Costume Nerd Club

So I haven't made an announcement yet, but I will be teaching (in-person!) at PatternCon 2025 in Charlotte, NC this August! (-screams anxiously.-) This is an inaugural event that my patternmaking teacher Tricia (Creative Costume Academy) has been dreaming of starting, and it's finally happening this year. It's going to be a two day convention of sewing folks and pattern enthusiasts, with workshops, lectures, vendors, etc, etc. So what am I going to be doing?? I'm offering two workshops: 1) Sloper for Costumes and Cosplay YES, I am finally distilling my entire "how I make costumes from a sloper" method into a 3-hour workshop. I'll be walking everyone through my analysis and R&D process, and leading exercises to show people how to apply these practices to their costuming. It's A LOT. 2) Bust Support Through the Ages Another opportunity to channel all the research I've done for TT videos into something fun and informative-- a time traveling trip through 2000 years of bust support in Western fashion! I'm starting in Antiquity and ending in 2025. This one is just a lecture/stand-up comedy routine but. Again, a LOT. I haven't really talked too much about this yet, but ultimately, I would love to lean into teaching/speaking engagements, so this is a big opportunity for me! I tried to pick topics that were versatile so that whatever materials I develop (slide decks, scripts, activities, etc) can be repurposed for other mediums (Youtube videos, online courses, webinars, etc). Trying to work smarter! So here's what I need from y'all... If you showed up to either of these sessions, what would get you excited? What questions do you have about these concepts and what would you hope to learn/take away from the experience? Tell me below or email me directly! I would love to hear your opinions. And YES, I will be filming both sessions and making them available for Costume Nerd Club members 😇 If anyone is interested in attending PatternCon, it's August 16-17 2025. You can purchase tickets here. (It's a pretty penny but worth it if you are in this place in your journey)

I've been thinking about this so much since starting work in costuming and I guess I'd just love to hear feedback on an idea I have about how I want to conduct myself as a costume designer. In theater, there are typically a lot of purchases made. And when budgets are low, many places resort to the "Bezos Boutique" ahem for costumes. (Along with other exploitative companies and fast fashion chains.) More and more, I want to make a list of places that I will not purchase from as a designer. And it's not meant to be a "well, I can only purchase from designer companies" but more of a focus on: • can I focus on buying locally? • can I thrift or rent more items that have future use than single-use slop? • can I avoid supporting exploitative companies? I know the response from many designers would be: but we don't get paid enough to do XYZ to accommodate that. Which ultimately means that either WE as designers are exploited for the time it would take to ethically buy (let's face it, we're already exploited though) OR it means designers have to resort to exploitative companies. I'm designing a show this summer, and really considering using it as a soft launch of this internal ethical list of alternatives. I know it'll be hard, and will take time, but I also am deeply curious what it would take to do this work in a way that aligns with my personal beliefs. Anyway, I'm curious if folks have every seen this in action? Or been in discussions around this? Or even have feedback or tips on this kind of thing?

I'll be getting my Bachelors this year and I was thinking about getting a Masters in Costume Design. Fashion design was a dream of mine since junior high school and I was always specifically into costume design all throughout my twenties. I was wondering what you think about how necessary this is. I do have chronic health issues so I wont be able to work on sets/theatres. This is making me think maybe I should get a Masters in Fashion Business. -- though I know I would be interested in it, my heart, excitement and inspiration is in sewing, costumes, designs, etc. I'm thinking maybe I should just get the certificate from FIT? Is it possible to get remote work for costume design ? ( since i will have to be remote with any job i get ) I'm 36, is this a factor people consider when hiring in this part of the industry? Just trying to determine what would be feasible for me considering the reality of my situation while staying in integrity with my passion. Thanks for listening! :)