Women's evening wear offers so much more opportunity than men's. Just look at Paris Fashion. Need cover - anywhere - just add something to the dress - female attire does not have the expectation of as formal a structure as men's. Men's clothes are expected to follow a fairly rigid pattern whereas women's are only limited by imagination.

I agree. I am often envious of even the amount of clothing choices woman have over men in our society.

While women's clothing is more varied in style, it can create some difficulties because of expectations.....in men's attire it's acceptable to wear a large jacket with pockets wherever you need, where as much of the time women's attire is expected to be somewhat more form fitting to show off those vivacious curves ;-)

Attire makes the look but the heart is what counts.
Fred K Magic

I take your point Astrid - so what I do is go to a Vogue pattern book and look for the most stylish large jacket I can find that will accommodate pockets, pulls etc and have it made. If it's simple enough I sew it myself. Then I work out the routine so any effects dependent on the jacket are early in the show, and ditch the jacket when it's no longer needed. This approach helps structure a routine logically, also.

We have to look in limitations for opportunities.

If I may complement your avatar, you seem to know exactly how to focus attention on your vivacious curves - which gives you a head start in the fine art of misdirection. Houdini could hide what he needed on his naked body - so every tiny item of clothing is an opportunity to hide something.

True. However, women clothing is not all that practical. I find most of them uncomfortable and the material sucks. Clothing in our society and/or any society tends to reflect the gender dynamic and power.

Another upside to women's costuming is that you can use it as a misdirection. A flashy dress or a flash of cleavage will keep most eyes away from where you don't want it.

I never really considered the practicality. That is a very good point. Can you expand more on how clothing reflects gender dynamic and power? This is an area I have never really considered before and find this interesting.

Are you referring to the point of unpractical clothes as a "control" of power method by a male centred society? One could argue that choice is power. Like I said though, this is an area which I have never really given any thought too, so any of your thoughts would be of great value.

I just found time to watch 'The Stage Magic of Marvyn Roy and Carol'.

Carol stands there using the folds of her skirt to hide things virtually in plain view.

Mr Electric (Marvyn Roy) uses a clip to continually appear and disappear a bracelet.

This is a couple who looked for opportunities in their attire rather than limitations.

Their act (considering the limited technology of the time) is a wonder.

All of these issues about clothing can be easily fixed by a seamstress who knows what he/she is doing. An experienced seamstress can make a pattern from existing clothing out of the material you desire as well as add pockets whereever necessary. You will save yourself tons of shopping this way and once she has the pattern, she can make the costume in any material or color you desire.

A dress is a GREAT place for hiding a topit. One on each side can vanish amazing quantities. You can balance the dress with a belt, or "something" that secures to your hips to keep any weight from pulling on the dress and giving it away. Think "garter belt" and get creative

If the material of regular clothing does not work for you, then you can make your own dresses or outfits. I make all mine from easy homemade patterns. If you cannot sew, you can hire someone to make it for you for a reasonable price.
Autumn

I find the most important thing about costuming is making sure it fits the figure it is on and the act it is in whether male or female! This said though, I do think we ladies have many more choices in that area.

I can honestly say I've never had any desire to wear womens clothing, nor have I been envious of it...

Well, I am envious of it as well. Patterns, colors, textures, layers. Most men's clothing is a derivitive of Black, Grey and Brown. To dress with style I have to find patterns I like and have clothes custom made anymore... Even the ethnic stores I frequent are less flamboyant - yes I said that!

I think the question for the boys is, do like black or brown? Girls, which color of the rainbow wold you like to wear today?

Ashley

I've got a very funny story regarding this topic. I attended David Sandy's Workshop Reunion. For this Workshop, he had added a critique session in which attendees could do a routine and have it critqued by some of the faculty and staff. Since I was in the process of putting the finishing touches on my comedy routine, I brought all the stuff needed in case during one of the late night sessions I could get some input. Now, bear in mind that this routine is very attire oriented. I signed up to be critiqued, and voiced concerns to David about not getting the full effect of the routine without being in proper character, which included proper outfitting! I told him what the outfit consisted of (red leather shorts, tight black t-shirt, and 4 1/2 inch heeled shoes). He told me that if I wanted a proper critique, do the routine the way I would normally perform. So, I dressed for the part! Now, the critiquing didn't involve just the two staff....attendees could critique, also. There were four rooms set aside for this. It ended up being standing room only in the room I was in, and I could have brought in an elephant through the door and walked it to the front and have it "magically" appear and some of those guys would not have known the difference!

Margarette