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Is He Dead? by Mark Twain
Tillou
After faking his death, Millet assumed the identity of his imaginary, widowed sister, Madame Tillou.
There was a script requirement that Tillou be dressed in pink in the first act. Keeping that in mind, I ran with the idea that Millet, not knowing how a woman should dress, would have gone all out with the frills and ruffles in trying to replicate a feminine look.
I measured out around the skirt in order to sew down the vertical lace decoration and used double facing lace on each side with the rest of the lace either facing center front or center back
I designed the costume and worked with a team to bring it to life. I had to do a couple of muslin mock-ups of the bodice in order to fit the comical size of bosom that was given to the character. It made the most sense to use Velcro as a fastener with faux buttons because the transition from Millet to Tillou was a very quick change.
Both acts had lots of slapstick and physical comedy that required Tillou to fall and partake in lots of movement. Tech and dress rehearsals informed me that the skirt would need to be hemmed higher than I had previously thought for the safety of the actor.
As a simple, but fancy period appropriate finish, I put lace all along the bottom of the skirt and along the sleeves, collar, and bottom of the bodice. At intermission, the actor had his hair curled into spirals framing his face and was given lipstick and more blush.
Act two of the show placed Tillou in a far richer situation, meaning her outfit needed an upgrade. The skirt was made to be reversible as to save fabric on lining and to make it easier to manage backstage, making it usable for both acts.
The fabric was very busy, so I didn't feel it necessary to add as many frills as on the first dress, but I went with a more complicated bodice shape that tied in the front and attached big bows over the bosom. To satisfy another quick change back into Millet at the end, it was fastened down the back with Velcro and snaps.
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