Making Cheap "Witch" Wigs into Good Japanese Styles for "The Mikado", "Rashomon" and Other Plays, a Project at The Costumer's Manifesto

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Costume Design & Construction

Making Cheap "Witch" Wigs into Good Japanese Styles for "The Mikado", "Rashomon" and Other Plays (3D+10C)

Ok, I admit this whole project has to do with my loathing of cheap "Geisha" wigs in productions of the Mikado, as well as my love of cheap witch wigs, which cost half as much. I also love the hanging hair bits you see in Anime and Samurai movies, and figured I could do the same with witch wigs for our production of The Mikado and so get prettier wigs for less money than usually paid out for those annoying ready-dressed "Geisha" wigs.

Our Mikado wigs were each done in a slightly different style, so that each girl looked like an individual, but they all included the trailing bits of hair one associates with female Japanese hairstyles prior to the late 18th Century:

Showgirl - 340
Showgirl - 1448 Textile Art of Japan Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe Miniature Shoe Hair & Wigs for the Stage : Step by Step June 802wig SalonOvations' Braids and Updos Made Easy

The instructions below detail how to do a wig in the style shown below, but you may choose to design a different style of wig, like those above and can extrapolate your own process based on your design crossed with the instructions below.

The Project:

You will need

A wig head and table mount
A long haired black wig
A pair of old black nylons
Net or tulle, preferably black
Needle and thread.
Hairspray
Hairnets
Pins
Trimmings as preferred.

Pin the wig to the head form, stretching it out at all edges so it won't "shrink" as you work. IF the wig is in bad shape, brush out thoroughly, from the bottom to the top, making it as smooth and flat as possible. If you have just pulled the wig out of it's package, omit this step.

Take your pair of old nylons and cut them into pairs of smaller bits as shown. Sew up one end, Stuff with net scraps, and sew up the other end making something that looks like a sausage or potato. These are called "rats". Put the rats in pairs based on size. Place the rats onto the wig where you want hair rolls or puffs. Wrap or roll hair around the rats smoothly, spraying the hair in neat sheets as you go. Pin in place. Using heavy black thread, sew as pinned. Wrap the wig in hair nets and then sew the hair nets into place. Pin and sew trim to the wig.

When it is finished, photograph your wig as jpeg files and post them to your File folder at the class eGroup. Post a message to the group letting everyone know you have posted these pictures so you can get feedback.

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This Page is part of The Costumer's Manifesto by Tara Maginnis, Ph.D. Copyright 1996-2010. You may print out any of these pages for non-profit educational use such as school papers, teacher handouts, or wall displays. You may link to any page in my site.