Costume designers for theatre, film, and television use elements of design to convey to the audience visual information about characters. As individuals, we choose attire to communicate to others who we are.

Dressing the Part, On and Off the Stage, the new exhibition presented by the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at the College of Human Ecology, explores the personalities portrayed by costumes designed for various types of stage performances, and how they translate into clothing selected by or made for individuals to perform the 'roles' of themselves. On display will be costume renderings from The Ohio State University Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute (TRI) and garments from the Collection.

The exhibition opens to the public on Wednesday, October 23, in the Snowden Galleries of the Geraldine Schottenstein Wing of Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, across from Mirror Lake at The Ohio State University. It is open to the public at no charge and runs through May 17, 2003. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The displays in Dressing the Part, On and Off Stage, depict four character types:

1. The Youthful Innocent
2. The Sophisticate
3. Dangerous Women and Rogues
4. Performers and Entertainers

The Youthful Innocent:

The youthful innocents are the heroes and heroines of the performance world. In females, the young ingénue character is typically portrayed by costuming that suggests purity, modesty, simplicity, and other child-like qualities. An example of such costuming is the exhibition’s deep rose Oscar de la Renta chiffon dress designed for Twyla Tharp’s ballet Nine Sinatra Songs. The garment has short puffed sleeves, a cummerbund cinches the waist, and ruffles adorn the neckline. More ruffles embellish the short, full skirt, which is designed to swirl and sway with the dancer’s moves, emphasizing the energy of youth.

A dress that belonged to the mother of Grace Heck Faust, the first female law school graduate from The Ohio State University in 1931, is a perfect example of a personal garment that expresses identity. The two-piece dress of white dotted swiss and lace is typical of the lingerie dress style that was popular between 1905 and 1915. It features a deep flounced skirt, modified long bishop sleeves, a high neck, and tiny buttons down the back. The color, style, and trim convey youthful innocence and purity.

Color costume renderings from the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute depict male garb that is typical of the young hero. One of Romeo displays the silhouette typical of the sixteenth century, featuring broad masculine shoulders and form-fitting fabric that showcases the strong, athletic legs. A photo features a Canadian Mountie uniform, which conveys the personality of the assertive hero, ready to fight for right.

The Sophisticate:

The sophisticated character is older than the ingénue and is often conveyed by costuming that is more formal and tailored. Several costume renderings by famous Hollywood costumers are on display, including a very tailored business-like suit for a Joan Crawford look-alike by Irene; a long, lean emerald dress for Lauren Bacall made by Charles LaMaire for the 1958 movie The Gift of Love, and a tailored suit created for Elizabeth Taylor by Moss Mabry for the movie Giant.

From the TRI, a sapphire blue beaded satin ballet costume made by Oscar de la Renta for Nine Sinatra Songs portrays the sophisticated woman. The straight skirt and long, lean lines contrast markedly with the youthful innocence suggested by the deep rose de la Renta costume. The blue garment is sleeveless and designed to cling to the dancer’s body, displaying the sinuous, powerful lines of the sophisticate rather than the delicate, ethereal quality of the youthful innocent.

The male sophisticate, like the female, is portrayed using conservative, formal tailoring. Formal evening wear and three-piece suits with vests, ascots and walking sticks are the epitome of the well-dressed sophisticate, as in the renderings on display for Dick Diver in Tender Is the Night, Steve McQueen in the title role forPapillon, and Mordechai in A Shayna Maidel, a 1985 play. Examples of this type of dress from the Costume Collection are a tailored white linen suit from the turn of the 19th - 20th century and a formal tuxedo.

Dangerous Women and Rogues:

The dark ladies of the theatre and movies are frequently portrayed by “sex symbol” costumes that have plunging necklines, features that broaden the shoulders, and nipped waists. In this category, the exhibition will feature a black net and feather negligee designed by Oleg Cassini for blond actress Carroll Baker. She wore this alluring garment while playing in the 1962 Broadway comedy Come on Strong by Garson Kanin.

