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

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