Rachel: Alright, Justine, quick question. What is the one fashion rule you've heard your whole life that you are just so tired of? Justine: Oh, easy. "Don't wear white after Labor Day." It's a rule invented by, I assume, a coalition of sheep who wanted to sell more dark wool in the fall. It makes no sense! And it robs me of my best white jeans for a solid three months. It’s a tragedy. Rachel: It’s a complete tragedy! It’s one of those arbitrary rules that has nothing to do with actually looking good. And that’s the perfect entry point for the book we’re diving into today: Hollywood Costume Secrets by Alison Freer. Justine: I love the sound of that. Secrets! Give me the secrets. I’m ready to have my life changed. Rachel: And the author is the perfect person to spill them. What's fascinating is that Alison Freer never went to fashion school. She basically lied her way into her first costume design gig and built this massive career in Hollywood on pure resourcefulness and practical skill. Her whole approach is about what actually works, not what some magazine says is in style. Justine: Okay, I already trust her more than anyone in a fashion magazine. She’s one of us! A resourceful liar! That’s my kind of guru. So what’s her biggest secret? Where do we start? Rachel: We start with the single most fundamental idea in the book, and it’s a game-changer. She argues that the real, true enemy of great style isn't your body, your budget, or your taste. It’s fit.

Justine: Huh. Fit. That sounds… deceptively simple. I feel like we all know fit is important, but the enemy of great style? That’s a strong statement. Rachel: It is, because she reframes it. She says fit is a clinical, mechanical concept. It’s not about your body being wrong for the clothes; it’s about the clothes being wrong for your body. The fashion industry runs on making us feel dissatisfied, like we need to change ourselves to fit the clothes. Freer says that’s backward. We need to change the clothes to fit us. Justine: I am 100% here for this. It’s like therapy for my closet. So how does this play out in real life? Because finding clothes that fit perfectly off the rack feels like spotting a unicorn. Rachel: Exactly. And that's the point. It almost never happens. She tells this fantastic story about working with an actress who had a long torso. This actress was constantly struggling with jeans. They’d slip down, dig into her stomach, and she was always self-conscious about her lower back being exposed. She just assumed it was her body’s fault. Justine: Oh, I know that feeling. I lived through the low-rise jean tyranny of the early 2000s. I think I have a form of PTSD from constantly hiking up my pants. Rachel: We all do! So, the stylist—in this case, Freer—brought in over twenty pairs of jeans. And she explained the concept of "rise," which is the distance from the crotch to the waistband. The trendy low-rise jeans were hitting the actress at the wrong place, causing all the problems. But when she tried on a pair of higher-waisted jeans that hit at her natural waist, everything changed. Justine: Wait, so what happened? Rachel: The higher waist acted like a natural corset. It provided support, it held her in, and it created this long, beautiful, uninterrupted line. The jeans stayed put. No more digging, no more slipping. The actress was floored. She had spent years thinking her body was the problem, when it was just the cut of the pants. Justine: That makes so much sense. It’s a mechanical problem, like you said. But what about things that aren't as simple as finding a different rise? What about a jacket where the shoulders are too wide or a dress that’s perfect everywhere except the waist? Rachel: That’s where the second part of her philosophy comes in: alterations. Tailoring. She argues that we’ve been conditioned to think tailoring is a luxury for the rich, but it’s actually the most democratic tool in fashion. Justine: Okay, but let’s be real. Tailoring sounds expensive and complicated. I buy a $40 dress, and then I have to spend another $30 to get it tailored? It feels like a hassle. Rachel: I hear you, and that’s the mental hurdle most of us have. But Freer breaks it down. She points out that a simple hem on a pair of pants might only cost around twelve dollars. And that one small change can make a $30 pair of pants look like they cost $300 because they hang perfectly. It’s about being strategic. Justine: Twelve dollars? Okay, that’s less than two fancy coffees. I can get on board with that. Rachel: Exactly. And she lists the alterations that are totally worth it: hemming pants and skirts, taking in side seams, adding darts to a blouse or skirt to give it shape. These are usually simple, affordable fixes that make a world of difference. She tells this other great story about actresses complaining their pencil skirts were always spinning around on their bodies. Justine: Yes! The dreaded skirt-spin! Why does that happen? Rachel: It’s because the skirt fits their hips, but it's too big at the waist. There’s no anchor. So the solution was to buy the skirt to fit the widest part of their body—their hips—and then have a tailor add two simple darts at the waistband. Problem solved. The skirt stays put. Justine: That is brilliant. It’s like we’ve forgotten this entire world of knowledge because we’re so used to disposable, fast fashion. We just assume if it doesn’t fit, we toss it and buy something else. Rachel: That’s the core of it. We’ve been trained to be consumers, not owners. A costume designer’s job is to make clothes work, no matter what. And that often means cutting, sewing, and tweaking. Freer’s argument is that we should all think a little more like costume designers. Justine: I love that. It’s so empowering. Okay, so fit is everything. I’m convinced. But even if my clothes fit perfectly, what about when things just… fall apart? The zipper breaks on my way to a meeting, a strap snaps, I get a huge stain. What do the Hollywood pros do then? Rachel: Ah, now you’re asking about the real magic. The unglamorous, behind-the-scenes stuff. That brings us to her next big secret: the costume designer’s toolkit.

