six the musical costume refs

References and write-ups for the costumes of SIX the musical. Elisabeth // she/her // @six.costume.refs on instagram

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Asks are answered via queue so it’ll generally take a few days for a response.

Info about this blog:

I post reference photos and details for Six costumes.

If you’re trying to find details for a specific character or alternate costume, there are two ways to do that:

a) click on the “Costume Refs Masterlist” page and find the costume you’re looking for (not always completely updated), OR

b) click on my “Archive” page and find the tag of the costume/queen you’re looking for (always up to date but may be harder to navigate). For more details about how I tag my costumes and the specific variations, click here.

If you want posts about Six with no costume commentary, follow me @six-musical-refs! I’ll be transferring all non-costume photos and show analysis over there to keep the focus of this one on the costumes.

Other social media: Non-costume Six blog: @six-musical-refs Insta: six.costume.refs

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Why did Roxanne get the back ponytail and Leah the side one if they both had straight/wavy hair?

I'm not sure why they did it that way for that cast specifically, but generally the choice of side vs back pony seemed to be partially hair texture, particularly cultural heritage via racial/ethnic identity, and partially actor's preference (particularly in the US where they seem to prioritize that more).

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Six Breakaway 2.0 Costume Info

Sorry for taking so long to get Breakaway 2.0 info out! I know I have a ton of asks - I’ll get to those as soon as I can, but I wanted to compile an overview of everything we have so far so I can link to this and don’t answer the same questions a bunch of times. 

This analysis is jointly from myself and @lightleckrereins​. Three notes:  - Breakaway 2.0 had most of their shows cancelled between mid-Dec and mid-Jan due to Covid cases. When they resumed the usual full time schedule in mid Jan many of them had new costumes. If there’s disparity between me saying costumes changed in mid-December or mid-January, it’s just because they seemingly didn’t have any or many shows between. - Every principal got the Broadway-style Roman numeral earrings by the mid-January posts. - Credit info: all of these photos were posted by the individual queens, noirfolklor, sixthemusical, or itscruiseday. I do not have confirmation of who took any of the stage or backstage photos of the queens that they posted, but I will specifically note which photos are from itscruiseday.

Jade Marvin (principal Aragon) Jade was in the Bliss 2.0 production, which was shut down by Covid after four shows. From the beginning of Breakaway 3.0 in September until mid-December, she wore her Bliss 2.0 costume. When the show returned in mid-January, she debuted a brand new costume.

Jade’s boots also changed. She was wearing her Bliss 2.0 boots at opening and continued to wear them for several weeks. At some point in November or early December (prior to their closure for a few weeks) she either received new boots or the straps on her Bliss boots were re-embellished.

Liv Alexander (principal Boleyn) Liv is in the Boleyn design (4.0) debuted by Lucy Aiston, which she has worn throughout the full run (although it seems as if it may have been altered in that Dec-Jan time period). The bust on the top is shaped using darts rather than the usual exclusively seams style. She’s in a full wig.

Elizabeth Walker (principal Seymour) Elizabeth is returning from 1.0 where she was a swing. She’s worn two different bodices so far: - Her first bodice had a few unique design details: the black trim weren’t in the same panels as they usually are, and the cups on the bodice were also totally rounded. We don’t have very clear photos of it so it’s a bit hard to see. - Her second bodice fully followed the usual US/NCS style with the alternating panels and cups that have a point on the side.

She wears a full wig. Like Jade and Jessica she may have gotten a new one during that Dec-Jan period, but we really don’t have any photos of what she looked like previously so I can’t confirm that. Everything pictured is post-January reopening.

She’s worn two pairs of heeled boots during the show. The first had black and white diagonal lines, possibly forming a point (this is also unique for Seymour; the diagonal diamond pattern is typically exclusive to Aragon and/or Howard).

Jessica Niles (principal Cleves) (two top left photos by itscruiseguy) Jessica previously played Cleves in the Breakaway 1.0 cast. From opening to mid-Jan, Jessica re-wore her 1.0 costume. Since it’s an old costume it was not the most updated style. Her wig had red accents with what seem to be microlocs, in line with the Broadway design and recent standardization (photos of this wig are blurry)

From mid-Jan to now, Jessica has been wearing an updated costume in the current NCS style. She also got a new wig with larger twists and red accents, as well as Roman numeral earrings in the Broadway style. Her boots seem to have stayed the same but they are not her Breakaway 1.0 boots; unlike her 1.0 they have red and white alternating diagonal lines that come to a point in the center back (like I mentioned with Elizabeth this is unique for Cleves as that’s usually reserved for A/H while Cleves usually has a chevron pattern).

