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Elixir Student Troupe Costumes

Colors: 
Base of black. You must have a black skirt or pants. To this, you can add gray, black, cream (not white), browns, all metal colors such as brass, bronze, silver - but all must be aged looking, not super bright silver or gold. Inspiration from other cultures, from Art Deco and Art Nouveau, antique shops, and from vaudeville theatre from 1900 or so to 1940. Link for further study: FANTASY, CULTURE, AND DANCE INSPIRATION

*You can make other costumes. This particular costume is called, 'the student troupe basic costume' and NEEDS to follow these exact guidelines, so that we look cohesive on stage. Do not just do your own thing on this particular costume - although on others you are encouraged to!

Basics - BLACK AND SILVER: 

  1. Skirt, flared pants, or puddley harem pants (not see through) in mostly black, 
  2. Highly decorated black bra accented in aged cream, silver, black, or gray (no uncovered bras or original straps from the bra base), 
  3. Highly decorated matching belt, hip scarf in deep, dusty jewel tones (or with fringe,  aged cream, silver, black, or gray), 
  4. Tribal jewelry - at least 1 kuchi, Miao, or similar piece in silvery tones or brass tones, but including earrings, necklace, and at least 1 bracelet for each arm. Rings would be nice, but not required for the student troupe! Link: Great place to buy jewelry, also see links below.
  5. Nails should be either natural (unpainted) or black, silver, or dark dark red or cream polish (or sparkles!). No pink! ;) No colors that will clash with your costume.
  6. Have at least one hair ornament in matching metallic, black, cream, grey or brown or deep red.   
  7. Tribal makeup must be worn. Performance night is never au natural night - we're a team and we all will be wearing either heavy stage makeup or lighter tribal makeup depending on the event. We should all be 'done up' to the same level. I will teach you how to do this when it's time, so don't worry! Dots, bindis, dark eye makeup, glitter, false eyelashes - all might be worn depending on the venue, lighting, etc. Please have some black eyeshadow (I like L'oreal Infallible eye shadow in Eternal Black), a nice fluffy eyeshadow brush or two, black eyeliner (both pencil and a wet liner with a  felt type tip), makeup base, powder, blush, and mascara, and at least lip gloss. You will need red lipstick if we appear at a distance to the audience (such as on a stage). You can totally do it for cheap and grab all wet and wild or ELF products! I don't care! Just so you  have all the basics.
  8. Medium to small bindi that matches costume - preferably rhinestone, clear cabochon, or black/gray cabochon.
  9. Hair will be different each time - we'll handle that later! But we should all either have it up, down, or partially both with similar amounts of decoration - clips, sticks, or headdresses.

10 Commandments: 
#1 - WEAR DANCE SHORTS. Yes. Do. There shall be no 'underwear-only' costumes unless you're wearing pants. You can find them even at Walmart as biking shorts. They go partway down your thigh, and really are wonderful for making sure you don't flash your undies at anyone, which is not cool.
#2 - SIMILAR BUT NOT IDENTICAL to your other troupemates.
#3 - ASK AMY FIRST.  If you're worried about making a large purchase and it not fitting with the guidelines, ASK AMY FIRST. Shoot me a link or photo by facebook inbox or regular email. We don't want you to make a huge investment, only to find out it's really not what we're looking for. Troupe costuming for the student troupe is very strict, and aesthetic isn't something you can understand instantly by peeking at this webpage for 20 minutes. Amy is happy to help!!!
#4 - VINTAGE. Not Walmart new. This especially goes for jewelry, any metal pieces and anything with lace. If it's cotton lace, we can age it with dye! Ask Amy for a costume night where we dye laces, talk shop and work on hair and makeup (and have tea and cookies!).
#5 - AGED AND A TAD RAGGEDY. Not new. Bohemian and mysterious and deep and goddesslike - fairy tales and subtle details. I have ways to age new jewelry and of course we can tea or coffee stain newer fabrics, so don't worry!  I will help you out if you have something you've already purchased that needs to be altered. I won't do it myself, but I'm happy to explain HOW to do it.
#6 - GO TO COSTUMING NIGHT!!! This occurs sometimes for students. It's free - included in your class fee. You will love it, you'll learn a ton, and you'll probably save yourself a bunch of money because you won't be buying the wrong stuff!!! If you don't, you're on your own to figure things out - and it will take you a lot of time, let me tell ya. But I only have time to do it once in a while. Take advantage of it.
#7 - BE SQUEAKY CLEAN!!! We do not want to be known as The Camel Stenchies Student Troupe, so let's be sure to be freshly showered, hair scrubbed and clean, TEETH BRUSHED, deodorant worn ( or at least wash pits in restrooms a few times during the event as needed if you're not ok with deodorant), etc.
#8 - NO CRACKS. Yes, I expect you to say no to too much crack - please, no buttcrack showing - your costume must fit WELL. Also, no peeking nipples and no underboob cleavage. If you're not sure it's good enough, it's not. Costumes can and should be altered to be sure everything fits correctly - let's not scare the children! Decolletage is ok - as long as it's not CRAZY. If not sure, ask!
#9 - BE A JUDICIOUS BORROWER - if someone is kind enough to lend you a costume item of any kind, GIVE IT BACK as soon as the show is over clean and in perfect shape. If it's not in perfect shape, PAY THE FULL PRICE FOR IT. That is the rule - I have spoken. I will not listen to drama about this.
#10 - DON'T BORROW OR LEND EYE MAKEUP. End of story. Glitter - if it's not for the eyes. Boob glitter is for sharing. ;D
#11 - A cover up will be worn much of the time when not performing. A large veil works (we'll show you how to wrap it!) or a Ghawazee coat - here are instructions for making one!