Choosing costumes for the cast of your school play or for your community theatre group can be a daunting task. There lots of things to consider (colors, size, budget, cohesiveness, theme) and people to please (parents, teachers, administrators, directors, not to mention the cast), but don’t worry! Whether you’re a director, producer, costumer, or stage manager putting on a production in the style of Shakespeare, Broadway, or even Zac Efron, you can rest easy. We’ve put together a complete guide with 150 tips on choosing costumes for your next school musical or play.

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Learning how to make historical costumes can be useful for various events: reenactments, school plays, even book reports. For beginners, however, it’s difficult to know where to start. Elaborate dresses from movies can be wonderful sources for inspiration, but attempting one of those on a first try is as ambitious as replicating a Van Gogh without previous painting experience. Just as one needs to learn the basics of brush strokes and blending to paint, a costumer needs to learn the basic regarding fabrics and styles of clothing worn during the specified era. This is an introduction and resource for those interested in 18th century France, the time of Marie Antoinette, Victor Hugo, Versailles, peasants and a glamorous aristocracy. This guide includes the basics on what clothing was worn by both women and men, images, and a list of instructional and contextual resources.

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