Justine: A toolkit! I’m picturing a giant toolbox full of mysterious gadgets. Rachel: It’s actually much simpler and more accessible than that. She says there’s a "Holy Trinity" of wardrobe tools that can solve about 90% of all fashion emergencies. And they are: safety pins, moleskin, and… Topstick toupee tape. Justine: Hold on. Toupee tape?! You’re telling me the secret to Hollywood glamour is toupee tape? Rachel: That is exactly what I’m telling you. Freer says it’s the gold standard. Remember Jennifer Lopez’s iconic green Versace dress at the 2000 Grammys? The one with the neckline that plunged past her navel? Justine: Of course! The dress that basically created Google Images. I remember everyone wondering how on earth that dress stayed in place. Rachel: The answer is Topstick. It’s a medical-grade, double-sided tape that is incredibly strong but safe for skin and fabric. Costume designers use it for everything: to keep a plunging neckline from gaping, to hold a strapless dress up, to create a temporary hem in a pinch. It’s their number one secret weapon. Justine: My mind is blown. I’ve used fashion tape before and it’s always been flimsy and peeled off after an hour. Toupee tape. Who knew? What about the other two parts of the trinity? Rachel: Safety pins and moleskin. We all know safety pins, but Freer says we underestimate their power. She has a whole list of ways to use them beyond just closing a gap. For instance, if your flip-flop has a blowout—you know, where the little peg pulls through the sole? Justine: The absolute worst, especially when you’re walking in public. Rachel: She says you just guide the peg back through the hole, and then from the bottom, you ram a safety pin horizontally through the rubber peg. It creates a new anchor, and she says it can hold for months. Justine: That’s genius! That’s a life-saving tip right there. What about moleskin? I only know it for preventing blisters. Rachel: That’s its main job, and it’s brilliant for that. But you can also use it to pad an underwire that’s poking you, or to put on the inside of a shoe that’s rubbing your heel. It’s a versatile comfort tool. But the big takeaway is that with just those three things in your bag, you’re prepared for almost anything. Justine: It’s like a first-aid kit for your clothes. I feel like just knowing this reduces my daily anxiety by about 15%. But are there any other weird, surprising tools in the kit? Rachel: Oh, so many. She has a whole chapter on it. One of the most memorable is her solution for preventing underarm stains on white shirts. Justine: Okay, I need to hear this. This is a problem that has plagued humanity for centuries. Rachel: An actor she worked with taught her this trick. Before you wear a new white t-shirt, you turn it inside out and spray the armpit area with a light coating of adhesive spray, like the kind you use for art projects. Then you run a warm iron over it to set the glue. Justine: You’re kidding. You glue your armpits? Rachel: Essentially! The idea is that the adhesive seals the tiny gaps between the fabric threads, creating a barrier so that sweat and deodorant can’t settle in and cause those yellow stains. It’s a preventative measure. Justine: That is the most bizarre and brilliant thing I have ever heard. It’s like waterproofing your shirt from the inside. Rachel: Exactly. And it speaks to the whole philosophy of the book. Being stylish and looking put-together isn’t about having a million-dollar wardrobe. It’s about being a clever, resourceful problem-solver. It’s about knowing how to fix the skirt-spin, how to tape the neckline, and how to glue your armpits.

Justine: You know, listening to all this, it feels like the real secret of Hollywood style isn't about glamour at all. It’s about grit and ingenuity. It’s about toupee tape and safety pins. Rachel: That’s the perfect way to put it. It all comes back to this costume designer mindset. It’s not about consumption, it’s about creativity. It’s about looking at a garment not as a finished product, but as a starting point. Whether you're altering the fit to match your body or pinning a disaster five minutes before a big presentation, you're taking control. You’re the designer. Justine: It completely reframes how I think about my closet. Instead of a source of stress—"I have nothing to wear!"—it becomes a box of potential projects. "What can I fix? What can I improve?" Rachel: And that’s so much more sustainable and satisfying. The book is filled with these little nuggets of wisdom, but if there’s one big takeaway, it’s that. The power to look and feel amazing in your clothes is already in your hands. You just need the right mindset and a few clever tools. Justine: Okay, I'm inspired. My action item from this is clear. I have this one blazer that I absolutely love, but I never wear it because the sleeves are just a fraction too long, and it makes me feel sloppy. This week, I’m finally going to take it to a tailor. No more excuses. Rachel: I love that! That’s the perfect first step. And for everyone listening, we challenge you to do the same. Find that one beloved but ill-fitting item in your closet and give it a new life. And if you have your own secret wardrobe hack, your own version of toupee tape or adhesive spray, come find us on social media and share it. We want to hear all the secrets. Justine: Let’s build a community of resourceful style warriors. Rachel: I’m all for it. This has been a deep dive into the brilliant, practical world of Alison Freer. Justine: A world where fit is king and toupee tape is queen. I’m ready to be a loyal subject. Rachel: This is Aibrary, signing off.