- The Inside Story - Interview with Cherie Moore

You may not always see Cherie Moore at faire but you see her work all the time. She is the costumer that some of the best dressed and most fastidious at faire go to for accurate, historical representations of what their characters wore in the 16th century, including Deirdre Sargent, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I at the Northern California Renaissance Faire. The editor had chance to talk with Cherie recently and find out more about why she does what she does. She is very unassuming and modest. Her costumes are anything but.

TC: How long have you been costuming?

CM: I have been costuming professionally for 18 years. However, I really started making costumes when I was a little girl. I had a Mother Goose book where all the characters were dressed in Georgian clothing. I was drawn in by this book. So, my first costumes were Georgian dresses I tried to make for my dolls when I was 5 years old. I never liked Barbie’s fashions so I dressed all my Barbies in period clothing I made myself. My mother sewed and so there was always material available. I went to a “hippie” school in San Francisco, Rivendell School, where we were encouraged to be crafty and creative. There were fabric boxes there too!

TC: What do you love about costuming?

CM: I love making people feel pretty. It is important to make them look good but it is more important to make them feel good.

TC: Did you start out costuming for Renaissance faires?

CM: No, my first costumes were for Halloween!

TC: What other genres do you costume for?

CM: I also sew for the Dickens Faire so I make Victorian costumes as well.

TC: What dream costume have you not made yet and may never get around to but still dream about making?

CM: There is a Jean Phillip Worth gown, circa 1900 that I want to make with beautiful wheat stalks made of beads and sequence.

TC: Describe the creative process you go through personally when putting together an original garment.

CM: I start with the fabric. The fabric inspires me. I used to work in a fabric store 15 years ago and I would buy the fabric before I had selected the project. I still have some fabric from that time. I have 16 or so boxes of fabric and 4-5 bolts and boxes and boxes of notions and trims and ribbons. So first, I select the fabric and play with it, looking at its possibilities. Then I design. I do extensive research in books and on line and see what looks good with the fabric I have chosen. When I sew an original garment, just the sewing can take 100-200 hours at least. I do a lot of hand sewing. It is a full-time job.

TC: What simple things can we all do to improve their costumes?

CM: The most important thing is to do your research first. If you are a participant in a faire, not a patron, follow the historical guidelines that have been set for that faire. The second most important thing is to use the right fabrics. Don’t use shiny polyesters or satins when silk is available. Cheap fabric just looks like cheap fabric!

Tina Bailey