I watched the full box set a few years ago and loved it. I haven’t as yet seen the new series, but did get to enjoy making Diner costumes for Melbourne and Sydney, making waitress dresses, aprons and headpieces for the Australian Launch of the new Twin Peaks series on Stan.

Gelato Messina created three special ice-cream flavours and served them up on the day for fans, and I quote:

“Extra points, maybe even an extra scoop for dress ups – competing with our own staff of course; who’ll be dressed in Norma & shelly’s finest threads.”

Fabulous, turns out, the “finest threads” were cut and sewn in Bondi by Agent Costume, yes, me. YaY

Not a bad fit, considering I wasn’t able to take measurements or do fittings.

Thanks to Pedestrian TV and Sam MacDonald (WeAreHobo) for some of these photographs.

Here they are featured in a story for the  Daily Mail

Here is a reference photo we worked off:

Twin Peaks Diner Costume reference

We sampled several fabric stores for a fabric match. The client was able to choose which hue they preferred. In the end, we decided to go with a colour most closely resembling the dresses from the new series.

sample fabrics

With only a couple of weeks turn around and no fittings, i think we reached a pretty great  result

If you need costumes customised for your next event, contact agent costume in the form below to find out how we can get started creating for you!

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Several emails discussing possibilities, bottle designs, round or flat? where does the face go? how important is visibility? We had to make sure the printers could fit the run in once the fabric was designed and printed, there were only a few days to put it all together, the foam structure, the padding outside the foam base, the fabric.  where exactly does the face go? the arms, how high do we make the hem? how heavy is it? How much foam can we cut away to make it lighter?

I drove out to the Blackmores headquarters in Warriewood to do a fitting and make sure the arm holes were in the right place from the face, the harness inside was sitting in the right place, the edges were finished…, it took several hours and a few fittings in between meetings, and then the costume was ready to go and break a Guinness World Record! Yeah!

This was the result

bottle costume

Fastest time for completing a marathon dressed as a food supplement! YaHoo!

Perhaps I should have won a record for fastest time getting a costume designed and made for a marathon… ha

And if it had to be made again, would I make it the same way?

Let me just say this, experience gives us little stepping stones to step up and on to the next step, so perhaps there are a few little tweaks that could be made, provided budget and time frame enable,  but on the whole, the frame work held up, the colours were bright, they chose the right bottle design.

We did warn about chaffing, and weight over several kilometres, but the runner was training and determined to win that goal! Who am I to doubt another’s determination? Well Done!

http://newslocal.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx?noredirect=true

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Check out the results of one project from the end of 2016. How cute is this moving picture?

Do the Waggle Dance ?? #bee #bees #beeman #waggle #dance #mead #party #friends #creative #drink #sparkling #delightful #refreshing #fun #nature #aussie #explore #australia #madeinaustralia #greattime #crazy #enjoy #happy #drone #filming

A post shared by BEE Mead (@beemeadau) on Mar 8, 2017 at 10:42pm PST

Take a good look at Bee Man and his Mini Me Bee drone for the refreshing Bee Mead brand, sold at BWS stores around Australia, in various flavours.

When I was approached 2 weeks before the shoot to make a Bee suit costume before Christmas, I wasn’t sure it could be squeezed it into a busy schedule. Luckily, a previously booked job was put on hold for a day, just enough to time to draw up a print graphic for the suit in logo colours. A few days later another day became free, to cut and sew the outfit together. It’s a tricky weaving game in busy times to switch the mind from one job to another, and then back again.

..once i agreed to consider making the bee suit, and started calculating time and materials, they threw me a curve ball. They had a drone! Bee Man wanted a bee costume for his drone! A drone costume? due in under a week?!?
There was concern there wasn’t enough time to get it made to fit, snug, and light enough and secure out of the way of drone propellors. So I worked late and over the weekend, testing, fitting, adjusting. I had sent a graphic to the fabric printer, including a couple of prints for the drone to match Mr Bee Man, with fingers crossed, it could be adjusted adequately to make a Bee Drone suit!

and guess what?

It did! There’s something to be said for experience, it gets easier to hit the bulls eye in less shots.

I packed a bunch of costumes into the car, and was ready on site to quickly style and add a splash of fancy dress colour on a Sunny afternoon in country New South Wales.

Fabulous.

If you keep a look out, you’ll see me, somewhere in the party scene…nodding away, two wizards getting the low down on the latest party potions..

What Fun!

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What’s the costume party theme?

“it’s… a Cave party! and that means…. animal skins and I want a bone in my hair!”