Artemis Chrisoulakis (principal Howard) Artemis is in a standard NCS Howard costume that seems to be constructed in the 2020 style. It’s possible that she was originally cast in one of the 2020 productions that were never announced and that her costume was started then, but it doesn’t have the pink sleeves so it may be new or a new leotard. It has not changed throughout the run.

She has the usual straight ponytail wig worn by NCS Howards.

Amelia Walker (principal Parr) (bottom right photo by itscruiseguy) Amelia Walker is the returning principal Parr from 1.0. She is not reusing any of her old costume pieces, but is instead in new ones. However, there is a weird disparity between the skin tone of her costume and her natural skin tone that makes me think it could be a stock costume. She has a new full wig (styling seems to have had some minor changes between tech and the most recent photos) but seems to be in her 1.0 boots.

Abbi Hodgson (swing A/B/C) Abbi was in Bliss 2.0, which was the first NCL production where the alternates were in principal designs. She is reusing all of those costumes from what we can tell, but there was a photo ban on Bliss 2.0 costume photos so we never got a photo of that Cleves to confirm. She most likely is reusing her Bliss 2.0 boots and wigs but that’s also not confirmed due to the lack of photos. She has three pair of boots, one for each of her covers.

Ellie Sharpe (swing S/H/P) Ellie Sharpe was in a cancelled 2020 production. Her costumes should have been started at the time, and have a few design changes as a result.

She’s worn two bodices for Seymour (first pointed out by @redladydeath): one worn in on-ship fitting photos and another one in every photo we have of her on the ship. The fit and paneling on the bodices are noticeably different.

Her Howard seems to be in the 2020 construction style (rather than the 2021 worn by the Bliss 3.0 cast), likely since (as I mentioned above) her costumes should have been started when she was originally cast in 2020. She also has a unique design change: her sleeves have a pink sequin layer under the striped mesh. This was likely something they changed for in-progress 2020 costumes but then changed back for the post-lockdown new costumes.

Her Parr costume has no major design changes from other NCS designs, but her wig is a new style for Parr.

She has full wigs for Seymour and Parr and a ponytail wig for Howard. Like Abbi she has three pairs of boots, one for each role she covers.

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do you have any info/pics about the band’s costumes through the years? or a post about their costumes already? i would love to see what you have collected.

Yes I do!! I'm going to write up a more in-depth post about all of them in the near future, but for now here is a general overview of major design changes.

Also want to note that any LiW post would be remiss without mentioning paigeleigh59916 on Instagram, who has put a ton of time and effort into making sure the LiW (principals and deputies) are also featured in their photography and tracking down their names and info. I would not have been able to find many of these deputies without their effort, so please drop them a follow if you're interested in LiW content. 

If you want more info on the individual Ladies in Waiting and their deputies, I also try to keep their Wikis as updated as I can. Here's the LiW category link or you can find them by production here. There aren't a ton of photos in their galleries for now, but most of them do have a few at least.

Original Costumes (L-R: Terri De Marco, Alice Angliss, Amy Shaw, Katy Richardson; photo from @/aliceangliss) During the 2018 (1st) UK Tour, the band members wore all black. They eventually had studded shoes (pictured under the boots section) and silver accents. The current LiW costumes were introduced when they moved to the Arts for their West End run in Jan 2019.

Tops (Meelie Traill, dep Bessie, West End, @/meelietraillbass; Sara Kleppe, dep Bessie, West End, @/saraplaysbass; Aretha Tillotson, 2019 North American Tour, @/arethaonbass)

The band shirts are one of the costume pieces that have stayed most consistent. They’re built as leotards and the ruffs are not attached - you can see the neckline in the photo of Aretha. They have inverted stripes with rows of silver studs. Some construction changes have been made in different productions for individual LiW to accommodate different body types or shapes, but the biggest change is the length of the sleeves - sometimes they’re tank tops while sometimes they have long sleeves. Every non-UK production has used long sleeves exclusively; both the West End and older UK Tours have used both the tank and long sleeves, in part based on weather. In recent years, the West End and UK Tours have primarily used the long sleeves as well.

Pants (first photo, L-R, 1st row: the LiW of Bliss 1.0*; the LiW of Broadway**. 2nd: Katy Richardson, West End, katyrrichardson; Janette Williams, West End, janette.williams6701; Lee Moretti, Broadway, @/leethefury. Second photo, L-R: Sarah Wussow, Breakaway 2.0, sarah_wussow; Meelie Traill, 2021-22 UKT, meelietraillbass; Kat Bax, 2021-22 UKT)

The style of the bottoms have changed significantly: pants in different styles, shorts, skirts. The pants and shorts are typically a leather or faux leather with lacing, but the placement of studding and lacing depends a lot on the production.

