Costumes with Linda
02 Nov 2020
Melbourne Bearbrass Probus member Linda Rowe has had an fancy career in the rag trade. She designed, made and hired fancy-dress and theatrical costumes for the Amazing Transformations Costume Hire company in south-east Melbourne.
Although she retired three years ago, she still does voluntary work for the Ready Set charity helping homeless and disadvantaged people get well-dressed for job interviews.
“They come to us nervous but their morale really lifts when they realise they’re getting both interview clothes and warm casual clothes free to keep,” Linda says.
Linda studied fashion and production at Emily McPherson College and went into dress pattern-making. “I was making costumes for my mother-in-law Gwen's costume shop, Fiddle-Faddle in Sydney while at home with my two children. “I preferred making costumes compared with fashion, and I asked Amazing Transformations for a job. Dee Rickards and her mother Dorothy had started it after Dee’s father John wanted his garage free of costumes. The theatrical family had been collecting theatre costumes for many years.
“I was hired on the spot to make costumes and hire costumes and stayed 30 years. In those days you couldn’t even buy a Superman costume, it was all hand-made.”
(We asked Linda about the most popular dress-up costumes. Her verdict: Abba, Bananas in Pyjamas, and Superheroes).
Then the owner Dee got a job working for Steve Vizard and Fast Forward on Channel 7 as costume manager. “Whatever Steve Vizard was spoofing, like Flintstones or Brady Bunch, he’d order costumes on Monday for use on Thursday’s show, and it was our job to get them made fast by the seat of our pants.
“In the 1980s and 90s costume hire became big business with the craze for ‘How to Host A Murder’ parties at your own home.
“High schools also ramped up their theatre shows, picking up whatever had been a big deal on Broadway or Melbourne two or three years earlier, like Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast or Hairspray. Schools would spend anywhere from a few hundred to $10,000 to fit out their play. They even did Shakespeare – Tudor costumes were the toughest job.
“For Coles head office sales and management conferences, they’d lighten things up by getting us to dress up someone as a tube of salami or a cheddar cheese.”
Linda loved chatting to customers in their happy mood, planning a big day. Now she’s taking watercolor and pen-and-ink lessons. This culminated in an art trip last year drawing in France’s chateau-rich Loire Valley for a fortnight. Her formula for contentment? “Keeping trying new things!”
Bearbrass Probus, named after an early suggestion for “Melbourne”, is thriving with high-calibre fortnightly Zoom speakers. To inquire, email [email protected]
Although she retired three years ago, she still does voluntary work for the Ready Set charity helping homeless and disadvantaged people get well-dressed for job interviews.
“They come to us nervous but their morale really lifts when they realise they’re getting both interview clothes and warm casual clothes free to keep,” she Linda says.
The costume business was started by actress and comedian Dee Rickards. Her mother-in-law Gwen, who had been in amateur theatre, had to clear out the garage of all the costumes. She hired some to friends and as this took off, she opened a shop in High Street.
Linda studied fashion and production at Emily McPherson College and went into dress pattern-making. “I was making costumes for my mother-in-law Gwen's costume shop, Fiddle-Faddle in Sydney while at home with my two children. “I decided I preferred making costumes compared with fashion, and I asked Amazing Transformations in Glen Iris for a job. Dee Rickards and her mother Dorothy had started it after Dee’s father John wanted his garage free of costumes. The theatrical family had been collecting theatre costumes for many years.
“ We clicked and I was hired on the spot to start makeing costumes and hire costumes and and stayed 30 years. “I then got stuck at home raising my boy and girl. Dee’s mum asked me to make costumes for them. In those days you couldn’t even buy a Superman costume, it was all hand-made.”
(We asked Linda about the most popular dress-up costumes. Her verdict: Abba, Bananas in Pyjamas, and Superheroes).
“ I liked it better than fashion work and stayed with them 30 yearsThen the owner Dee? Rickards got a job working for Steve Vizard and Fast Forward on Channel 7 as costume manager. “Whatever Steve Vizard was spoofing, like Flintstones or Brady Bunch, he’d order costumes on Monday for use on Thursday’s show, and it was our job to get them made fast by the seat of our pants.
“In the 1980s and 90s costume hire became big business with the craze for ‘How to Host A Murder’ parties at your own home.
“High schools also ramped up their theatre shows, picking up whatever had been a big deal on Broadway or Melbourne two or three years earlier, like Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast or Hairspray. Schools would spend anywhere from a few hundred to $10,000 to fit out their play. They even did Shakespeare – Tudor costumes were the toughest job.
“For Coles head office sales and management conferences, they’d lighten things up by getting us to dress up someone as a tube of salami or a cheddar cheese.”
Linda loved chatting to customers in their happy mood, planning a big day. Now she’s taking watercolor and pen-and-ink lessons. This culminated in an art trip last year drawing in France’s chateau-rich Loire Valley for a fortnight. Her formula for contentment? “Keeping trying new things!”
Footnote: Bearbrass Probus, named after an early suggestion for “Melbourne”, is thriving with high-calibre fortnightly Zoom speakers. To inquire, email [email protected] #
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