A giant walk-in closet

In a former filing space, acres of clothes hang, waiting for the next show. Organized by period, color, length—anything but size, since they've been altered and re-altered so many times—these costumes-in-waiting fill a York Street basement.

Julie Brown

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Need worn-out peasant's pants? A glittery 1980s gown? An anatomically correct donkey suit? Or (a popular request) a nun's habit? It's all there in the Yale School of Drama's costume repository. The clothes are used for both Yale Repertory Theatre shows and student productions; costume design students like Nikki Delhomme '13MFA (above) frequently shop the collection for their projects. 

According to Linda Wingerter, the costume collection manager, items come in through a few donations and many, many purchases and custom-tailored orders for individual Rep shows. The trouble now, she says, is not acquiring clothes, but finding places to house the voluminous stock: "You can't even push a rack of jackets, because they're stuffed in there."