West End/UK Tours: The lace-up pants worn by Katy Richardson (center row, left) are the original West End pants style. They've worn shorts periodically (seemingly partially design, partially weather). A few emergency covers or unexpected deputies have worn plain black pants or leggings. In the last few months, the West End has switched to solid black pants, which are the ones worn by Janette Williams in the center middle row. Australia: Everyone wears the lace-up pants style pictured on Katy Richardson. 2019 North American regional tour: Everyone wore the lace-up pants style pictured on Katy Richardson. Broadway: Most of the principals wear lace-up pants but with such a small gap that it usually isn’t visible. They also have studded waistbands. Lee Moretti is shown with slightly different pants - they have the same waistband but a lacing style that shows a much wider nude panel more like the other productions with lace up pants. No idea why hers are different as I only have photos of her pants and the principals (other deps exist, but I haven’t been able to find full body photos). Julia Schade (Joan) also wears a skirt like Sarah Wussow’s. NCS productions: The top left photo of Bliss 1.0 shows the standardized LiW pants for the NCL productions. The one exception to this is Sarah Wussow of the Breakaway 2.0 cast, who is pictured below in a skirt (worn over her pants)

Boots (L-R: the 2021-22 UKT cast***; the Bliss 1.0 cast*; Annalicia Senger, dep, West End, annasenger_muze; Alice Angliss, 2018 UK Tour, @/aliceangliss; Lauren Hopkinson, 2021-22 UK Tour, @/laurenhopkinsonmusic)

The boots are where there’s some of the most variation and inconsistency, even within the same productions. Here’s what I know: - There are three main styles: boots with 2-3 straps and buckles with studs just on the straps, lace up boots with studs scattered all over, and lace up boots with studs all over in a consistent, grid-like pattern (more like the cast’s boots). - The straps with studs may be custom-made or at least always bought from the same location, but I haven’t been able to confirm this for sure. - The boots are most well-recorded in the UK, where they have a mix. UKT seems to have started with the straps, but as other cast members have joined (either permanently or temporarily) it’s gotten more inconsistent. I talk about that a little bit more with the deputies below. - NCS always has the several straps with studs.  - Broadway has the lace up with scattered crystals (couldn’t fit in this photoset, but you can see it above in the bottoms photoset). - I’ve never been able to get my hands on any photos that show the Australian LiW boots, so no idea on those. - The boots for deputies in the UK policy seems to just be whatever is on hand and works. Deputies sometimes join without studded boots, in which case they’ll just wear plain black boots or shoes (sometimes until they later get a pair). They also commonly seem to get studs added to more mainstream store-bought shoes (not the potentially custom three straps with studs). Some of the deputies have also had boots with crystals or sequins instead of the usual studs - again, probably due to working with materials on hand. Some of them also may be wearing boots from former band members, but I haven’t been able to identify this for sure. I do know that the current, active UK deputies have their own pair of boots, though.

Masks (L-R: left is Katy Richardson, West End, @/katyrrichardson; top right is Meelie Traill, West End, meelietraillbass; bottom right is Broadway cast**) The productions all have black studded masks from what I can find. Broadway are N-95 while UK are cloth masks. I don’t think NCS productions use them. I don’t know about Australia. The studding pattern differs; some are around the edges with others all over.

(top from Sophie Wilson, 21-22 UKT’s Head of Wardrobe, @/sophiemw04; bottom is Amy Shaw, West End, @/amyshawmusic; right is Kellie Nitz, Breakaway 2.0, kellienitzbass) Ruffs: The productions have black ruffs with studding. The West End production briefly didn’t wear them at some point in 2019, but as far as I know that’s the only production that didn’t at any point. Headbands: Most of the LiW wear a headband - it’s just 2-4 rows of separated studs. Number of rows depends on the production. A few productions, rather than having gaps between, have black pleather or vinyl (Australia and early WE). Hair: They don’t seem to have strong policies on hair, but ponytails or a style with part of the hair pulled back are common. However, braids, hair down, etc. have also happened quite a bit. Makeup: Again, there doesn’t seem to be have strong standardization. Eyeshadows usually are a shade of black/white/silver or a natural tone (skin tone type palettes; I can’t say the proper word as it’s blocked). Lipsticks range from natural to a more toned down red (like the one Kellie Nitz is wearing here).

