Rule #1 When Converting Off The Rack Fashion to Costume... Zippers!!
Frequently in the entertainment world, not every costume you see on stage, has been made to order for that purpose. The above photo is a perfect example of a fashion to costume conversion I worked on for Taylor Swift's Red Tour. We took off the rack red fashion dresses and replaced the upper bodice (because the girls on the tour were bigger in the chest and needed more coverage that what the original dress offered) and I replaced the original plastic fashion zipper with a red wide tooth zipper, along with some "wopper poppers" (quarter size snaps) and some big hook and eyes to make it quick change and keep it all in place.
When a designer or wardrobe stylist puts a show together, they frequently utilize garments and clothing that are "off the rack" fashion which they have usually shopped for online, in retail stores, second hand consignment shops, vintage stores and so on.
Although these garments may have the look and feel they are going for, a few more things need to happen to them before they are ready to hit the stage.
This is where costume rigging comes in.
Most fashion is made for limited use and normal wear and tear. Some special occasion items may only get worn one time! The zippers that are usually found in fashion or off the rack clothing are frequently thin and made of cheap thin plastic. They might be invisible zippers or plastic coil zippers.
In any case, the original fashion zipper has got to go, if you plan on using this item for quick change, frequent or daily use on a show or tour. If you don't take the tech week or prep time to swap a fashion zipper out beforehand with something more durable, you're just asking for it. Karma will do her job. You will spend a great deal of time crying backstage and dealing with zipper failure in East Jesus, where there are no fabric stores, as punishment. If it happens mid show, you will be to blame, nobody wants to get caught with their zipper down or miss a que or scene all together, because you didn't do your job!
I change, repair and replace zippers on almost every shift, at the theme park where I work. When you are working with performers who are doing multiple shows per day, it just happens. It is considered normal wear and tear for a costume that has been in use for years. One thing that I suggest is always having a duplicate or back up costume, but sometimes that is not possible due to the budget.
Choosing a replacement zipper:
Will it show?
Does it need to separate at the bottom like with a jacket?
Metal vs Wide Tooth Plastic?
Metal tends to be the most durable.
Wide tooth should be used as a minimum replacement.
What other rigging can be done to make dressing and / or quick change fast and easy? (More posts on those subjects coming)
Here's a link to http://www.wawak.com/Zippers/Zippers-1
I love this site. They have an amazing selection of virtually every zipper styles and colors on the market.
If you are a costume shop, email them and ask them to send you a zipper sample package, which will include a swatch card of every zipper weight in both metal and plastic and a swatch card of every zipper color available.
They can also send you a catalog and other samples, which I keep in my mobile sewing kit.
You're Welcome!!
My best advise is to make the replacement installation, as simple as possible.
Here's a side note entitled:
Rant #1 on the sewing skills required for the job you're about to do.
If you're not "good" with a seam ripper or zippers, please do one of the following:
A. Quit your sewing job and find something else to do for a living. NOW. BuBye.
Or
B. Ask for help, watch tutorials, learn these skills and ask questions BEFORE you proceed!!
There is a delicate art to opening a seam. You must find the threads that are responsible for holding it all together and cut them and all their friends without destroying the rest of the area. If you go in there all Willy Nilly and with no brains, patience or control you could rip into fabric and unravel things that have nothing to do with the task at hand and cause yourself all kinds of other unrelated repair work or damage.
War Story:
I had two girls I recommended for a very high profile show I was working on. They both said they could sew and each had their own clothing lines. They were each assigned to do some simple seam ripping, so we could add gussets to arm pits. (I'll tell you how to do that in another post) They both proceeded without asking for any help or advice on how to pick out a serged seam in a lace garment and by the time they were finished it looked like someone had done the job with a weed wacker.
Please. Don't be that girl!! Her day job was changing adult diapers, she was probably much better at that. If you want to practice seam ripping, take a garment that is headed to Goodwill and practice on it!!
Rant # 2, Many people I work with hate dealing with zippers and will run in the other direction when it's time to do so. If you're not good at putting in zippers then pay close attention. Learning how to do this is a key skill to becoming a costume seamstress. You can only avoid it for so long. Please learn how to do this and become good at it.
When I hire people for costume seamstress and repair related sewing, I include two key skills on a sewing test.
1. Have them open a delicate serged seam with a seam ripper.
Any thrift store garment with a delicate serged seam will do. Photograph the seam before and after for grading.
2. Replace a zipper.
Any thrift store garment will do.
Photograph the zipper and seams before removal to compare with the after for grading.
Ok. Good Talk. Back to the task at hand.
Here's the step by step:
1. Carefully remove the flimsy plastic coil fashion or invisible zipper using a seam ripper.
2. Replace the fashion zipper with a wide tooth plastic or metal tooth zipper that vary in weight, but look like this:
3. I usually pin and then top stitch the new zipper in, so it can be easily replaced.
I am not going to try and reinvent the wheel here by telling you all the million ways you can install a zipper. There are a ton of tutorials on YouTube for exposed, lap and double lap zipper installation techniques. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+install+a+zipper
Stay tuned for more costume rigging tips and tricks, subscribe or join my Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/CostumeRigging/
Gina Vincenza