What’s In My Closet

Hands down, when we decided to get some breathing room away from the city this summer, the thing I stalled on THE MOST was what would make it into my suitcase. Well before I learned to sew, clothing was my armor, and once I learned how to sew my own armor? Forget it! Sewists know the meaning of a garment!

But. I gotta have a LOT of choices to feel right. I’m rarely in the same garment all day long. If the color I’m in suddenly feels out of sync, the music from the Emerald City scene in The Wiz plays in my head, I shout COSTUME CHANGE, and stomp off to the closet, Quincy Jones grinning at me from my mind palace all the while. Maybe this need is borne out of all the quick changes I’ve had to make as an actress? All that wriggling into gowns, into pants under dresses, out of bras and blazers; offstage in little cloth booths, in public LA parking lots, in empty NY stairwells, in just about anywhere but bathrooms (because public restrooms: gross)...maybe it trained me to want change.

One of my favorite casting directors once asked me to read for a different role than I was initially called in for, and said: “You can go home and change first. I know you like to have the right outfit on.” AND THEN SHE BECAME MY VERY FAVORITE CASTING DIRECTOR.

Costume changes have been infinitely easier these past six months, as a swap is no problem when you’re already locked down twelve feet from your closet. Silver linings, y’all. The collage above is some of what’s in my handmade, truncated closet, and you can see ALL of what’s in it, on my shimmying body, on Ye Olde YouTube. I was in the middle of boogying through this closet runway video, questioning my sanity, when Renee wondered what I’d packed. I took that question as a green light and forged ahead. You’ll either get a laugh out if it, or get a laugh at me. I’ll take either option. Most times, when I look at my filmed frolicking, I’m doing the latter.

(Oh, and jump to the end for a dancing Rob.)

How ‘bout it? Do you change your look to change your mood? If not, I highly recommend it! Making this video made me grin, ear to ear.