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128 NW Eleventh Ave, Portland, OR 97209 · 503-445-3700 · www.pcs.org
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Hey there, time traveler! Thanks for coming! Please enjoy, but be aware that the entry below is getting on in years and might have some out-of-date info or links. Be sure to visit our home page for the latest news and events at PCS.

The Dream Dress Project

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If you had the opportunity to work on any project of your choosing, what would you choose? Last fall our Costume Shop Manager Mike Floyd posed the same question to our four costume artisans, Paula, Eva, Larissa and Barbara. The only requirements: all pieces of the dress must be produced in-house without the use of special services like custom printing or pleating, and the dresses must be visually exciting and connected to a play or specific time period.

Each artisan brought in inspirational images that offered unique challenges and together spanned many years of fashion history. Mike produced sketches based on their inspiration images, and our costume shop crew crafted their dream dresses during a break in their production schedule. Each dress pulls from a different era of fashion history.

Paula’s creation drew inspiration from the late 19th century, where dresses highlighted the feminine shape with the use of cinched waists. Her dress features a combination of structure and airy qualities with the use of heavy silk and mesh organza to create the ruffled sleeves.


Larissa’s creation was inspired by the Russian-born, French artist and designer Erté. Using crushed velvet, Larissa crafted a cape that required careful cutting and attention to how the fabric naturally draped around the body. Below the cape is a dress made of two layers of very sheer and very lightweight silk chiffon and silk crêpe du chine, cut on the bias.


The final dress crafted by Eva drew inspiration from a ballerina costume, designed by Christian Dior post WWII. This dress shape highlights the growing trend of that time period to again highlight the feminine figure. Through the use of a structured bodice and cinched waist that continues into a full skirt lined with 40 yards of multi-colored tulle, this dress features a dramatic shape and flare.


The final touches to these dresses were provided by Barbara, who hand beaded the detailing on Larissa’s dress, and crafted jewelry to match Paula and Eva’s creations. The mannequins also feature tulle “hair” sculptures created by Barbara to finish off each look.


When asked about the dream dress project costume shop manager Mike says:

“It’s so exciting to manage a costume shop in Portland that employs four artists who have dedicated so much time, labor and creativity to produce a constant level of high quality, custom dresses each season for different designers, directors and actors. I feel these dresses — and The Dress Project itself — is a wonderful way to acknowledge the “quiet” artistry that happens behind the scenes at Portland Center Stage when creating clothes for our theatrical productions.”

The PCS costume shop is participating in the First Thursday Art Walk in partnership with the Pearl District Business Association on June 2 from 5- 7 p.m. Stop by to see the dresses in person, and explore the process and history of the costumes and accessories covering the past 10 seasons for PCS. We’ll also have the dresses on display in the lobby when space is available.

To get a behind the scenes look at some of the techniques used, check out this video produced by our very own Kate Szrom.

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