Last fall the theatre where I work decided to produce the musical “The Addams Family”, and as a trainee in the atelier I got the opportunity to be part of the making of the costumes for the show.

It was so much fun making all of these crazy costumes with lots and lots of strange special solutions and tecnhiques to them.

Here are a few shoots of what it looked like at work during this hectic couple of months.

Cut stripes sewn to black satin as making of a fabric that later would turn into a pair of 16th Century breeches.

Making of a 16th Century neck-ruffle (my speciality by now).

A newly draped collar for a 17th century colonaire.

Tap-shoes.

A plastic arm that will become “The Thing”.

General Patton.

Skeleton body-suits.

Then after you spent days on geting every seam perfect, cutting every lose thread and pressing like crazy, the costumes are taken in to the next room – and comes out totally ruined!

No, I’m kidding.

But almost every costume in theatre needs to be “distressed” in some way or another. Or else it would look like every one in town (even the poor ones) bought their clothes that same morning. And for this show no one would be wearing “new” clothes.

Here are some before and after pics of a couple of ghost costumes.

Elvis lives.

Reedy for shipment to the Theatre.

Laurel and Hardy waiting for their costume fittings. Their 4 friends will drop by later for their fittngs.

This fellow scared the shit out of most of us at some point or another, as it was constantly being moved around the atelier, suddenly standing next to you or peeking round a corner.