"Janet" Costumes for "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"

When I was 19 years old, a friend introduced me to the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I began attending Saturday night screenings of the film. I made a lot of friends there, and soon I joined the cast as the character Janet. I had fun performing, which I did for about a year. 

This film continues to have a cult following, with shadow casts performing at midnight showings in theaters world-wide. Each performer needs their own screen-accurate costumes, and in 2016 I began selling custom fit costumes in two of Janet’s outfits, her pink dress and lavender proposal suit. 

Because I receive these as online orders from people all across the country, I am not able to have in-person fittings. This means I rely on working with my clients to receive accurate body measurements and photos. I send clients a guide and after reviewing their measurements, I cross reference with their photos to make sure everything appears accurate. I can often tell if something seems off, and I’ll ask for a double check. 

I source materials for these costumes from the Los Angeles garment district. I offer the pink dress in two versions; a four-way stretch ponte knit, unlined version, and a polyester gaberdine lined version. The lavender suit is made in polyester gaberdine, also lined. While sourcing materials, it was especially challenging to find the white circle belt buckle and white flower buttons for the dress, as these aren’t commonly produced anymore. I have had to dig through boxes of deadstock trims to find them! 

I typically produce 20-30 of these costumes per year. It keeps me very busy in the fall, when screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show are most popular. My clients also wear these costumes to parties and fan conventions. It’s been fun to receive photos of them meeting actors from the original cast! 

If you have never seen the movie, scroll down to see the two songs that inspired my business!