As it happens, I have a drawer labeled  “jungle” with lycra tiger .. so we emptied it on the bench and sifted through tiger leggings, a leopard leotard and bathers, fringed pants, a suede top with plaited shoulders, some leopard dresses.. “try this on!” I ventured

The leopard dress with sparkles fit perfectly, with a feather broach we could hike the side skirt up, add a fringed arm band… the dress looked hot, and some fabulous accessories we could really bring the wild side out..

and then, her eye caught a leopard print suede dress, errr, I mean top.. yes, it’s really very short.. “the cups might be too small”  but the yellow leopard printed suede kept her gaze until I released, resistance is futile.

I had spent at least a good whole full day making this outfit a year or two ago, cutting the suede, sewing it together, it even has wire under cups! For the right fit, this top is a unique beauty made with love, just waiting for the right person to put it on and enjoy the time of their life.

“Ok, you better try it on”

On it went, we pushed and zhooshed and zipped it up,  looking good… we added a halter neck, we tightened the sides and BooM, the cave lady was taking place in front of the enchanted mirror..  “is it, too short? I mean, it is the beach, but…?”

so we added a skirt

“I wish I had some of that thin leather strip, you know, those kind of sandals that wrap around your leg?”

“well, if it’s going to be a long party, then elastic might be a better way to go, it hugs your leg and gives with movement.”

We added elastics to her thongs (flip flops), I cut some bronze lycra strips, beaded them and tied them onto the straps to disguise the knotted elastic.

and her hair?

How do we cave costume accessorise?

into the tribal headpiece drawer, a bone on a headband, with plaited blonde hair. On my shelves we found a gold plait prepared a year ago, with red feathers and beads, and we attached that to the headband for extra detail.

A leather belt with leopard detail, a bracelet, some make up ideas, and I think we are good to go.

Bondi Halloween 2016, here we come…

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Unfortunately I won’t be going this year, but that doesn’t mean my creations won’t get to play on the playa dust! 

So fun!

If you need a costume or costume alterations, email me your ideas, and make and appointment!

info@agentcostume.com

Or phone: 0405808885

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This girl knew what she wanted. Firstly, she is a fast food fan, secondly, somehow she discovered the scene in the fabulous Science Fiction Movie “The 5th Element” where the cops pull into a McDonalds “drive thru”  and order from girls in Jean Paul Gaultier designed uniforms.  “That’s IT!” she realised, that has to be the costume she’s going to get made for her halloween party.

In she came, with a printed out screenshot picture of the costume, and, being a graphic designer, had also specified  Pantone colour matches.Very efficient. And very helpful.

costume sketch

Together we defined how the bottom half of the skirt would look, as you can see, the screen shot doesn’t show that far. I took her measurements.

Then we both went around town and compared samples.  Once we had chosen the fabric and confirmed the design, I was able to confidently draw up the pattern pieces. The client had come in two months before she needed the costume. This is good, it gives us time to think about the design, and to make sure we source the best materials available, and also allows time for adjustments and fittings. It also enables me to fit it in between other jobs.

Fitting a corset

A corset is most comfortable when it’s made to fit your body shape. As you pull it tight, if the pressure is evenly placed around your rib cage then it’s more bearable to wear for longer periods than if it’s squeezing more tightly in one place than another, which can happen if the corset is designed for a slightly different body shape to your own. I also prefer to use a fabric that has a little bit of stretch, because it can allow for a little bit more movement. We made up a sample corset, to preserve the fabulous fire engine red corset fabric for the adjusted pattern. So I cut out all the pattern pieces and prepared them for a fitting. The paper pattern is then adjusted from that fitting, then it’s ready to start cutting out the real deal.

To best fit the corset I ask the client wear a bra that gives her the best shape for the purpose. We do the corset fitting before sewing in pockets for boning, so it’s less bulky to pin and therefore gives a more accurate fit. If the client is wearing support to give her the shape required, then boning is not yet necessary for this step. I use this time also to define the corset edges, neckline, the length and best curve line around the body. Once the corset is made and the boning is inserted, the client can choose to wear the support bra or not, as the corset should provide the support needed. I always imagine the corset will be pulled possibly four centimetres or so more tightly than the fitting and make sure to allow for that in the final make. it’s an intuitive guess, as this amount varies with size and muscle tone.

You want to look out for ‘spillage’ too. The cup area should be the right shape and volume to contain the bust, and not create an unflattering overflow and crease line at the top, around near or under the arms.

We had about 4 fittings in total, to double check the coset, and skirt and the gloves, and confirm the size of the M symbols. Check it out! I even made gloves too!

The 5th element Mcdonald’s drive through

It was a pretty hot outfit and fun to make. I was so encouraged by her excitement to try it all on and wear it to her party. She looked pretty fabulous.

If you need a custom made costume, or are interested in getting styled up for a costume hire, you may contact us via email in the form below, include dates and your size in the information, or call to make an appointment:

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Oh! That’s what a Swamp creature looks like!

What a great costume party theme. It conjures up ideas of 1950’s schlock horror movies, slime, mutant fish-men creatures, claw like nails, ripped clothing, green netting, gills.

