Category Archives: Tailoring

PENNYWISE: CUSTOM COSTUME

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2017:
Victor V. asked us for a custom Pennywise costume for the premiere of IT, and this was a very cool project with some swell fabrics: Two colors of silk dupioni with great rouching and piping details all over the place, then garnished with wool yarn pom poms plus some great paisley trimmings and tassel fringe.  His makeup is by one of the artists at the Fear Factory right here in Salt Lake. Victor tells us he will be resurrecting Pennywise when the IT sequel hits the theaters in 2019:)

 

custom fitting- in the shop

custom fitting – in the shop

Custom clown spats in white canvas and black leather over platform shoes!

making some nifty custom spats

Pennywise- fabrics and trim: Silk dupioni and wool yarns

Fresh costume – looks a bit cleaner than a monster who’s been living in the sewers and caverns for a millenia:)

on the tracks outside out shop in the Granary District, Salt Lake City

 

 

 

Pennywise- waiting patiently for the IT sequel

Custom Surcotes & Caparisons: DGY Jousting

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August 4, 2018

 

We made custom costumes for Young Living’s jousters, horses and squires in this fantastic project. This is the DGY (David Gary Young) Jousting Team of Young Living Farm in Mona, Utah, and they are amazing.

 

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

 

The open, lattice-like costumes for the horses are called caparisons and their face shields are called chamfrons. We’ve created these with leather cut-work and inlay, embellished with decorative metal pieces, rivets and crystals.

 

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

 

We built the horse gear using chrome-tanned leathers backed with synthetic Rhino Cloth for extra weight, durability and resistance to wear and mildew.  Each horse echoes its jouster’s colors and sometimes his or her coat of arms, as in the case of Jacob Young’s dragons in black and red.

 

The word caparison originates from the 1585–95 Middle French caparasson (now caparaçon) and the Old Spanish caparazón, akin to capa or cape.

 

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

We made jousters’ sleeveless surcotes from black bison hide. Each of these tunics laces up its sides and has specialty leather inlay as well as hardware and rivets in either gold or silver.

 

DGY Jousting in their new 2018 attire at Young Living Farm in Mona, Utah Photo: Robert Hirschi

 

DGY Jousting in their new 2018 attire at Young Living Farm in Mona, Utah Photo: Robert Hirschi

 

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

 

DGY Jousting during Utah’s 2018 “Days of ’47” events at the Utah State Fairpark. Photo: David Boyd

 

Our design/build team for this was a big one- our shop’s principle  staff with additional stitchers and craftspeople jobbing in.  A great project and so fun to make such fantastic looks for DGY.

 

Jennifer McGrew
Hraefn Wulfson

Diane Thompson

Madeline Mann

Alex Buie

Carolyn Richardson

Liam Buie

Wendy Harbaugh

Andrea Fabrega

Isaac Doubek

Anastasia Najarian

Elijah Najarian

Nathan Dobbin

Konley Shanahan

Dresden Williams

Eliza Williams

Cate Allen

Nick Burke

Magen Mitchell

Uptown Embroidery

Heather Skola

Aubrey Kuefner

Todd Baker

Monica Ramirez

 

DGY’s armor in these photos is by Valentine Armouries in Las Vegas, NV.

 

Visit the Young Living farm events page for more info about jousting dates.

 

Our thanks to HeadnHome for the leather cavalier hats. These are beautifully made and you were wonderful to work with:)

 

Our thanks to Liz Davies, Young Living‘s Director of Farm Events. Our team loved working with yours. We look forward to more creative design as your production grows.

 

Thank you to Robert Hirschi and David A. Boyd for your photos here:)

Custom Steampunk Tailoring

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The beauty of steampunk fashion, enhanced by the beauty of hair and makeup design genius, Amber Pearson.

McGrew Studios’ custom corset, Zouave jacket, skirt, tap pants and detachable bustle.

2014.

custom patterned and fit in brocade and moire’ over coutil with 24 steel stays plus lacing stays in the center back

bustle development

bustle development

sleeve development

bolero development front

bolero development back

on display, at Salt Lake City’s Absinthe Parlour Salon

Custom Clerical Vestments

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Custom clerical vestments for charismatic minister, Jared Anderson.