------- *Chanel Miller, Kellie Nitz, Rebecca Caldera, Alexandra Crosby **Pants photo: Elena Bonomo, Michelle Marie, not sure (doesn’t look like Kimi Hayes so I think it’s a dep but I haven’t been able to confirm that or who it is if so); Mask photo is Mariana Ramirez, Michelle Marie, Elizabeth Doran, Elena Bonomo, Kimi Hayes ***Frankie South, Vanessa Domonique, Lauren Hopkinson, Kat Bax

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Periodic reblog. Note that some of this information is out of date and needs to be updated.

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Just watching the latest UK tour closing speech and Liberty mentions there are 25 costumes? So six main, six for alts, 2 extra closed Cleves, 3 more for alts, and then three Swing variations. That’s 20, what are the remaining 5? Backups for the principals? If we include Esme or Ellie that helps make up the difference but that doesn’t feel right

We were thinking it might include the Ladies in Waiting! Those are also costumes requiring some significant upkeep. There are a few different ways to count things. This is the full list we can name, specific to the 2024-25 UK Tour cast: - 6 principal - 6 alt principal designs - 3 alt alt designs - 2 closed Cleves (principal + alt) - 2 Cleves reveal (principal + alt; this could be counted separately) - 2-3 swing (Izzy open skirt, Izzy C, Izzy pants; it's possible that they're just counting this as two costumes based on the top not changing for open vs pants) - 4-5 Ladies in Waiting costumes (including a Joan dep)

Depending on exactly what and how you count, this can be anywhere from 21-27 regular costumes. Then there are some add ons that likely aren't included in the base number of costumes, but could be relevant at given times: - costumes for any swings who joined more temporarily (ie Esme or Ellie) - costumes for LiW deps who only temporarily join the production

This could easily add a number of additional costumes, especially if we include multiple variations for Ellie/Esme.

My best guess would be that the 25 was comprised of: - 6 principal - 6 alt costumes in principal designs - 3 alt costumes - 2 Cleves reveal (one principal, one alt; this is counting both the closed reveal jacket/shorts and the reveal leotard as one full costume) - 3 swing variations for Izzy - 5 Ladies in Waiting costumes (again, including Joan dep) This feels like the simplest, most obvious way to get to the 25.

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Entirely a hypothetical question but given how much Harriet has been used in the WE especially near the first dealt massive, do you think if the WE was to add another cover it’d be a 4th alternate with a Broadway cover or a third swing covering all 6? Not sure they’d do either but the thought crossed my head after an adult beverage or two haha so I felt like maybe a fair ask! Loving the blog and all your insights, analysis, and the hot takes!! It brings me joy and I hope it brings you joy!!

Another veryyy old ask, but we finally have an answer with the current West End cast: six WE swalts means three alts and three swings. Who would have thought we'd get here way back in 2018!

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Curious after Liv Alexander's last Instagram post, was she wearing her own costume or did NCS recycle Lucy Aiston's?

Apparently this is controversial to say outright so I've taken a bit to respond to this, but yes, Lucy's was altered for Liv. It's been mentioned a few times that they only created that costume for Bliss 2.0 (here's an ask sent by one of the costume makers that worked on the production), so as Abbi Hodgson was alt for both Bliss 2.0 and Breakaway 2.0 she kept hers, and Lucy's was altered for Liv.

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are there any differences between Esme's silver alt costume and Harriet's silver alt costume? from what ive seen in megasixes, it looks like Harriet's skirt lines up differently with the torso part than Esme's does (absolutely love your blog btw!!!)

Hi, quite an old ask (I refuse to check what year this was but please accept my apologies). I did make a post on this at the time, but yes their costumes were fit quite differently, mostly to flatter their respective body types but also partially as they were still tweaking how they wanted the costume to fit.

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hiya! i asked about the cruises! do you have anything on the Aragon costumes? just generally what they look like or special details (rhinestones and stuff)? sorry if this is confusing!!

Yes, lots! As a general rule of thumb, here are two tags to start with: #catherine of aragon six, #aragon 2.0, and #six ncl as far as some specific elements: - Mics (including NCL) - @lightleckrereins' boot guide (pt 1, 2) - @lightleckrereins' earrings guide

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did they really re-re-bedazzled kristina’s boots for the one-off HOS performance she did?

Who knows how Six operates haha. The double straps and interchangeable straps do say those boots are hers, so it does seem like it. But that really only requires changing out the heel (either by stripping and replacing just the crystals, or by re-heeling it entirely) as they could have re-used her old interchangeable straps.

