How to Plan a Costume Silhouette Before Adding Decorative Details

Before deciding where to put decorative details on a costume, consider what the basic outline of the costume will be. If your costume drawing looks like this: (a costume covered with braid, applique, buttons, and contrasting panels but it is hard to say what the basic shape of the costume is), that’s a red flag. Audiences see the basic shape of a costume before they notice small decorative details. And if the shape isn’t clear, adding more decorative detail rarely helps. It’s better to determine what the costume should look like first, then figure out what decorative elements should go where.

Silhouette is the overall outline of a costume. It includes the shape of the shoulders, the width of the sleeves, the width of the waist, the width and length of the skirt or trousers, any layers that add bulk, and any structured parts of the costume. A silhouette can be slim and vertical, or wide across the shoulders, or full through the skirt, or uneven in some way.

Silhouette is an important part of a costume because it contributes to how the audience interprets the character. A long slim line conveys a different impression than a short, stiff line even when both costumes are made from the same colored fabric and decorated in the same way. Deciding the silhouette early can help determine the rest of the construction.

This can be challenging for beginner costumers because thinking about decorative details is usually easier than thinking about the structure of the costume. It’s often easier to visualize how an applique or elaborate trim will look than it is to think about the proportions of a garment, or its length, or its width. Also, decorative details can mask problems with the fit and the silhouette. Focusing on the decorative details can lead you to miss that the shoulders are too wide, the waist is too high, the skirt is too wide, or the bottom half of the costume weighs more than the top half.

An excellent way to plan a costume is to draw a simple front and back sketch showing only the basic outline. Don’t include buttons, stitching, braid, texture, or small details. Shade in the costume as a single solid shape, if that helps. Set the sketch a few feet away, and study it for only a few seconds. Can you still tell the proportions of the costume? Is the widest part of the costume where you want it to be? Is the costume visually balanced from head to toe? If you can understand the design with just the basic outline, you can add decorative elements later to enhance the design, instead of trying to save it.

The fabric you select for the costume should support the silhouette, not fight it. Soft, drapable fabrics are a good choice for silhouettes that should drape or fall or move easily. Sharp, stiff silhouettes may require firmer fabrics, interfacing, lining, or other supporting materials. Before you cut the main fabric, pin a scrap of fabric in the general shape you want. Your sketch may call for a sharp, stiff sleeve or skirt, but the fabric you have chosen doesn’t have enough stiffness to achieve that shape. You’ll have a lot less work to do if you determine the relationship between fabric and silhouette early.

Once you know the silhouette and the fit, you’ll be able to decide where decorative elements should go. Trim can highlight a seam; contrasting fabric can separate layers; applique can focus the eye on a certain area. The key question is: Does the decorative element support the design?

Thick braid around a soft neckline can distort the neckline. Large decoration near the hem can make the bottom half of the costume appear heavier than the top. Many small decorative elements on a costume can make the costume appear busy without helping define the silhouette.

Before adding the next decorative element, step back from the costume, and focus on the silhouette. Ignore the decorative details for a moment. Look at the shoulder line, the waistline, the width of the sleeves, the length of the costume, and the visual balance. If you can read all of that information from the silhouette alone, your costume has a strong base. Decorative details can make the silhouette easier to read, but they shouldn’t distract from it.