Skip to main content

Casino Shirt Dress Costume

 Casino Shirt Dress

Priscilla Queen of the Desert - Amateur theatre production September 2021. 
Murray Bridge Players and Singers





Worn by Katelin as Marion with Kurt as Tick - photo by Jay Birdy Photography

The Casino in Alice Springs has a unique uniform we choses from the Hawaiian shirt range sold at Lowes stores. The very pink shirts have a 90's vibe we thought perfect for an outback nightclub come casino.
We bought these shirts for several of the actors playing the roles of staff to wear but the character of Marion (who is the secret wife of Tick) needed a managers dress to wear. 
I used 3 shirts in the 2XL size to make a long sleeve knee length dress. I wanted the palm trees design to flow down the bodice and have the blue border print at the hem and cuffs. 



original mens shirts


Actors in the casino dance scene. Photo by Jay Birdy Photography 



left original 2XL shirt and right the start of the dress transformation from 2XL.

To make a man's shirt into a women's shirt dress I needed to move the armholes in, add darts for the bust and at the waist, add a centre back seam and lengthen the shirt to a dress length. All of these alterations were done to give the dress a feminine shape. I didn't know who would be playing this role so I guessed at the size. 
I used 1 shirt to make the bodice of the dress which finished at the waist. The collar and front button stand are the only things that stayed as original. 


Shirt 2 - cut at the mid point of the armholes ready to become the skirt of the dress.

Starting with a 2XL shirt allowed me some wiggle room when creating the skirt part of the dress. I had to choose carefully where to put the waist seam keeping in mind I wanted the front buttons to line up with out changing their spacing. I had to calculate the seam allowance and placement of the belt before I cut.

I cut the long sleeves from the last shirt. 

The back has a centre back seam added to shape the dress and belt loops made from scraps.


test run fitting for length and shape


These shirts are printed to size so each one has exactly the same placement of pattern this means the palm trees run in line vertically up and down the dress.

The belt is made from the left overs of the first shirt

the sleeves can be worn long 


or rolled up and secured with a button


Katelin as Marion - with Kurt and Ledja - photo by Jay Birdy Photography 


photo by Jay Birdy Photography 


photo by Jay Birdy Photography 

Popular posts from this blog

Gothic Queen of Hearts “Alice in Wonderland” Youth Theatre Murray Bridge Players and Singers 2018 Concept drawing created on Prêt-à-template I volunteer my sewing skills for an amateur Theatre group. They have stage a production once or twice a year. For the second half of 2018 the Youth Theatre staged an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic story of "Alice in Wonderland". The Director of the play oversees the set design and costumes as well as directing the play. This director was also part of the youth theatre herself at only 16. She requested a Queen of Hearts costume with a pants suit and a high low jacket with large collar instead of a more tradition dress.  The above drawing is my submission for the costume. Some changes were made during the construction process to suit the actors proportions and the need to walk up stairs and sit. Pattern For this project I used McCall’s 7641 as the base for my jacket.  Kwik Sew stirrup pants patter...
Read more

Sophie Mamma Mia

Sophie Mamma Mia I made this costume for a friends daughter who wore it to their Mamma Mia themed 21st birthday part. The design is based on the costume the character of Sophie wore during the credits of Mamma Mia where the cast sang Waterloo.  The original costume was designed by Ann Roth for the 2008 movie Mamma Mia. image from Pinterest  Fabric used Pink Rainbow dot shimmer lycra from Tricia's Discount Fabrics Hot Pink Glitter tulle from D K Fabrics Stretch Silver sequin off-cuts, hot pink foil spot fabric, pink acetate lining and light weight white buckram and blush stretch fabric for lining all from my stash. Sophie provided me with a padded bra with removable straps to build the dress onto. We decided this would give her the most support and best fit on the bust line. I divided the costume into 3 sections first test run in Trace'n'toile second version I used a photo of the costume from Pinterest and some notes I took after watching the movie. Bra Bodice: The origin...
Read more

Frill Neck Lizard Costume

Frill Neck Lizard Priscilla Queen of the Desert - Amateur theatre production September 2021.  Murray Bridge Players and Singers I started this costume on November 7th 2020 Alex as the Frill Neck lizard rehearsal photo by Jaybirdy Photography Classic Australian icon the frill neck lizard appears in the original stage production.  design by Charades-theatrical.com While I love this design it has many elements, pants, top, shin covers, cod piece, girdle and sail. Way too many things for my actor to put on so I narrowed it down to a top that zips up the front, some stretchy pants and a headpiece you need a pilots licence to drive. My initial design done with Pret-a-template app This is probably the most labour intensive costume I made, purely because I went back to my skills in a freehand machine embroidery and machine sewed all the decorative embroidery into the fabric making it unique. Unlike the professional above costume where printed st...
Read more