Robin Hood

I was recently commissioned to make a Robin Hood costume.

“I want to look like a movie star, not a ” ..what were his words?.. “cheap mock up”
Gasp! Heaven forbid.

I’d like to point out that a real costume for a movie star can easily cost ten thousand dollars, properly tailored, with time to properly line everything up, and hand tack etc, after the finest materials have been bought, and treated and printed, or broken down, and fitted several times, and you have 3 or 4 or 6 people working on the same costume, and it’s tailored to suit the exact needs of the designer…so many people need to be paid for the processes. There’s a lot of effort and consideration that goes into it.

Let me tell you, when an individual comes along with a budget that allows for real, best quality materials, I just have to say “Yes!”

Hallelujia and praise the angels, my wishes are beginning to be answered.

This folks, this is the fun stuff.

The materials alone for this full outfit cost $420 from 5 different places around town, postage cost $80, and I spent 45 full, Gung Ho hours of cutting and stitching. That doesn’t include morning tea, lunch breaks or our preliminary discussions and image sourcing just to be sure I was on track with what the client was after.
How do you quote for that?
How much do you get paid for that many hours work?

I’ve come a long way though. As a student, the same thing would have taken me weeks! and a lot of consulting with tutors.

I get costume enquiries everyday, sometimes several, and find that most often the only clients with the budget to get things properly made are production companies, performers who make a living with their costumes, and the occasional individual desiring to make a stunning entrance on their special day, and the odd “just for fun” occasions. I love those people.

Materials for this Robin:

• Really fine natural cotton/linen mix for the shirt
• Special, more coarse (yet still soft to the skin) brown linen for the pants
• a relatively inexpensive deep forest green for the hooded cloak, and an appropriately matching deep forest green satin lining ( I ended up making leather and metal stud fastening for the front – ingenious design, I just love making things up!)
• a foresty olive green suede
• chocolate brown cow hide
• a couple of handfuls of studs
• a sprinkle of eyelets
• elastic for the armbands
• interfacing for the shirt collar and pant waistband
• buttons for shirt cuffs and pants
• fly zip
• leather lacing for the vest
• feather – for cap

When you break it all down, you begin to realise how costs can add up.

Don’t forget my petrol driving over town, phone sourcing products, and overheads back at the studio!

Sometimes people take offence when I give them the price of things, and what they don’t realise, is that I’m often already giving a conservative estimate. I don’t mean to get that response. And I don’t always know from where they are coming from. It’s good to have a chat, because there are always ways to achieve your brief, even if it’s suggestions on what to look for in a second hand store.

If I can make a living doing something I enjoy, then I’m happy. And you should be happy too! There’s a party to go to!

Things cost money. I love making things, and we all have to eat. Costuming is a job we do because we enjoy it. Making individual costumes for people is a love job, and certainly not a money making scheme. I’ll be lucky to clear $15 an hour sometimes on those jobs. I could have made more for myself on this Robin Hood had I chosen cheaper fabrics, but in the end, I just couldn’t do it! Can you blame me?

You know what, I finished the suit tonight, – except for the eyelets on the vest, i’ll do those at a friends place, he has a special eyelet machine, and it’s so satisfying to use. They are also of a higher quality than the ones you hammer in by hand. It’s magic. I love it.

I’m feeling so pleased with it so far, I’m writing a story. With any luck, I’ll be able to post some pictures soon.

Obviously, from a professional standard, there are things I would have liked to have spent more time on, but, one has to draw the line somewhere, and I think as far as things go, it was pretty well put together.

I’m sure the client would stand aghast to hear I’d spent so long on his costume, but hopefully it will show when he opens the package in Melbourne on Monday, and he recognises he got his full monies worth!

I wish I could keep it! I could hire it out again and again, especially to the taller broader shouldered men of the eastern suburbs…but.. I can’t afford it..quite, right now..something to look forward to..I guess.

Crazy, I know!