My BEST tips for packing wardrobe for tour
You mean well - I know you do! But chances are, if you haven’t toured with your artist, you only know half the story when it comes to their wardrobe.
Dressing someone for a photoshoot or a press opp is one thing, but preparing them to go onstage and slay is completely different. When your artist makes the jump from photo shoots and music videos to live performance, a whole new set of challenges pop up and suddenly, wardrobe is a BIG factor to consider. With the right planning, you can avoid every potential wardrobe malfunction waiting on the other side.
From fit, to undergarments, to packing wardrobe bags (or cases) for tour, there’s a way to do it, and a way to make life hard for yourself. I’ve put together my best tips for packing for tour:
Differences between photo shoots and performance wear
Fit & comfort matters (temp? Shoes? Security? It all translates on stage when they aren’t comfortable)
Undergarments are critical
Packing
Costume rigging
Fit.
At photo shoots, press opportunities, and video shoots, stylists rarely care about fit, and they aren’t wrong. It doesn’t matter, and in fact, binder clips are the perfect solution to a bad fit for this scenario.
But when an artist steps out on stage, a new rule comes into play.
It isn’t fashion if it doesn’t fit well or feel good.
Live shows are where fans get an up-close 360-degree view of their favorite artist, and it’s your job to make that moment feel downright magical in terms of look. However, this brings about a new set of challenges, and they’re things you’ve probably never thought about.
A loose bra strap is a magazine cover waiting to happen, while a pant hem that’s just half an inch too long can cause an artist to trip and break a foot in an instant. I hate to be morbid here, but the amount of topstick I’ve seen in place of an actual hem is astounding, especially when no thought is paid to that hem after it’s been laundered and the tape is now gone. Hems should only be taped in a pinch if the pants or skirt will be danced in. A bad hem is the difference between someone doing a dance move and nailing it, or falling and breaking something, or in the least, embarrassing themselves. At all costs, things HAVE to fit.
I also think if you’re styling a tour, it’s important to be there for rehearsals while your artist tries things out. A dress that seems ‘tight but okay’ in the beginning might cause her to faint by song 3, but neither of you would know this if she doesn’t rehearse in it first. A pair of pants might split the moment she squats down to be nearer to the crowd if it wasn’t made quite right - all of these things spell embarrassing moments that could be prevented if fit and function were prioritized right up there with style.
While it’s tough to try out everything in a time full of press pulls and limited rehearsal time, remember what you stand to lose if your stagewear picks go wrong.
Too-long straps, floppy shoulders, bunching knees, all of these are things that can be fixed economically with a tailor, and should! Have your artist shimmy, squat, bend over, twist, jump, and repeat the same dance moves they plan to on the road. Take note of how things settle after doing these moves, and if you aren’t happy with how they look, it’s time to make some changes. If pants slid down, take them in (don’t forget to leave room for a battery pack!). If one good shimmy leaves too little to the imagination, time to pin up those straps a little tighter than needed since most fibers out stretch over the course of a tour.
Fit is just one type of comfort - and the most obvious one when an artist is onstage. If they aren’t comfortable, they won’t perform at their best. Isn’t that worth taking the time to do it right?
If it doesn’t fit, tailor it to - even if the tailoring is temporary. Artists move around on stage a ton, so whether it’s a too-big shoulder strap or shorts that aren’t fitted enough around the thigh, one clear picture from the photo pit can be the difference between you getting your next retainer and your artists name and the words wardrobe malfunction next to it trending on YouTube, Instagram, etc.
Be at your artists tour rehearsals to learn what’s going to get in the way and just to see how they move onstage, what sorts of things might not work onstage even though they would in a photo shoot.
Temperature.
That jacket may look sexy, but unless they’re cold-blooded, it’s going to absorb every bit of heat the stage lights put out and he’s going to be slicked in sweat by the end of the second chorus. If the jacket is a stage-must, think about the lining - can you shave down the interfacing? Remove the insulated liner and replace it with a lightweight nylon one instead for easy removal when they’re covered in sweat but rushed into quick change? Little changes like these make a huge difference in the happiness of your artist.
Shoes.
I get a moment of panic every time an artist says the shoes are new, because what many wardrobe teams overlook is that every night, the stage is new too. It’s a big deal to adapt to a new stage from night to night, and the least you can do is make sure they’re safe and balanced.
It’s rare that women don’t wear heels onstage, so my first go-to trick here is to F up the heels. Take a razor blade and score the underside of the sole so they aren’t slick. You’d be surprised at how much traction just a little scoring will do! If you find yourself in a pinch, without a razor blade or an old seam ripper, use hairspray.
Undergarments.