For publicity of the 1965 movie Harlow, Carroll Baker wore a pink beaded dress designed by Edith Head. Several versions of this dress were made, and one of them, donated to the Costume Collection by the actress, will be on display beside a black-and-white photo of her in another version of the dress. In the Costume Collection’s version, a form-fitting mesh fabric serves as a ground on which thousands of pink beads are sewn. The slinky, sexy gown reveals strategic parts of the anatomy, such as the décolletage, and hints at and emphasizes others, such as the hips. A prolific Hollywood costumer, Edith Head created costumes for over 500 films. Costume renderings on display of likeable rogues include the Bootlegger sketch for Mame by Robert MacIntosh, and Eduardo Sicangco’s design for Nicky Paradise, a likeable, friendly lounge lizard in On the Verge. Nicky is a guy who sees himself as a gift to the ladies. He emulates Elvis with his sideburns, pompadour hairstyle, and celebrity sunglasses. Yet the use of light trousers and an open-neck ruffled shirt, paired with a dark jacket, add a warm, light value to his costume, keeping him likeable rather than sinister. The Bootlegger’s chalk stripe suit is typical of gangsters, yet its boldness is emphasized to the point that it becomes overstated and comic. The song-and-dance man quality created by the bowler and walking stick make the character more likeable and non-threatening. Typical costumes of gangsters and rogues are exaggerated versions of the sophisticate. The double-breasted pinstripe suit from the Collection is an example of such a garment.

Visitors to the exhibition will see a variation of this beaded dress designed by Edith Head for Carroll Baker, the actress who played the role of Jean Harlow in the movie Harlow in 1965. Edith Head was a prolific Hollywood costumer, having costumed for over 500 films.

Famous dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov’s costume, which he wore to perform in Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove with American Ballet Theatre in 1976, is on display as another example of a garment portraying a likeable male rogue. The brown velvet trousers and russet satin top project the image of a likeable, accessible character, with a youthful exuberance and a comic side. The shirt cuffs and neckline are trimmed in a Byzantine mosaic brocade, the shirt hem is trimmed in a rich paisley.

In 1930s Berlin, cabaret singer and dancer Elizabeth Gimbel, known by the stage name of Canta Maya, wore this feathered Carmen Miranda style costume in her acts.

Performers and Entertainers: The purpose of the showgirl costume is to glamorize, flatter, and adorn the female form. The exhibition features several theatre costumes and personal garments that achieve this goal. In 1930s Berlin, cabaret singer and dancer Elizabeth Gimbel, known by the stage name of Canta Maya, wore a feathered Carmen Miranda style costume in her acts. Her orange and magenta feathered confection is on display, along with photos of her performing on stage and posing for publicity photos. Her voice reverberates through the gallery from a recording of her songs, which were typical of a 1930s chanteuse. The ultimate blend of theatre and fashion lies in garments created by designers for couture runway shows. These garments portray an image and/or a lifestyle. On display is a black Givenchy evening dress created by the famous designer for Terre Blair Hamlisch to wear to an opening night of the Metropolitan Opera. As wife of Marvin Hamlisch, the former Columbus television news anchor performed the role of herself in a black dress of silk faille with a slightly dropped waist, boned bodice, and bubble skirt with a short hem in front that dips to a longer length in back. The straight three-quarter length sleeves and the bodice glitter with vertical bands of rhinestones and rows of beads that are black, silver, and clear. The ballet neckline and the ends of the sleeves shimmer with a blooming effect created by slim black shiny plastic feathers. The garment dazzles the beholder; the wearer, however, had to contend with the weight of the couture-quality garment - a good twenty pounds.

Bob Mackie, famous for his creations on both the Carol Burnett Show and the Sonny and Cher Show, parlayed his success in television to the fashion runway with the same glamorous evening gowns he designed for the stars. A rendering for one of Ms Burnett’s gowns from 1967 is on display, accompanied by a short beaded Mackie dress from the 1980s. Made from myriads of strands of beads that swing and sway with the wearer’s every move, the dress is ombréd, meaning the color graduates from light to dark. The beads at the neckline start with white and move to gold, bronze, light brown, dark reddish brown, and, finally, black at the hem.

The Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at Ohio State is a 9,000+ item repository of historic artifacts used for education, research, and public outreach. The Ohio State University Libraries’ Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute collects, preserves, maintains, and makes accessible research materials pertaining to performing arts. For further information about the exhibit or to arrange tours of 10+, contact the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at 614-292-3090 or e-mail us at strege.2@osu.edu. 

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