What the Heck??

A Cut Above Costumes recently sent out costumes for a production of Peter Pan.  I have been looking at show shots, and this one sort of jumped out at me.  I can see three things wrong here, right off the top of my head.  First, I'm not sure why the child in the striped nightshirt has a black T-shirt under it...this is not a good thing, but I'm guessing he has not the time to change.  This happens, and we can forgive.  The little boy on the right is not wearing the pajamas we sent out.  We sent out pink bunny-slippered jammies, which are traditional for the role.  Perhaps the child didn't like the thought of pink pajamas, thinking they looked too feminine.  This is just a function of changing associations over time.  Little boys, in the time period in which Peter Pan takes place, wore dresses until they were out of diapers, and colours were not considered gender-specific.  But the biggest problem I see is

THIS!

What the everlasting heck happened here?  It looks as if random buttons have been installed in random places, probably with loops, to make the skirt shorter.  Now I don't have Ramona's eagle eye for costumes, but I am pretty sure that this one was set to have a skirt under it because it was too short for the actress who was slated to wear it.  I noticed because the underskirt matched the dress so perfectly that it really looked as if it was meant to be there.  So, one of two things has happened here.  Either the dress was swapped with a shorter actress, or the measurements were wrong, showing the actress to be much taller than she actually is.  If that is the case, her other costumes are much too long, as well.  I didn't see her in the other pics...after all, most of the play takes place in Neverland, not London.

Still, just a note to the theaters...PLEASE check your measurements before you bring them to us.  Seriously.  All theaters make some pretty egregious errors from time to time (I KNOW the 5'7" boy who weighs 130 does not have 21" shoulders and a 34" inseam), so directors need to check the measurements carefully before sending them out.  You are paying a fair bit for our services.  We cannot read your minds, or travel to Abilene, Brownwood or wherever to measure your actors ourselves; what we have to go on is what you send us.

All I have to say is that no proper Edwardian lady would step out of her dressing room in a gown that looked like this.

I am sorry if this post ticks anyone off, but I am a bit ticked, myself.  Ramona works very hard to design your shows, and I work hard making things fit.  It is discouraging to see this sort of inappropriate fix out there on a stage, with our names in the program as having provided it.

Please note that the above is my opinion only, and Ramona has not said a word.  She is far too nice to do so.