William Ivey Long designed these costumes for the Marquise Theater’s 2019 production of the Tony Award nominated musical comedy Tootsie directed by Scott Ellis. These costumes were draped by Bethany Itterly , and created at Bethany Joy Costumes.
Made for the female lead, Julie Nichols and the ensemble dancers, These dresses are silk crepe. The bodices are flat lined to coutil and fully boned with a zipper at center front and snap rigging to allow for the skirts to be ripped from the bodices. The edges of the bodice are bound and trimmed (in the case of the lead). The sleeves are made of a fashion layer over a base net layer with tulle sleeve headers. The center fronts and hems of the skirts are done with a 1/8th inch hem. There were a total of nine ensemble dresses and six dresses made for the lead and her two understudies. The primary role I played in construction was in the creation of the sleeves and skirts but I also flat-lined and assembled some of the bodices as well as troubleshooting the snap rigging. The dress worn by the lead actress went through three design iterations. The first is the teal worn in the promotional images, the second is the hot pink, the third (which is the design being used for the duration of the show) is the lavender.