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Costumes And The Clothes We Wear

What would cinema or theatre be without costumes?  They are such a basic, foundational element to stage and screen that we take them for granted.  The reality is, without costumes, cinema and theatre wouldn’t be cinema and theatre.

For me, costumes and the actual clothes we wear are deeply connected.

Famous costume designer Edith Head (if you’ve ever seen the movie Incredibles, Edna Mode is rumored to be inspired by her) had some important thoughts on costumes.

“What a costume designer does is a cross between magic and camouflage. We create the illusion of changing the actors into what they are not. We ask the public to believe that every time they see a performer on the screen, he's become a different person.”

Is it possible we are missing the connection for ourselves and the clothing that we wear?  

In a sense we are all putting on costumes everyday.  They can either be like magic, and help us gain confidence and comfort and assist us on our path before the world or they can do the opposite.  They can help those we engage with believe in the part we play or they can do the opposite. A really good costume is no costume at all, because it reflects the truth of what is being conveyed.  Are we interested in conveying good things? 

It doesn’t matter if we’re a financial advisor, a physician under a lab coat or a kindergarten teacher.  We have the option to think about what we’re wearing and realize it’s even more important than a costume, because we’re not wearing our clothes on stage or in front of the camera.  We’re wearing them for our actual lives. And that is something to take seriously.  

What should we wear?  What changes should we make in how we dress?  

That’s the fun part.  We’re never done. Just as our roles and responsibilities are always changing at home and in our careers, so should our costume.  And just like in designing a costume we have the fun of wearing clothes that resonate with who we are and what we choose to convey. And when we do that, there’s no costume anymore.  Just truth.