Bugle Girl Tap Dance Costume
From LoveToKnow Costumes
If you want to bring some classic boogie-woogie into your tap routine, dress yourself in a bugle girl tap dance costume. You don’t need to join the army to look like part of the troop.
Buying a Bugle Girl Tap Dance Costume
The great thing about tap is that, so long as you can move freely, any costume will do for a routine. So while you’re not going to find a bugle girl tap dance costume at Capezio, you can go to other costume shops and get the exact dress you need, add tap shoes and a bugle, and you’re done.
For online shopping, first try Zoogster. They have an adorable, sexy bugle girl costume for $44.99 that consists of a cotton khaki mini-dress with a front-pleated skirt, gold military buttons, sergeant’s stripes on the sleeves and ribbons above the breast. With a matching hat that will sit perfectly in 1940s-style curls and dog tags, you’re definitely going to hit the right notes. You may find you need to gently tape the dog tags to your chest so they don’t distract you while dancing.
Making Bugle Girl Tap Dance Costumes
If you want something less revealing, your best bet will be to put something together on your own. For a classic look, start your search in a good vintage shop. The simplest costume will consist of a short Eisenhower jacket and an A-line skirt, to which you may have to add an extra panel for ease of movement. More than likely, the easiest thing to do would be to buy a jacket and just make a skirt in a matching fabric. There is plenty of 1940s military dress clothing available secondhand or on eBay, although the condition does vary.
Since the fabric in women’s military dress tended to be heavy, you may want to buy a piece and turn it into a pattern for either yourself or someone else to sew in a lighter fabric suitable for dancing. Dress up the jacket with gold buttons and gold braid on the shoulders and stripes to show your rank.
Sailor caps are easier to find than army caps, but a simple cap is easy to make, or you might find something that would work in your local army surplus store. A flat cap with a visor also works. Whichever you use, attach an elastic strap to keep it firmly in place.
1940s Hair and Makeup
To really have an eye-popping effect for your bugle girl tap dance costume, you want to get the hair and makeup exact. Fortunately, this is very easy, especially with the revival of swing dancing. Try Nocturne.com for some hair-styling tips, including tricks for perfect pin curls.
1940s makeup was very bold to compensate for the limitations on everything else brought about by rationing. Brows were heavy and well-groomed with a strong arch. Eyes were big and striking. Feel free to add false lashes for a dash of extra glamor. Rouge was used liberally to define high cheekbones and lips were big, sensual and very deep red. Just because you’re representing the army doesn’t mean you can’t have the face of a pin-up girl.
The All-Important Bugle
If you’ve ever seen the Broadway show or film Gypsy, you’ll remember the character Miss Mazeppa, the horn-tooting stripper. You don’t need to belt out reveille, but if you can learn to blow a few notes and hit them at the right musical points in your routine, you’ll give the audience an extra thrill. If this is not possible, however, don’t weigh yourself down with a real bugle and settle instead for a lightweight toy.
Tappers for Taps
Want accurate-looking footwear? This is where the girls have the advantage of the boys. Women in the military never wore combat boots, they wore sturdy, low pumps. So any beige character shoe will be suitable for your costume. You’re guaranteed to give a whole new meaning to Taps!
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