The wardrobe supervisor is responsible for supervising all wardrobe related activities during the course of a theatrical

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 run. The modern title "wardrobe supervisor" has evolved from the more traditional titles of "wardrobe mistress/master" or "mistress/master of the wardrobe

Wardrobe

A Wardrobe is a cabinet used for storing clothes.Wardrobe may also refer to:* Wardrobe , a full set of multiple clothing items* Wardrobe , part of royal administration in medieval England...

". The wardrobe supervisor may be present at some production

Theatrical production

A theatrical production is any theatre stage play, musical, comedy or drama produced from a written book or script. These works are protected by common law or statuary copyright unless in the public domain....

 meetings and fittings, their primary responsibilities generally begin at the load-in stage of a production. At load-in physical custody and responsibility for the costume

Costume

The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...

s shifts from the costume designer

Costume Designer

A costume designer or costume mistress/master is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The...

 and shop staff to the wardrobe supervisor.

The wardrobe supervisor, supervises all dressers

Dresser (theater)

A dresser is a theatrical stagehand who is involved with maintaining costume quality at each performance. They are hired by either the director, producer, or wardrobe supervisor. They report directly to the wardrobe supervisor and are usually paid by the hour....

 working on a production. In consultation with the production manager, stage manager and sometimes the director, the wardrobe supervisor helps to coordinate and assign dressers to specific performers and tasks. They help determine where and how costume changes are made. Generally, the wardrobe supervisor decides whether a point in a production requires a quick changebackstage, or if there is time for a normal change in the dressing room. All dressers report directly to the wardrobe supervisor, who acts as primary liaison between dressers, the costumer, and stage management.

Duties

The wardrobe supervisor's primary responsibilities include:

• The care and proper maintenance of all costume
  Costume
  The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
  
  s, shoes, undergarments, hats and costume related personal props such as gloves, jewelry, parasols, fans
  Fan (implement)
  A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan...
  
   and pocket books.
• To ensure the proper labeling, hanging, storage and preset of all costume pieces.
• To create and execute a proper cleaning schedule for all garments, ensuring that laundry
  Laundry
  Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
  
   and dry cleaning
  Dry cleaning
  Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
  
   are done on a regular basis between performances. They also coordinate the regular changing of dress shields, the application of garment freshening sprays and providing clean undergarments to the performers.
• To ensure that all costumes are properly pressed or steamed prior to each performance.
• The wardrobe supervisor also regularly inventories and inspects all costumes and coordinates all costume repairs. The majority of minor costume repairs are done on site at the theatre by either the Wardrobe Supervisor or in the cases of many regional theatres, the onsite wardrobe maintenance crew which is connected to the in house costume shop. Most repairs are considered "emergencies", however, and whenever possible they are done onsite at the theatre before and sometimes during the actual performance. The wardrobe supervisor's space in the theatre, with few exceptions, contains a sewing machine
  Sewing machine
  A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
  
  , glue gun, and all sewing supplies necessary for any type of emergency repair that could be required. Most wardrobe supervisors are very qualified seamstresses in their own right. The general rule of thumb is that only in the case of very significant damage is a costume sent back to the shop for repair. The one exception to this rule are shoes. Although most supervisor's maintain a regular schedule for polishing and re-spraying of shoes, for safety reasons, actual shoe repair work is always sent out.
• At the end of a production run, the wardrobe supervisor oversees all aspects of the costume strike. In the case of rented costumes, they coordinate restoring costumes to original condition. This includes ripping out hems or alterations that may have been done for fitting, and removing any added trim or ornamentation. Sometimes this work is extensive enough that the costumes are returned to either the designer's or theatre's shop for laundering and restoration. Regardless, the wardrobe supervisor is responsible for providing a complete and accurate inventory that ensures all pieces are returned.

A good wardrobe supervisor ensures that costumes look as fresh and new for the last performance as they did on opening night.