Assassins
Tailoring by
Janson Fangio
For this production of Assassins I built 4 waistcoats, 3 frock coats, 3 pairs of trousers, 1 over coat, 1 Edwardian gown, and Squeeky Fromme's red robes. I had very little time to breathe in getting this production off it's feet as this was my first show in the position of Costume Shop Manager for the FACTC and I therefore had only 3 weeks from my hire date to opening to design AND manage the build of the show. Although it is not very large in relation to other musicals, it is very specific on characters, spanning from the 1860s to the 1980s.
I therefore built a lot of victorian clothing for this production as many of the historical events covered take place in the 19th century i.e. 1865, 1881, 1901. The other periods (1933, 1963, 1974-5 and 1981) are relatively easy to dress from costume stock and thrift store shopping. I did, however, build most of Sara Jane Moore's 1975 wardrobe as, again, the look of what she was wearing when she tried to shot Ford is very specific. I made a very distinct effort to replicate as best I could exactly what all of these real people were wearing on the actual dates of their infamy. |
Confederate WaistCoat 1865
This is as close as I could replicate the waistcoat worn by David Herold on the day of his execution in July 1865. I don't know that he was wearing the same clothes on the night he was captured -the scene in the play- as the day he was executed but I do not have a picture of him in Richard Henry Garrett's barn on April 26, 1865, only the one seen above taken over 2 months later. I could imagine, however, judging from the tattered condition of his clothes and the nature of his incarceration and trial that he could very well have been wearing at least some the same clothes throughout. I was particularly drawn to his confederate army waistcoat as a symbol of his loyalty to the vanquished rebellion.
This waistcoat was built from scratch and I spent virtually no money in materials; I used some old, tattered wool that I found in a box for the body of the vest, an old sheet for the back, and some scraps of lining for the insides. the buttons were scrounged from stock. I did not have time to draft patterns from scratch so I modified Simplicity Pattern #5037. I mended the holes in the wool before I cut into the fabric to make it a little easier to work with. Once the vest was built it was further distressed.
This waistcoat was built from scratch and I spent virtually no money in materials; I used some old, tattered wool that I found in a box for the body of the vest, an old sheet for the back, and some scraps of lining for the insides. the buttons were scrounged from stock. I did not have time to draft patterns from scratch so I modified Simplicity Pattern #5037. I mended the holes in the wool before I cut into the fabric to make it a little easier to work with. Once the vest was built it was further distressed.
1880s Shawl Collar Waistcoat
1880s Notch Collar Waistcoat