 

Jared is one of those super smart, compassionate and completely charismatic people who makes you reflect in fun ways on your life’s transcendent values and the world around you. We adore him.

See these to learn more about Jared and his ministry:

239-243: Jared Anderson – An Academic Introduction to the New Testament

https://allevents.in/provo/jared-anderson-secular-thought-in-religious-practice/1756068798019318

 

 

Some 2018 construction process pics: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juno, Wife of Jupiter: Custom Costume for USU’s Ludi Romani Games

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Goddess Juno Costume- USU’s Ludi Romani games

Classics’ Ludi Romani Games, a 20-Year Tradition, Casts Alumni as Roman Gods

Thursday, Apr. 05, 2018

A fun costume we made in 2012 for Utah State University Classics professor, Francis Titchener. 

Frances Titchener appeared as the goddess Juno in the 2016 Ludi Romani games hosted by Classics. Alumna Teri Gee portrays Venus, a role she will recreate this year as well. Juno’s sacred animal was the peacock, which is reflected in Titchener’s goddess robes. Photo: USU.edu

Custom Sock Mascot: Observepoint

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Utah-based analytics and marketing giant OBSERVEPOINT knows how to make convention attendees remember their brand.

 

 

Observepoint gives their booth guests custom printed socks! — that’s right– custom printed socks that you can wear, in a variety of dye sublimation printed designs — (instead of shoving logo-laden thumb drives into their visitors’ hands like every other booth does).  It’s a really ingenious marketing idea and was right up our alley as a design project. 

 

They asked us to create an 8ft tall custom sock mascot using their javascript design (one that’s full of easter eggs, employee nicknames and inside jokes – so we’re told).  We patterned then built the giant sock from polyethelene foam and had their print design enlarged 700 times into custom dye-sub fabric from which we made its outside cover.  Lightweight and comfy, this mascot’s face and arm holes allow their rep to have a great time interacting with booth visitors.

 

Our thanks to Observepoint Field Marketing Manager: Trachelle Tanner.

 

Adobe Summit March 2018, Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

 

 

 

https://www.observepoint.com/mobile-analytics-summit/confirmation/

https://www.facebook.com/ObservePoint/photos/a.10151223038382076.446984.58392662075/10155499438457076/?type=3

 

 

 

 

CFO SUPERHERO: PLURALSIGHT

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Pluralsight’s popular Chief Revenue Officer, Joe DiBartolomeo.

 

On stage in Florida at their January 2018 sales kickoff event-

 

 

 

Concept art: Adam Gunn, Pluralsight Creative Director.

 

 

Fitting day: Joe and Adam at Pluralsight’s Kaysville, Utah offices-

 

A base-layer batman suit, about to be cannibalized/customized-

 

 

Custom dye sub printed fabric in Pluralsight’s orange-to-pink gradient, fashioned into a superhero cape-

 

 

Cape pleating-

 

 

More custom dye sub fabric-

 

 

Prepping lighting elements for Joe’s chest piece-

 

 

Ready now for color change on its outer gasket-

 

 

Prepping chest feature with binding around circumference and velcro mounting surface-

Custom 18th Century Dress: Filmed in Utah Awards Show

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A promotional three-piece gown, created and worn to present the award for best costume design at the 2nd Annual Filmed in Utah Awards Show, 2013.

With little more than a week to build, its value (with the pannier) is about 5k. The least costly parts of this dress are its fabrics, mostly imported synthetics. My pals helped me fit, hem and hand-finish so we could get this done in time.

Asked to present that year’s award for best costumes in front of hundreds of people, I couldn’t simply head to Macy’s or Nordstrom to look for any old dress.

 

 

With Marlys Miller-Fladeland and her daughter.

 

On display for a time in our shop’s front parlour. Pierpont Avenue location.

 

Inspiration.
Pages from the Chronicles of Western Fashion.  John Peacock , Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1991.
Costumes 1775-1780. pp 136-137

In our shop we refer to this book as “the bible”.  It’s one of our most used texts. We often hand it to clients, asking them to describe the silhouette and details of costumes they want by picking elements out of the lineup. It’s a great book. Its illustrations detail changes in silhouette and ornamentation in a decade-by-decade progression.