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follow up question - when the alt/swings had duplicate tube top costumes, why was the reveal cut

During the peak of Covid, some choreography and blocking was changed for the UK Tour. Because the production was touring they were at higher risk of contracting Covid, and emergency covers were much harder for tour than West End. So some changes were made to limit transmission of Covid in the event an actor or production member caught it, including those blocking/choreo changes with the idea that actors could "social distance" onstage (very debatable in how much distance they actually got when belting their faces off onstage, but I digress).

The West End also cut it for a bit as Lexi McIntosh received the updated full reveal costume, while Cherelle Jay (alt at the time) and Collette Guitart (swing at the time) still had the crop top. This required two separate choreographies - one for the full reveal that was then only worn by Lexi, and one for the swalts. Instead of having two separate reveal choreos, they instead decided to just do the reveal for Lexi and not have there be any reveal for the swalts. The no-reveal situation was already being done for the covers that didn't have a Cleves costume (2nd/3rd covers) so it simplified things.

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Did Jaz and Caitlyn keep their John Kristinsen costumes?

Yes! I talked through more of that here

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I saw Six on Broadway this Sunday and only Ayana was wearing the Roman numeral earrings. Krystal was wearing one Roman numeral earring and a different one. The other four just had various silver hoops. Any thoughts on why this would happen? The tour casts I have seen always wear the Roman numeral earrings.

There's been quite a bit of variety on who does/doesn't wear them recently (at least within Broadway). It does seem that Broadway is less consistent on wearing them than other casts, though. It does seem to really depend on the queen. Both Najah and Kay wear their Roman numerals a decent bit, but I've also seen them sometimes wearing others (Najah a gold hoop, Kay a silver hoop with pink embellishments). Gianna wore the numerals originally, but she's been wearing just a hoop for a while now. Kelsie seems to always wear the numeral. Krystal does too, but Cleves' design is to only wear the one Roman numeral so that much is normal. I've seen less of Taylor lately, but she's also seemed to be a mix of hoop and roman numeral. And the alternates all almost always wear their Roman numeral earrings. (Here's a few posts from this past month that show examples of larger groups: this post from a few weeks ago which has Najah, Kay, and Taylor all in non-numeral hoops; and then this series from Aiyana's debuts, which show a mix of numeral and regular hoops)

As for reasons for this...it could be that an individual queen is allergic to the material used for the numerals, and that it wasn't possible to remake the earrings with a different metal. It's also possible that individual earrings may have broken and needed to be fixed, taking them out of the show for a bit. It also could just be any other number of design or practical considerations - the earrings are insanely heavy and that may cause issues for a particular actor (especially principals who are on every day), a specific style of earring may get caught too easily on a wig or costume, any sort of earring maintenance, etc.

All that being said, I'd be curious who else you saw on! If Aiyana was Seymour I wouldn't be shocked by everyone else not wearing the numerals; as I said, Kelsie, Krystal, and the alts are the ones who most consistently wear the numerals, so it's believable that there'd be a show where Najah/Gianna/Kay/Taylor all didn't wear them.

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I recently met Jaz Robinson on the street (I am not ok!!!) and got the chance to ask some obscure costume questions. She says her entire costume including necklace, wig and boots is the same ones from Canada?! (I thought queens got new boots for second contracts) She has heeled and flat boots. Her Canadian crown was specifically hers but she doesn't know if her WE one is new or reused. Idk how much of this you already know, but it was so cool meeting her!! She's so kind 💛

It's awesome that you got to meet her! Pretty neat! Re: boots. They sometimes get new boots, but it's not necessarily a given. In her case there were no design changes that required new boots, and her Canadian contract was short enough (~9 months) that they likely weren't as worn down as the boots worn on a 1.5 year contract. There's also the consideration that the Six boots are rough to break in and an already broken-in pair may be preferable. Generally, I'd expect that they probably chose to keep them, with the possibility that she may get a replacement pair later in the run.

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I'm making a Parr peplum at the moment and can't decide between US and UK styles, do you think the UK will soon standardise to US? In specifically looking and the vertical lines of beading separating the panels of cutouts

I'll bring in @lightleckrereins to answer in more depth as she's made her own peplum!

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Okay, I have been incredibly MIA from this blog but I currently am home from work and all other responsibilities due to having Covid, so I am doing my best to catch up as much as possible. apologies for any asks that are like 6 months out of date.

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The amount of times I've said some version of you are forgetting this really obvious thing in the past couple of days is not small.

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(dear readers you should know that this is true, but you know what else is true? i've had my wits about me enough that I've also had some fire balkans history spiels and cabaret opinions. could an incredibly sick person do THAT)

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Okay, I have been incredibly MIA from this blog but I currently am home from work and all other responsibilities due to having Covid, so I am doing my best to catch up as much as possible. apologies for any asks that are like 6 months out of date.