COSTUMES (soprano & alto)

Sopranos and Altos, you have two options regarding the traditional caroling costume:

1) You provide a complete costume, subject to my approval (typically costs between $150 and $200)

OR

2) You provide your own appropriate shoes, and I will provide your skirt, petticoat, blouse, capelette or coat, and Victorian hat or bonnet for a rental fee of $100 for the season. The rental fee includes shipping fees and materials both ways, and you do not need to clean anything before it’s returned. You will have up to $200 withheld from your final paycheck until I receive your costume pieces back from you. 

Costumes Guidelines for Sopranos and Altos

You can look at TOR’s instagram page for examples of what costumes look like on the carolers

Basic costume pieces for Sopranos and Altos: (listed in the order of typical difficulty in acquiring):

• Very full ankle-length or longer skirt with a petticoat for volume (no hoop skirts, please) 
• Capelette (short cape) or Victorian jacket
• Bonnet or Victorian riding hat
• High-necked blouse (usually white or cream-colored, but other colors might be approvable - please ask me)
• Solid-color boots, booties, or “Mary-Jane” style flats with white, cream, or gray tights or tights-like socks (high heels are not recommended)
• Optional: a reticule (small Victorian purse) or muff so you don’t have to entrust your car keys to a tenor or bass on gigs. :)

FABRICS:

For all the above items (except for the shoes and blouse) victorian-era fabric patterns are usually acceptable: Plaid, paisley, houndstooth, etc. Poinsettia floral patterns are also good. Colors to aim for: Red, Burgundy, Maroon, Forest Green, Royal Blue, Purple, Gold, Silver. Please try to avoid orange, yellow, brown, khaki or pastels; these colors do not evoke December holidays. Exceptions may be granted if you have a really good reason. 

QUALITY:

How good your costume looks affects the number and quality of gigs you will be offered, so try to avoid the cheap-but-just-barely-meets-the-guidelines costumes. That means you should start looking for your costume early, ideally by the end of August, since all the good costume pieces are usually no longer available at reasonable prices by October.

WHERE TO PURCHASE: 

I will send an email in August with up-to-date options for purchase, with links. It makes more sense to send it later because I need to research and revise this email quite a bit each year, and I would rather new singers focus on music first; there’s no point in having a gorgeous costume if you don’t learn the music. 

PLEASE share links or pictures with me before you order costume pieces - if something is not appropriate, I can let you know before you order it. I make answering questions about costume pieces a priority, so unless I am asleep or on a gig, you should get an answer very quickly. You can text me pictures if you are in a store, but if it is something you will buy online, the link is better.