Would you be able to do a pre 2018 joule breakdown please
Joule! Love her! Pre-2018, but the German Joule? London version is quite a different question, so I'll assume we're looking at the German/Broadway version. If I'm wrong please let me know!
OK let's see what I can find on how this costume goes together....
This is possibly the most useful image! Here we can see that the actrss is wearing a plan black unitard as underwear - that layer is just to protect the costume from the absolute worst of the sweat and damage from being next to skin. Then she's got a blue sleeveless top - that is actually the top of the leggings, the garment is a one-piece so it's not got a waistband. Instead she has her hidden leather belt - those handles aren't attached to the fabric, she's wearing a sturdy belt like everyone else! It's just hidden beneath her leotard. And we can see the leotard around her waist, blue on the inside. I don't know if I got any photos of how it fastens and how the handles show through - that magnificent wig covers her back often! The "boob-wheels" seem to be sewn directly to the leotard.
The silver squares - they're heat-pressed sequin sheets. You can see they're cut to shape on the diagonal lines on her bodice... kinda... there's a good overlap of sequins across her hips and her knees, that makes sure you're not going to get obvious blank fabric showing as she moves and stretches.
So she's got leggings that have a sleeveless top, the high-cut leotard, hidden belt, then accessories... the shoulder box, we can see a big velcro patch centre of the leotard. Her shoulder box has a corresponding rivet in the centre.
Gloves, remarkably hard to get a clear look at! Are her elbow pads incorporated into her gloves? It would make sense and help keep the whole lot in place. In this back view, beneath her hair, we can see her mic pack, a little pouch of matching fabric. We can also just about see her elbow - the sleeve has a decoration patch, and her elbow seems to be attached to it. This would be insanely practical, to use the decorative patch to anchor her elbow and glove - the anchor point is going to take some strain and need reinforcement so making that reinforcement a feature is perfect!
Her belt, as we've seen, is hidden and I believe her handles are plain black... kneepads are the angular style which is a bit complicated. Then her "slinkies", spring ankles/skate covers. To be honest, I am not sure which of these hanging up are Joule's!
Finally her wig... her glorious, glorious hairstyles that have changed so much over the years! Possibly unpopular opinion, but while I do love her absurd mohawk, it's not my favourite - I love the late 90s/early 2000s where for a while, she had braids, and spikes that looked almost flame-like. She even had neon red in there, which glowed for her intro in AC/DC! It's a shame that effect wasn't used more, because it didn't balance, but for Joule it was awesome :D I love braids for Joule, and Buffy, Wrench had them too briefly in london's early years - the movement when skating, spinning, is fantastic.
If we leave Germany for further references....
By the time the UK Tour reaches Hong Kong and Singapore in 2013, those costumes had been in use for a long... long...... long time. Joule's lost a lot of sequins here, but Wrench has lost her apron altogether!
What this does show us is a rather crude but effective method of holding costume pieces in place. The kneepads are being held up by a strap that is sewn to the leggings, passes through a D ring on the kneepads, and then snaps to itself. This method is rather clumsy looking on kneepads, but REALLY good where it's less obvious! Velcro has the risk of catching and destroying the spandex fabrics. Sometimes it's worth it, but I will bet that it's only the soft side of the velcro on the garments, and the stiff side on boxes etc.
I find the difference in details fascinating - the tour costumes are constructed so differently to the German versions!
Her shoulders here - clearly stitched leather. Nicely done work, but, why stitch everything? Low maintenance maybe? It can take a beating with no risk of elements peeling off. These shoulders are clearly more flexible than the German equivalent - probably more comfortable to wear and dance in... but don't look as good!
Here's an oddity - the 2003 US Tour sent Electra and Joule to a publicity event at a school, but Joule went without wig!
I'm not gonna go into her London "Animal Truck" version, or too deep into her past in this post... that's quite a lot already! I hope that you've enjoyed this trip through the dangers of the dynamite truck with me!
jbbartram-illu
turnnoffyourmind
tangentwithtanner
izzy806
ellievsbear
annaxmalina
romaincrisis
