How do you make breakaway costumes?

Dear Tara: Can you suggest a book that would give instructions on how to construct breakaway costumes? I need to make men's pants, and two women's dresses that will "disappear" in a split-second blackout. I haven't had any luck with my network search, but I'm new to the Net (actually have been on line only 2 hours!). I'd appreciate any info you can give me. --- Fran

I've never seen any books on the topic, but I've made one or two. In my experience, snaps are more reliable and silent in coming apart on cue than Velcro. Velcro sticks very strongly, and has a rough side that often scratches actors. For women's dresses it's good to make a overlapped "button" fronted dress like a shirtwaist dress, or coat vest, since it looks normal even with snaps down the front. you can also put snaps down the center back. However, the fastest method may be just to use clothing that has as few closings as possible like a halter dress, or whatever. The fastest thing is to have the clothes just remove quickly by the actor. breakaway costumes are usually slower to come off than simple normal clothes with snap closures. Breakaways are mainly for changes that don't have black outs where the audience has to see it coming apart.---Tara