Diggin’ the way that creature is rocking those bright red lips

What lives in swamp land? Crocodiles, Alligators, Bunyips. Catfish, Tadpoles, frogmen, slime, slimy algae. People on the run hide out in swamp land. Unsuspecting lovers are captured and turned into zombies in swampland. Aliens land in swampland and breed with what ever species that can safely acquire access to. HillBilly rednecks.

Hollywood takes an idea and owns it. Creates a whole genre around a single theme.

Here are some movie titles you might be interested in exploring before defining your character:

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge of the Creature (1955), Curse of the Swamp Creature (1966), Bog (1979), Swamp Thing (1982),Frankenfish (2004), Swamp Zombies (2005), Swamp Shark (2011),

Turning a traditionally understood Costume Theme on it’s head

Who’s to say, there aren’t any swamp fairies? or magical creatures? who’s to say there are no swamp version mermaid or siren type entities hanging around, softening their creamy skin with clay and bog. Plaiting their looooong messy tresses with swamp reeds, or “old mans beard” epiphytes which grow long in the humid swampland air.

Who’s to say swamp creatures don’t hold their own rock eisteddfod dance competitions? That might sound a bit far fetched, but in some lights, at some angles, slimy surfaces can glitter and sparkle like a jazz ballet solo costume. Trust me, I’m a professional.

Swamp Fins

Is it too much to believe a mermaid might somehow traverse inland by magic to visit her long lost relatives? Sure, along the way she may change her glow, a changed environment takes a toll on everybody. Certainly it may not be the norm, but it’s not utterly unheard of..is it.

Swampy Zombie Mermaid eyes

In April I shall myself be attending a Creatures of the Swamp birthday party. My husband purchased a Wilder beast hide with the expectation that I, the “fabulous, can-do-anything, gorgeous, loving, master of the universe”  costume maker will make a vest out of it for him, preserving the mohawk and the tail. I’m going to have to hire some heavy duty machinery to cope with that thick leathery skin and take a day off to fulfil this request.

Perhaps at this event, I may capture some swampland magic imagery to further fill out this swampland ideas Agent Costume post, for future interest..and if any of my creations survive, they may possibly be available for future hires, or Festival purchase.

Swampland has a reputation for attracting the weird and the wonderful.

Voodoo, supernatural practices, robes…i could probably go on..

If you need a particular costume designed and personalised for your next event, then keep scrolling to get to the contact form

the following gallery are pieces from my collection, some for hire some for purchase:

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custome Elf costume made in Sydney, australia

I made the Elf costumes, it was a budget job for a charity event.

The challenges were:
-Minimal measurements.
-No time or budget for fittings
-No budget for fancy materials
-the arms had to be detachable for a scene where one elf rips his sleeve off, and re-attachable to reset the scene in case they didn’t get it in one shot.

Luckily:
Some outfits made previously for dwarf jockeys previously still existed in my pattern drawer, I managed to find the arms for those, crossed fingers and hoped they would work.
Found some nice fur left over from a different job a year earlier, and was able to utilise it to bring the standard up.
I made the collar detachable incase they needed to be tightened or loosened without scrunching the neck line of the shirt.
I made bootie covers with a stretch material for more variation in size.
There was green velcro in my velcro drawer and didn’t have to buy a whole 20 metres in bulk, to help mask itself in case any of it showed. It took some time to work out how to sew it in around the curve of the arm. If i had more time i would have designed it so that some rough edges showed ofter the sleeve ripped off, but sometimes the deadline arrives and you just have to hand the project over in time for the shoot.

here is the result! Lucky for some good standby to fit the costumes on set, out of sight of the line of camera, using bulldog clips and safety pins. You wouldn’t know it would you.
Pretty Groovy

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Yes, yours truly, with a Hawaiian Lei needle, bought many years ago from a shop in Hawaii, as you do. With the culture of Lei making so strong, lei needles are easily accessible at your local general store. I knew it would come in handy one day, it was just a matter of time.

Lei Making

Quality fake frangipanis aren’t cheap in old Sydney Town, and when you layer them on, it takes many packets to complete a lei as thick as these beauties.

Sample one: Add more white!
Sample two: Add more white!

Sample 1 lei- too yellow

Sample Three: Thats what I’m talking about!

Frangipani Lei

Frangipani Lei

As a costume maker, by the time someone gets to my workshop, its because what they want can’t be found, therefore it needs to be made. And since it can’t be found, often there’s no reference either, and so we’re creating something new and eye catching. Samples often need to be made before fixing on the final output.

Pink Hawaiian Lei

How gorgeous are they!
Love it.

This exercise reminded me of the days we used to make our costumes before our dancing show, with our group “Pasifika Sway” plaiting leaves into skirts and hair pieces. Such fun.

Do you need a costume for your next event or shoot?
call or email to set up an appointment to find out how we can best help you with your next costume.

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