The Milkman Cometh

The Iceman came first, now......

Thisby is one of the mechanicals in Midsummer Night's Dream. The mechanicals are people who are planning to put on a play for Hippolyta and Thesius's wedding celebration. The personna of Thisby is lily-white, pure of heart, so hence......

THE MILKMAN!




Now this is a costume that would be hard to find at a thrift store! Quality Dairy, one of two big dairies that used to deliver in St. Louis, has been gone for over 30 years! I used Quality Dairy to deliver my milk, and it was quite convenient when I had little kids and no car! I was devastated when it went out of business! I found an artifact on eBay with the Quality Dairy logo, and tried to recreate it as closely as I could with my embroidery machine.

So here is Thisby's lily-white costume that I just built. I made the hat using a circa early 1900's Simplicity pattern, 2581, which has a man's and woman's duster coat and hat, made for riding in an open car. It was a challenge to get the crown to sit correctly, took a couple of rip outs and resews to get it right. I sure hope it fits! I think it looks pretty good. The coat was a jacket pattern that I had and the pants are a boxer pattern made long.

Thisby makes a change during the show as a mechanical during the play within the play. In that segment, he portrays the part of a woman, so he will have a costume change, one that might prove to be very hilarious! That personna will be Dorothy of Oz fame--my partner is making that dress. Can't wait to see it!

I've been doing quite a bit of shopping of sales and thrift stores to find the other costume elements. I have a lot in the collection right now, I need to share what I've pulled together with the director and actors on Monday. Then I'll know where to go from here.

P.S., I found my royal blue jacket for Oberon yesterday in an obscure little store in a semi-closed-down mall. But this is a brand new store full of promise and full of merchandise, and the prices are right! I have to check with the director on whether he still wants to go this direction, then pick it up Tuesday.