Day 6

  today's outfit: thrifted scarf, vintage gold earrings, Forever 21 shirt and jean shorts, New York and Company espadrille wedges

Day 6 was just great. It was a long day full of thrifting, so I had to get to work at 9:30AM. I've been spoiled with my normal 10AM time, so this was kind of rough. The costume shop manager, costume designer, and I left the shop to find some more clothes for Hairspray. Since the kids still haven't arrived, we just had to find as much stuff as we could in different sizes until we have actual measurements. We first went to Community Thrift, a consignment megastore with tons of stuff. Apparently they were having a big "blue tag sale" where many of the items were less than a dollar. Needless to say, it was packed. Everything was well organized and sorted, so I know I'll definitely be back when I have the time. We picked up about $140 worth of stuff, including suits for $8, shirts for 1$, and tons of pink capri pants. I have my eye on a few things that I know won't be there when I return, but I can still hope....

After all of that hard work we just had  to eat, so we went to Five Guys. I love that place and had a wonderful talk about race relations and the ignorance of some of the people my "bosses" lived around. They were so amused, and surprised, at the natural hair community and the importance that African American women gave to their hair. It was informative for them to learn more about me, and also for me to see just how naive the dominant cultures can be of minorities. Sometimes I have such little patience for ignorance/naivety. I thought it was great.

We went to one of the nicest Goodwills I've ever been to. I had my eye on a Carolina blue "White Castle: Employee of the Month, 1971" shirt and a one- piece denim jumpsuit that I'm praying no one else will fit/want. I'm going to have to spend a whole day thrifting in Orlando. We bought about $100 worth of stuff like belts, men's pants, and men's shirts. Boys are so much harder to buy for, because altering a dress is relatively easy.....men's tailoring is a whole different story. Thicker fabrics, crazy tailoring, intricate stitching, etc. Menswear is a craft, and a type of fashion all to its own.

We also stopped at JoAnns to buy a ton of fabric and thread for the 20+ costumes that will have to be made for the "principle"or main characters. Then we headed over to a small, nondescript shop that I would have certainly passed if I hadn't been told it was a fabric store. Inside were tons of fabrics, and very interesting individuals who clearly were regulars. Some were buying long rolls of fabric for garments, while another woman was buying only one yard for her miniature dolls that she designs outfits for and sells for $1200. I need to get into the doll- making business -__-
We picked up an amazing purple and orange sequence fabric that was $15 a yard...and we bought 5 yards. This was actually one of the cheapest fancy fabrics, as many can cost up to 40- something dollars a yard! The fabric is going to be used for one of the main characters in the finale, who is going to be in drag. The dress will fit her personality perfectly, and the flashy fabric will look amazing. I'm excited to see the designs for that dress.

We stopped at Lake Highland Prep school, a beautiful primary school....on a lake... where a bunch of snobby rich kids have all the latest technology and great teachers. I'm sure if I had children I'd want them to go there..but since I don't...I'm just going to keep on hating. They must have a huge theatre program because we had to drive off "campus" to go to a building where they kept their storage. They had a costume stock that rivaled the shop I work at! I couldn't believe that elementary school kids got to use all of these great things. It was impressive. We got a lot of stuff from there. One of the dresses that we found was actually made by the costume designer years ago for an opera, and when the opera went under, they had to see their stock and the LHP bought some of their things. It was such a cool coincidence to see one of her old creations. We got a ton of stuff for free, and then returned to the shop.

After that, the day was spent organizing and labeling garments the way I had done for the best two days. I had a ton of fun, and got to see what it was like to be a designer and costume shop manager. I'm considering becoming a costume shop manager in the future, when I'm looking for a stable job.

What better way to blend my love of interior design and costume design than becoming a costume shop manager who's responsible for the look of garments and the shop itself?!