The Weak Force
Vanessa flinched and sucked in her breath as the needle stabbed her in the finger. A seamstress she was not. As a spot of blood appeared on her fingertip, Vanessa sighed. It was at times like this that made her wish she were doing a paid gig on Broadway rather than community work.
Vanessa was performing as a dancer in a charity show. Because they didn’t have much money, and only one seamstress willing to sew for free, in addition to all the hours of rehearsal time, the performers also had to make their own adjustments to their multiple costumes.
To save even more money, rather than start from scratch, the costume designer had decided to recycle some of the costumes that had been used in previous shows. A great idea in theory, but it was the main reason why Vanessa was where she was now - surrounded by sequins and feathers, elastic and Velcro, and needles, thread, and glue guns. In prior years, the girls who danced in the show were known for how petite they were. They were rarely taller than 5’4” and barely able to fill an A cup. The choreographers had finally gotten a clue and realized that great dancers came in all shapes and sizes, which is how Vanessa, Kirsten and Debbie all ended up being cast.
There were six dancers total, and the other three had it much easier than the newcomers when it came to costume fittings. Angie, Robyn and Lindsay had been dancing in the show for years, and many of the costumes that were being recycled had been custom made to fit their lithe, tiny bodies. Debbie was even shorter than the three of them, but she had been blessed - or cursed, depending on how you looked at it - with a very ample bosom. Vanessa and Kirsten were much taller at 5’ 8”. Although both girls were fairly slim, Vanessa had the broad back of a swimmer, and Kirsten, although not quite as well endowed as Debbie, had no problems filling out the costumes.
For some reason, for years, the dancers performed in what pretty much amounted to lingerie onstage. There were bras and bustiers of all styles and colours, but unfortunately not of all sizes. The skirts and shorts left little to the imagination, and with Kirsten and Vanessa’s long legs, extra material had to be added to the skirts in order to keep their “lady parts” from being on display.
Now Vanessa sat on the floor in the middle of her living room, less than two weeks before opening night, madly attempting to alter her costumes. First she tackled something easy - adding black trim to a short white skirt. The girls were always talking about the wonders of the glue gun, so she had purchased one from the dollar store, along with two dozen glue sticks. Within fifteen minutes, the trim was on her skirt. It wasn’t perfectly straight, but with the lights and all the movement they would be doing onstage, nobody would notice. Next up? The many, many bras.
There were a total of fifteen dance numbers in the show, and the girls were wearing bras as tops in seven of them and bustiers in five. As all of them were previous costumes, Vanessa needed to alter every single one. The bustiers weren’t so bad - all she needed to do there was elongate the straps - but the bras were a different story. 32A - was that even an adult size? The cups themselves covered what needed to be covered, but the back hooks fell short of meeting by a good two or three inches. That would not do. They sold bra extenders at the local fabric store for only about a dollar each, and Vanessa had purchased a dozen in both black and beige. She got to work.
Two frustrating hours later, Vanessa gave up. She had managed to prick her fingers at least a dozen times, and had only managed to add extenders to three of the bras. The material was just so thick, and the needle was not strong enough to penetrate it easily. There was no way she was going to be able to sew on four more! She felt like she was going to cry - between her regular job, rehearsals, and now this, she was just so TIRED. All she wanted to do was go to sleep.
As she stood up to stretch, Vanessa’s eyes fell upon her dollar store glue gun. Maybe there was a faster way to get these alterations done after all…
Vanessa was performing as a dancer in a charity show. Because they didn’t have much money, and only one seamstress willing to sew for free, in addition to all the hours of rehearsal time, the performers also had to make their own adjustments to their multiple costumes.
To save even more money, rather than start from scratch, the costume designer had decided to recycle some of the costumes that had been used in previous shows. A great idea in theory, but it was the main reason why Vanessa was where she was now - surrounded by sequins and feathers, elastic and Velcro, and needles, thread, and glue guns. In prior years, the girls who danced in the show were known for how petite they were. They were rarely taller than 5’4” and barely able to fill an A cup. The choreographers had finally gotten a clue and realized that great dancers came in all shapes and sizes, which is how Vanessa, Kirsten and Debbie all ended up being cast.
There were six dancers total, and the other three had it much easier than the newcomers when it came to costume fittings. Angie, Robyn and Lindsay had been dancing in the show for years, and many of the costumes that were being recycled had been custom made to fit their lithe, tiny bodies. Debbie was even shorter than the three of them, but she had been blessed - or cursed, depending on how you looked at it - with a very ample bosom. Vanessa and Kirsten were much taller at 5’ 8”. Although both girls were fairly slim, Vanessa had the broad back of a swimmer, and Kirsten, although not quite as well endowed as Debbie, had no problems filling out the costumes.
For some reason, for years, the dancers performed in what pretty much amounted to lingerie onstage. There were bras and bustiers of all styles and colours, but unfortunately not of all sizes. The skirts and shorts left little to the imagination, and with Kirsten and Vanessa’s long legs, extra material had to be added to the skirts in order to keep their “lady parts” from being on display.
Now Vanessa sat on the floor in the middle of her living room, less than two weeks before opening night, madly attempting to alter her costumes. First she tackled something easy - adding black trim to a short white skirt. The girls were always talking about the wonders of the glue gun, so she had purchased one from the dollar store, along with two dozen glue sticks. Within fifteen minutes, the trim was on her skirt. It wasn’t perfectly straight, but with the lights and all the movement they would be doing onstage, nobody would notice. Next up? The many, many bras.
There were a total of fifteen dance numbers in the show, and the girls were wearing bras as tops in seven of them and bustiers in five. As all of them were previous costumes, Vanessa needed to alter every single one. The bustiers weren’t so bad - all she needed to do there was elongate the straps - but the bras were a different story. 32A - was that even an adult size? The cups themselves covered what needed to be covered, but the back hooks fell short of meeting by a good two or three inches. That would not do. They sold bra extenders at the local fabric store for only about a dollar each, and Vanessa had purchased a dozen in both black and beige. She got to work.
Two frustrating hours later, Vanessa gave up. She had managed to prick her fingers at least a dozen times, and had only managed to add extenders to three of the bras. The material was just so thick, and the needle was not strong enough to penetrate it easily. There was no way she was going to be able to sew on four more! She felt like she was going to cry - between her regular job, rehearsals, and now this, she was just so TIRED. All she wanted to do was go to sleep.
As she stood up to stretch, Vanessa’s eyes fell upon her dollar store glue gun. Maybe there was a faster way to get these alterations done after all…