I design and construct costumes for a couple of dance studios in the Salt Lake Valley. As you might imagine, I have to walk a fine line between current design and LDS standards.

I dressed a class of teenage girls in a contemporary dress made of opaque spandex. The costume had a midcalf length skirt over a short with a 3 inch inseam. The bodice was as high as a t shirt in the front, but a drawstring went through the casing at the neck, crossed in the back and tied. The back bodice was above the bra line. To be honest, the shoulders were bare (for shame).

At the concert one of the fathers mentioned to the dad sitting next to him that he was disappointed to see a costume that looked like lingerie. Without skipping a beat the other dad replied, "If you think that looks like lingerie, I feel sorry for you".

I'm glad that while I'm walking a tightrope, some people in the audience have brought a net.

I will catch you!

Lingerie is leaves and sand...

What you are doing is creating a work of art - at least some out there see reality for what it is.

Nice going - any pics?

Keep up the good fight, releve!

That must be a tough place to design costumes. They can't understand different eras like the twenties-flapper dresses... and the actors are ACTING-not every role is 2015 uptight Mormon.

Perhaps you can refer them to the All Turtleneck Players across town...

And yet it is absolutely OK in Utah for women to get their chests surgically enhanced to porn-star proportions. I mean, seriously. When was the last time you head a Conference talk about breast enhancement? Go figure.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2015 02:15PM by slskipper.

Costuming in Utah is a challenge, but I agree with the second dad. Nightwear for Mormon women is just plain sad. I wonder how many women wear yoga pants and a lump t shirt to bed. Or worse yet the nighty with sleeves and nursing slits.

My latest challenge is a costume for the song Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Polka Dot Bikini. The children who will wear this costume are three years old. The studio does not allow bare tummies. In the past, I've done a polka dot one piece and a hip length cover up to give the illusion of a bikini. This year they don't want the cover up. I've decided to cover the tummy area with white fishnet and hope that nobody complains that you can see skin through the net.

To be fair to the women getting breast enhancement, when you have five kids in ten years, you lose the perk. If you're going to go under the knife to put things back in their rightful position, you might as well get a little bonus. Mormons do like to get their money's worth.

Do TBM women think appearance will matter in the CK?

Have them wear the beach blanket.

She was afraid to come out in the open
And so a blanket around she wore
She was afraid to come out in the open
And so she sat bundled up on the shore

Why would they even choose that song if the idea of a bikini is so offensive?

Too funny releve. What a fantastic comeback from that father. Made my day.