Man, woman, or ‘other’ - you HAVE to pack undergarments that work with the clothes. Whether they’re wearing jeans and a stylish tee, or a sequined sheer bodysuit complete with feathers, undergarments & base garments should be worn at all times.
High amounts of stage lights reveal more than you’d think, so take photos of your artist with flash and see what’s actually going to be visible on Instagram and YouTube rather than what you see in front of you. Bodysuits reveal more and require underwear or shorts that stay hidden no matter how much dancing is going on - the trick here is finding undergarments that have matching seam lines as your stage piece. Opt for under garments in every color to match anything you might pull, with several different pantyline options for the girls just in case. People often don’t think about control bands showing either - it’s pretty obvious that a high wasted undergarment won’t work for most cases, and neither will a control band that stops mid thigh - out in the open beneath the short. If your artist wears short shorts, never buy tights that have an opaque control top because it’ll extend beneath their bottoms, making them unusable. The same goes for thigh highs - unless this is a conscious design choice, or you’re dressing a burlesque show, this style of leg wear is ruled out across the board because it needs a garter belt, which would show onstage.
Another common issue I see ALL THE TIME is when the artist or stylist supplies undergarments that doesn’t have a strong enough waistband to hold up a battery pack. If you don’t work in production, it’s easy to forget that a battery pack weighs nearly a pound, meaning, a basic spandex short won’t have the waistband strength needed to hold it up. If you buy this for your artist, you’re guaranteeing that their undergarments will be sliding down their legs by the end of song #1.
Costume rigging.
2 words.. battery pack. All stagewear needs to make a place for it and it should be intentional. It needs to be stitched down on all four sides, otherwise it’s going to be flopping around onstage, and in a location where you can easily access it should something go wrong. I once was working wardrobe for an artist who’s pack went out during a song and was sent in to change it. I had the wiring sewn into the back of her dress to keep it from moving and had I not put the pack in an easy to access location that fit with the lines of the dress, there’s no way I could’ve swapped it out mid-verse in front of 2000 people in under 4 seconds. Just last week I pulled apart a bodysuit and hid a pack beneath some feather detailing, so I snagged a quick video to show you just how creative you can be in hiding battery packs:
Another common wardrobe rig is adding snaps to the tops and bottoms so they fit together. Oftentimes active singers and dancers have their tops untuck (if they were tucked in the first place), and this could be prevented with some simple whopper popper snaps. If you’ve got more than 5 shows, it’s worth it to install snaps rather than risk safety pins popping open right against that delicate waistband during a dance routine.
Lastly, every top, bottom, and dress needs some type of fastener at the top of the zipper so that it stays zipped throughout the performance. I don’t think I need to go into detail as to why, here.
Pack it like someone plans to give it hell.
Pack as if it’s going to get the shit beat out of it, because that’s exactly what’s about to happen. I just finished a tour where the entire wardrobe was packed in duffels. While it’s an easy way to consolidate garments and fit them into the underside of a bus or tossed into a trailer, it’s not the best way to take care of what you’ve sent on the road.
Between the high maintenance designer pieces and fragile jewelry, this is a sure-fire way for things to get stuck on a hanger and torn, jewelry to get bent or broken, and garment bags ripped to shreds. Things on hangers only stay on hangers when the things are upright, things in boxes and cases can get packed however you want. If the artist isn’t quite at the level of sending wardrobe cases out on the road yet, pack everything in hard suitcases when you can and pack small items such as jewelry, topstick, and other miscellaneous items in pill containers and small hard cases. This will keep everything from breaking when that one stagehand in Seattle throws the entire duffle down the stairs because, well, if it’s packed in a duffel, so there must not be anything breakable in there.
Don’t forget to pack:
socks! A happy artist is one who has the right socks for both meet and greet and performance shoes. A never-ending supply is never a bad call.
safety pins. At some point things will need to be held in place
topstick. Same as above, but for boobs
sewing kit
vodka & spray bottle. Vodka kills bacteria thus kills the funky smell when you’re in between washes. Saturate dirty clothes so they don’t become a cesspool teeming with microbes by the time you finally have time to hit the coin laundry.
elastic, just in case a new waistband, sleeve or ankle cuffs are in order.
handheld steamer
rubber bands & clear elastics. For making long gloves stay up, keeping bows tied, and securing other odd wardrobe-y type things.
acetone. Brings shoes back from the dead if you have dancers who are particularly hard on them.
nail polish, to give those shoes a second chance at life and cover up scuffs.
baking soda. To freshen up inside shoes!
Tide sticks & shout wipes for spot cleaning
Last but not least - Inventory everything you send on tour. You should know exactly what your artist has with them on the road to prevent you from shopping for the same things twice. An inventory will save your sanity later when your road warrior returns home and you need to return or replace pieces!
