender can feel utterly oppressive.
But there’s an opportunity to flip the script and see costume as a source of power.
If you DON’T like a required costume, you can make it part of your beginning and ending ritual — ”I step into this moment, and I also step out of it.”
If your costume feels like a huge departure from who you are otherwise, what might you add to it to feel a little more like yourself?
If you’re feeling extra pressure around a particular moment, what “talisman” could you add to your costume to give you some extra confidence? Perhaps a beloved piece of jewelry with family history or a signature color? (Client and friend Carrie Goldberg told us during her podcast episode about her habit of wearing “stabby accessories” for court appearances . . . )
Where might you explore a full alter-ego via costume, a la Drag Race?
While we will always advocate for the inner work that takes us lightyears beyond “Fake It ‘Til You Make It”, starting from the outside can be FUN! Costume can be wish fulfillment. It can be exploration!