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Make the Art of Illusion Your Friend
Clothing can be full of illusions—and delusions. One can enhance your look. And the other? Well, let’s talk.
Illusion—the use of light and shadow, color and texture, to deceive the eye—is one of the theatre’s tools of the trade. But it’s not just for performers anymore. You too can employ clever illusions and a few theatrical tricks in your day-to-day wardrobe to emphasize your best points and camouflage your perceived flaws. What, you have no flaws? Right, me neither.
Consider the role you play in your life. The star? Or the understudy? I hope not the understudy! Too many people already play that part. You don’t want your wardrobe to announce that you’re the extra who plays that character named Forgettable Woman In An Oversized Gray Cardigan. In the theatre, your costume can tell us who you are before you even speak a line. Does yours telegraph to the world that you’re the administrative assistant on the lowest rung of the ladder? A tired geography teacher who can’t find a road map out of her style crisis? Or the star of your own show, whether you’re on Broadway or way way way Off?
Hint: It’s your life, so it’s your show! What do you want your role to be? The sky’s the limit. And your budget, of course. Nevertheless, you can make up in creativity what you lack in cash.
Remember this: In your own closet, you are the Master of Ceremonies. It is your kingdom, your production, your stage. It should reflect your choices and decisions. Your preferences, not your mother’s, your sister’s, or your best friend’s. Do you want to be the sidekick in a kitchen-sink drama? Or the star in a sparkling Noel Coward wit-fest of a play? It’s your wardrobe’s casting call.
Think theatrically. What does a costumer use to make a character unforgettable? Glamour. Drama. Color. Shape. The contrast of light and dark, rough and smooth, familiar and surprising.
Color choices on stage mean something. Blue is the color of hope and communication. Black is the color of power and authority. Red translates as passion, sex, danger. Green is calm, serene, a deep mystery. White can be innocent—or the favorite hue of ghosts. Can you find a color theme in your clothes? Hint: In D.C., black is a given, gray is a tropical depression. Find your closet’s favorite accent colors. Discard the ones that don’t flatter you.
The shape of a garment can hide flaws and create illusions: the suggestion of a nipped-in waist, the impression of broad, strong shoulders, that long, leggy silhouette. The right shape can work to camouflage a tummy or thighs. A well-constructed dress or suit may cost a little more, but it is invaluable. Illusion is your almost magical ally.
The contrast of light and dark colors can also work together to enhance your appearance. Use dark colors where you want the focus to recede, light where you want pull the eye. Consider those dresses that employ colors strategically to create an hourglass frame, or simple shifts with dark side panels. Illusion can come down to accentuating the positive by illuminating your pluses, shadowing your minuses. Put the light where you want it to shine.
The Essential Full-Length Mirror
Your outfit consists of more than the three-quarter glimpse you see every morning in the bathroom mirror under those horrible fluorescent lights. That’s more like a funhouse looking-glass. No wonder you don’t look in that mirror for very long.
A full-length mirror and good light are essential for a complete and honest appraisal. Unless you have a three-way mirror, you also need a hand mirror so you can see what you look like from behind. It may come as a complete shock. Yikes!
Remember, theatre dressing rooms have wonderful mirrors outlined in lights. They have to, because they’re made for people about to walk out on stage in the glare of the footlights. You need a great mirror not merely to see your flaws, but also to view your possibilities.
Borrow a few tricks of the theatre trade, and discover your best you!
