ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WARDROBE

July 25, 2022

ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WARDROBE

All this talk about Storage Wars has me thinking about the old adage about Love and War, which led me right to Wardrobe.

In late 2021, I had the pleasure of heading the Art Department, and subsequently both worked as the Set Decorator and oversaw the Wardrobe Department on Cole Stamm's short film, Day Pass. As badly as I want to say what the film is about, I cannot. I'm sworn to secrecy. However, when the trailer is cut and it's okay to say more about this delightful project, I will be sure to write about it once again in a subsequent post. A South Carolina native, Cole relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams of filmmaking and won a filmmaking contest in his home state. His reward? Funding provided by the South Carolina Film Commission with the State serving as his Executive Producer. How cool is that? I responded to the Atlanta Craigslist post he posted for crew gigs, and the connection was made.

Armed with a budget of about $200, I skipped to the Seneca city center and quickly began searching at Five Below. The cast consisted of six actors, one of whom is a child. I had the actors send me their looks and had received instruction from the Director--Cole, regarding my primary focus. I scooped up some cute plush toys with which to decorate one of the sets, and scored some activity books and some swell erasers, cleverly laser cut into adorable miniature joyful items, like rainbows and unicorns. The readily accessible display made shopping for the set decor a cinch.

With that base covered, it was time to move forward into the clothing category. Unless you have licensing and clearance for a product or logo--more specifically called, "product placement," or "brand representation," you want to stay away from the aforementioned, as you'll garner a lawsuit before you can say the word "distribution." That's one entanglement out of which I definitely wish to both keep and stay. Five Below has an entire section devoted to merchandise from films and TV shows, such as The Office and Friends.

I made it a point to stay away from logos and prints, and search for solids. We wanted to go with a layered look for the actor, so I got this jean jacket to pair with any times that they may have brought themselves. I couldn't resist this adorable bear hat. It came with gloves and I thought it would just be adorable on the actor. When she tried on the hat at the fitting the following day, she lit up. It was short-lived however, because when she sat for hair and makeup, she didn't want the hat on her head anymore. And I don't blame her one bit! Though I wouldn't exactly call it collateral damage, the tie-dye hat was a backup option and alternative. It came in handy on set, and I was able to incorporate it in a way I thoroughly didn't expect--but you'll hear all about that once I'm in the clear.

My next stop was Marshall's for some athletic looks. The actor preferred to use their own clothing for the scene, and Cole was amenable. Got to keep your actors happy! Though none of my selections for the actor made the film, I enjoyed the adrenaline rush. It was fun searching for looks, mixing and remixing them. The most difficult thing was finding a place to post up in the store so that I could text my finds to the Director.

Behold, thou art fair, my love ~ Song of Solomon 4:1(a)

Now, this shopping business trip wouldn't be complete if I negated to get myself something too. And so to avert any sort of depressive state that said incompletion would surely induce, I picked up a Spiritual Gangster slogan t-shirt, which reads, "LOVE IS MY SUPERPOWER." I know it was a business trip, but I couldn't resist. And of course I used my own money--oh, she's got the receipts!