Costumes in the Pastoral

The pastoral is very different than the court. So the costumes will reflect that. Dictionary.com's definition of pastoral is, "having the simplicity, charm, serenity, or other characteristics generally attributed to rural areas: pastoral scenery; the pastoral life" (dictionary.com, pastoral). This is a great definition to think about when thinking of the costumes for this part of the play. The women's costumes will be much more relaxed than that of the court. The colors will be browns and lighter, brighter colors. There should be lots of pinks, oranges, yellows and browns. Rosalind in the pastoral is dressed up as a man because she is in hiding. So she will need to be in pants, a shirt and a hat. Her pants will be khaki and look slightly dirty with an off white shirt with a burnt orange vest. The hat should be large enough to cover the actress’s hair without dominating her. Celia should be in brown skirt with either gladiator sandals or boots, paired with a light pink shirt. The costumes should have a somewhat country and modern hippie look and feel. The costume should provide the actress with the ability to move freely and whatever way she feels. This should provide a great contrast to the feel of the court.

The men overall in the pastoral should have similar costumes to that of Rosalind's with some slight differences and color changes. The females over all should have similar costumes to Celia. The only difference is that some will be in dresses and colors within the same color scheme. Orlando and Oliver will also wear the "country" attire in this place. Duke Senior will be in similar dress. Since the pastoral is a world that is freer than the court he should not stand out as too much different than others.

At the end of the play there is the wedding scene. Rosalind and Celia's wedding attire should be summer dresses that still fit the mood, setting and color scheme of the pastoral. The character Hymen enters at the end to marry the couples. Since he is the God of marriage it would be nice to give hints of this god-like quality by placing him in a white flowing shirt. However, it should not be so different from the others that he seems out of place.

Sources Cited:

Pastoral; dictionary.com editors; dictionary.com; http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pastoral