What Does a Costume Shop Manager Do?
Stage productions often have large casts who need costumes built, fitted and kept in repair through every performance. As a costume shop manager you'll hire the stitchers, set the build schedule and keep the shop's budget in line. This might involve fabric buying, fittings, rentals or quick repairs between shows, usually in a university theater department or a professional company.
Also known as: Costume Shop Coordinator
Costume Shop Manager Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a costume shop manager include:
- Hire, schedule and supervise drapers, stitchers, wardrobe crew and student workers in the costume shop.
- Plan the build calendar with costume designers, setting fitting dates and deadlines for each show.
- Manage the shop budget; price fabric, trims and rentals and track spending per production.
- Buy fabric, thread, zippers and other supplies from vendors, keeping receipts and purchase records in order.
- Schedule and run actor fittings, noting alterations and passing them to the right stitcher.
- Maintain the costume stock: clean, label, store and pull pieces for new productions.
- Arrange costume rentals and loans with other theaters, tracking what goes out and comes back.
- Oversee laundry, repairs and quick-change setups through the wardrobe crew during each run.
- Teach students sewing, patterning and shop safety in classes or supervised shop hours.
- Service sewing machines, sergers and steamers and arrange repairs when they break down.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a costume shop manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Advanced sewing, draping and pattern drafting
- Budgeting and purchasing for productions
- Costume history and fabric knowledge
- Supervising mixed teams of staff and students
- Industrial sewing machine and serger care
- Scheduling in Excel or Google Calendar
- Calm during the final rehearsals before opening
- Tact with designers, directors and actors
Education and Training
Years of stitching and draping in a costume shop come first, since a manager has to solve construction problems on deadline. Most managers also hold a bachelor's degree in theater or costume design. Graduate study in costume technology opens doors, especially where the job includes teaching students.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $51,940 - $106,470 per year, with a median of $80,960.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Fashion Designers.
According to BLS, employment of fashion designers, the wider group that includes costume designers, is projected to change by only about 0.1 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,500 openings a year. Theater costume staff are a small, specialized group within it. And, as long as there are plays, operas and dance seasons to dress, shop managers will be needed to make sure performers look right under the lights.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Fashion designers.