The Indianapolis journal., 1903-09-18
STAGE WARDROBE WOMAN.


Philadelphia Ledger.
Yes, fined her 81 and she deserved it, II
girl can't knot hole in the floor with
out sticking her parasoi tip through il, she
ought to be fined. That is the second parasol
she has broken since we opened
But you could buy a new one for So
persisted the chorus girl, her eyes full of
angry tears.
THAT is all you know about it. Those
chiffon parasols cost Sc apiece, and 81 for
having them cleaned only last week That
fine stands
And the tall, strong featured brunette. in
her black dress and embroidered apron,
stslked away. while the little chorus girl
patted her fluffy pompadour, counted the
money in her salary envelope and went her
way, still wearing an injured expression
Il wouldn't have that wardrobe woman's
position for four times the salary. and her
salary is no trifle either" remarked by
stander. The coStuming OF modern musical
spectacle has completely altered the duties
and status OF the wardrobe mistress. She is
now one of the most important perSonag ges
around a theater. and has more responsible
ity after the show settles down for a run
than the stage director himself.
When tinsel, cotton-backed satin and
spangles were accepted at par, a ruined cos
tune presented but a trifiing expenditure.
Now, with fashionable modistes enhancing
the beauty of show girls, and theatrical cos
tuners trying To run things in competition
with the most exclusive mOdistes the aver
s@e up-to-date manager faces large bills.
he first cost of stage gowns does not tell
the whole financial story either. A woman
in private life wears a party frock half
dozen times, having il handled carefully by
her maid. laid away in tissue paper and 9TH
erwise guarded against rough usage and
dirt, yet after the sixth or seventh appear
ance she is apt to pronounce ii passe. These
stage gowns, made of fully as fragile ma
terials. are subject to the wear and tear of
seven performances of a week, during which
a girl is too busy pleasing the audience to
watch whether the next girl IN line is stand
ing on her train or il the comedian has
caught his button on her lace sash. And the
duty of the wardrobe mistress is TO keep
these costumes in a presentable condition.
The dressers see that costumes are not
thrown on hastily, carelessly, fastened here
with a pin and there with a string, and un-
der her watchful eye, too. the girls refrain
from tossing their gowns in the corner when
making quick change.
The dressers note signs of wear in the
gowns and report to the wardrobe mistress.
If the rent is small. or there is need of only
a hook, an eye or a bow, the dresser makes
the repairs during the performance. II more
work is needed the gown is taken TO the
sewing room on the gallery floor, where ii is
repaired the next day. This room is lined
with hooks and sheets of unbleached mus
lin. so that the dresses may be hung in or
derly array and be covered from the dust
Here, too, are machines, dress forms and
long, narrow work tables One man does
chested, pale-faced foreigner, who sits
among the bevy of sewing women, who put
on fresh accordion plating. new lace or
passementerie. Whenever a girl leaves the
company her successor must be fitted. and
often the costumes practically made
over, so that the wardrobe mistress must be
able 10 direct the filters as well as the re-
pairers.
Her weekly salary roll in the workroom
varies from $50 TO 500, the girls being paid
by the day, aud employed only as needed.
All supplies, such as thread. tape. hooks and
eyes. are bought In quantities. The most ex-
pensive repair item in the modern stage cos
tune is what the dressmakers call the
chitIon froufrou, which is the full plating
that gives the flaring effect to a skirt. These
are renewed constantly, and the wardrobe
mistress is liable to draw anywhere from $25
10 $50 for her days shopping
1t is her duty also 10 see that the clothes
go in time to the cleaner, and she sometimes
sends out from twenty to forty dresses at
once Theatrical cleaners have a process
suited to their needs, and gowns taken from
the theater after the performance or very
early the next morning arc delivered in time
for the next performance. The laundry work
is gathered up twice n week. including the
linen worn by the chorus men, and any cos
TUNES that will endure the stress of the tub.
But the most arduous duties of the ward
robe mistress come during the performance,
when she seems almost omnpresent. She
slips from dressing room 10 dressing room,
from one side of the stage TO the other. She
il is who notes the careless girl who sits
down on dirty stairway without first rails
ing her frock. fresh from the cleaner. She
catches the girl whose idea OF fun is 10 dis
cipine her men friends in the chorus by
slapping them with a white chiffon parasol
and thereby accommodating rouge and make
up where IL don't belong. She goes through
the dressing rooms after the performance
and takes the names of girls who forget TO
put their plumed hats into the boxes or TO
cover their gowns with sheets. She dis
tributes fines varying from so cents 10 81
and she can always account in the presence
of the girl for the fine She combines with a
just sense of discipline. rare executive abil-
/ ity and a keen knowledge of human nature
Her hours are long. especially when the
/ play is just settling down for run. because
/ in addition 10 her hours at the theater she
I goes To the photographer studio whenever
1 the chorus girls are being posed. She orders
/ the packing of their costumes, unpacks
/ them at the studio, stands guard over them
! during the posing and that they are
| safely shipped back To the theater.
And this is the strangeSt part OF her work
Martinez that she Is. every girl in the show
swears by her. She is relentless in case OF a
1 breach OF discipline; but let anything hap
/ pen to one OF the girls. a faintng SPELL q
telegram bearing bad news. and the ward
robe mistress fairly bubbles sympathy OF
the most practical sort. She has a stock OF
\ simple remedies always at hand. she knows
| just what 10 do in case OF emergency, and
| she is master hand at inducing the man