Kathleen Laundy     Costume Designer
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  • About Me
  • Aggie Players Archive
  • Alumni Wall of Fame
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  • Awesome Costumes
  • Blog
  • Cosplay
  • Costume Links
    • Education
    • Resources/Organizations
    • Ren Faires
    • Comic Cons
    • Designers
  • Courses Taught
    • DRAM 1342 Costuming
    • DRAM 1341 Makeup
    • DRAM 2331 Intro to Design
    • DRAM 1310 Theatre Appreciation (Online)
  • Current Season
    • Steel Magnolias
    • The Gods of Comedy
    • The Addams Family Musical
    • Die Fledermause
    • Love/Sick
  • Everything Else Links
    • Dramaturgy
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  Kathleen Laundy     Costume Designer

Blog

Just me talking about costume-y kind of stuff

what you wear does matter

5/31/2014

1 Comment

 
John K.  Strecker was the first curator (1903-1933) of the oldest continuously operating Natural History Museum in Texas.  During his tenure he traveled hundreds of dusty miles all over Texas in a horse-drawn buggy collecting specimens for the museum.  The Strecker collection is now housed in the Mayborn Museum in Waco.  He was a self-educated Librarian and Naturalist, and he knew the importance of wearing a tie.
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The reason I'm blogging about ties today is this: My son, Sylvan,  is 11 and loves ties; he always has, even as a baby in daycare he would wear his daddy's ties to school every day.  I had recently bought him the Gryffindor tie that Hasting's was sold out of at Christmas, but  was waiting for an occasion to give it to him.  He earned it as a reward for passing his STAAR science test on the condition that he had to guess what his prize was.  In a typical game of 20 questions that lasted for two whole days, one of his questions was, "Does it help you?"  I answered yes and told him that I would tell him the story behind my answer after he guessed what his prize was. 

 For the story, I have to go back to grad school at Cal State Long Beach.  Our costume shop manager, Michael Pacciorini was always professionally dressed in a collared shirt and tie.  One day we asked him why he didn't dress more casually since he often was doing things ill-suited (pardon the pun) for business wear.  He told us the story of his days as a business major working in a bank and moonlighting as a stage manager over in the theatre department.  One night an actor had a wardrobe malfunction and his pants fell down around his ankles on stage.  Michael quickly ripped off his tie (in my imagination a la Superman) and threw it onstage to the embarrassed actor who used it as a belt to keep his pants up the rest of the show.  "And that's why I always wear a tie," he told us, "in case someone's pants fall down."  It's a funny story but not the whole truth.  The whole truth is that you earn respect and trust by being well-dressed, no matter what your profession.

Yesterday my extended family all met up at a funeral.  This happens more and more these days as we keep getting older and older.  I gave Sylvan his reward, the long-sought after Gryffindor tie only to realize the man of the house was at work and I didn't know how to tie a tie.  Being a costume designer, this is really something I should know how to do.  Undaunted, I fearlessly drove us to the funeral in Temple and met up with my 5 male cousins all of whom were in ties that they had tied themselves.  I knew they would be, because I know their mothers.  Stephen promptly took Sylvan in hand, led him to the bathroom mirror, whipped out his phone and showed him a you tube video of how to tie a tie,   Meanwhile Will commented, "You know they have an app for that now." 
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Look how great Matt, John Luke, James, and Will looked in their starched white collared shirts and their ties.  Stephen even went so far as to wear a jacket.
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So in these days of ultra-casual attire and behavior, I just want my son to continue to believe in the power of the collared shirt and tie.  Because what you wear does matter.
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1 Comment
The Man of the House
5/31/2014 10:40:35 am

I'll teach Sylvan to tie a tie when he gets back from his daddy's. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

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