 

Dear friend and dressing helper, backstage, Brent.

With actor Danny James.

Being accosted by James Christian Morris.

With the radiant, brilliant Jennifer Sommers.

 

With voiceover talent Brenda Myers.

 

With artist Timm Paxton.

 

 

Backstage at the Grand Theater, with hair and makeup genius Amber Pearson.

 

Final fitting in the shop.

Brittany Babb and Melissa Welinsky mark my front hem while I hold the yardstick.


Temporary white lacing in the final fitting.

Ready to mark the hem, standing on the cutting table.

Sleeves developed. Shown here on a dress dummy along with a vest I was making for another client, over a wonderful necktie kilt made by Melissa Welinsky.  An interesting outfit.

 

Jennifer Sommers, adjusting the straps inside the pannier, pulling them in tighter to create a wider, flatter pannier profile.

 

 

Bodice fitting. Many thanks to Jean Hunnisett, author of Period Costume for Stage and Screen, for wonderful recipes, construction details, research and period patterns in your books- a treasured part of my library.

 

In the beginning: Merely a big collage of fabrics that look swell together.

 

Custom Futuristic Costumes: Pluralsight video and Pluralsight Live 2017

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Meet “Zero” and “One,” Pluralsight’s “future people”.

Appearing in the stunning video (above) shown during Pluralsight Live’s opening session, the branded mascots then appeared in person periodically throughout all three days of the event, intriguing and mingling with enthusiastic conference goers.

A full spectrum of colors enhanced the actors’ first set of costumes. A series of creative in-camera effects captured actors Phillip Istomin and Alexis Chanel being doused with paints and powders during the high frame-rate filming.

A great team includes the creators of the Pluralsight promo video,  JMills Entertainment.  Art direction and marketing by Adam Gunn, John Jensen and their colleagues at Pluralsight. Two sets of identical costumes for Zero and One custom built by Jennifer McGrew with Kelly Hawthorne.  Behind-the-scenes shots of the video shoot by Dee and Cory. Live performance scheduling logistics at the Grand America by Webb Event Production and the lovely Xenia Maritsas. On-location wardrobe tech and dressing by Jennifer McGrew.

Pluralsight Live User Conference, Salt Lake’s Grand America Hotel, Sept 19-21, 2017.

https://www.pluralsight.com/
http://www.jmillsent.com/
http://www.webbproduction.com/
https://mcgrewstudios.com/
http://www.deeandcory.com/

 

‘Future People’ concept art: Pluralsight’s Adam Gunn

 

Prior to all the paint and color that doused them during the filming… One and Zero in their snappy new white future suits.

 

Initial paint splash on the costumes. Model Phillip Istomin gets some great air on that paint while smashing the ceramic container with a white sledgehammer. Model Alexis Chanel calmly observes.

 

A ‘before’ and ‘after’ set of custom costumes in the shop. All ready to head to the Grand America Hotel for Pluralsight Live

Custom Rock & Roll Tribute Dresses: The Cramps

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To celebrate its 28th anniversary, SLUG Magazine staged a fashion show featuring 28 designers, 28 models, plus hair and makeup by The Paul Mitchell School of Salt Lake City and Ogden as well as the Taylor Andrews Academy.

Jen McGrew was assigned the year 2009 and created a tribute dress to *The Cramps*. Their lead singer, Lux Interior, died in 2009, appearing on SLUG’s March cover of that year.  Rest in peace, LUX! Old rockers like us still miss you:(

 

 

The dress is a custom cincher with a basque and tutu of custom dye sublimation-printed fabric featuring The Cramps’ logo and artwork from their first album, “Bad Music for Bad People”. Custom, cute sequined bikini bottoms and removable veil are icing on this delightful cake. Modeled by the lovely Yazmine Tatiana @MermaidNymora , with makeup by @cakefacedeez , we are very proud of these show-stoppers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much to Angela Brown and everyone on the SLUG Magazine crew, all the designers, models, makeup and hair artists, DJ’s and Robert Hyrum Hirschi for the wonderful pics here.

 

Nice article with pics about SLUG’s 28th anniversary fashion show here: http://www.slugmag.com/…/slug-28th-anniversary-fashion-show/

 

Congratulations SLUG and here’s to 28 more!