Costume Lover Since Birth

So the following is my first assignment for the writing class I'm in now. We were supposed to write about why we were majoring in fashion. I think it will also help introduce you to who I am, so enjoy.

“No, no, no! The feathers are all supposed to go the same way to make it look fuller in the back! Come on mom how is anyone going to know I am a bird if the feathers are wrong?” Welcome to my first childhood memory. I was three years old, and for Halloween I had decided I wanted to be a parrot. However, my unknowing mother had bought a parrot costume without feathers attached. So I stomped my child size 8 foot until she finally agreed to go buy some feathers and help me attach them. It took us a combined 8 hours to attach all the feathers, but I certainly won the costume contest at our local Halloween party. From that year on my mother and I made my costumes together, and our family picture albums are filled with our prize winning creations. I do not know what exactly lit a spark in me from such a young age but I have been working with costumes, crafting, and designing ever since. I guess you could say I was “cut out” to be a costume designer.
In middle school, I entered another phase of the costume world when I became part of the school’s drama club. I played the part of both an actress and set designer, and the overall stage production became my world: the lights, props, sets, music and makeup were central to me. Yet, the excitement I felt when walking onto the stage to recite my lines was nothing compared to that I felt when I was helping design and create the costumes. The excitement in finding “my calling” landed me at my first job as an intern at Signature Theatre here in Arlington.
As an intern I received a first-hand look at what being a costume designer entailed. I learned to make a body block, I helped with fittings, and I took part in a more in-depth study of sewing: making a skirt for myself, aiding with the assembly of wigs, even helping in the creation of backdrops for one of Signature’s funniest plays, Urinetown. In addition, I also redid their entire inventory of costumes and accessories, and I learned how to properly launder and steam clothes for the productions. While the latter may not sound exciting, it was simply exhilarating for me to be a part of the production team. In addition, having my name placed in their professional programs ignited a sense of joy and accomplishment that I had never felt before. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted, no I needed, to be a costume designer.
It was through a culmination of all of my experiences that I ended up here at Marymount. While my major is fashion design and not costume design I am still learning the techniques which a costume designer or really any designer would need. In addition, learning about the fashion industry gives me a back up plan for my future. If I for some reason get tired of costuming I could always work for a fashion label and still have my creativity expressed. Marymount also has numerous opportunities for me to explore my costume interests considering, a few miles away in D.C., there are various theatres from which I can acquire experience and ideas. Hopefully at the end of my career at Marymount there will be a lot more feathered costumes to come.