Costume for yellow brick road character in The Wiz on Broadway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A yellow jump suit that is part of a Yellow Brick Road costume worn in "The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz'" on Broadway. The sleeveless costume is made of cotton voided velveteen creating vertical lines. It has a round neckline with a center front seam that continues to the split in the flared pantlegs. The neckline is higher at the back of the jumpsuit. A metal hook is sewn to the center of the neckline, the eye is missing. A metal zipper is sewn along the center back of the jumpsuit which ends below the hips. Two shaping darts are sewn to each side of the center back zipper at waist level. Multiple repairs have been made on the back of the proper right pantleg. Cotton bias tape is sewn along the armscyes and neckline. Three metal snaps are sewn along the bottom portion of each armscye, the proper left armscye has one snap missing. The top portion of the jumpsuit is lined with white cotton which ends below the hips, the pants are unlined. A woven fabric label is placed vertically and sewn along the center front seam which reads [Grace Costumes / New York].

This project received Federal support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1975
• Designed by: Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian American, 1930 - 2014
• Created by: Grace Costumes Inc., American, founded 1961
• Subject of: Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
• Type: jump suits
• Medium: cotton velveteen, cotton, and metal
• Dimensions: Length (shoulder to hem): 65 in. (165.1 cm)
• Dimensions: Width (shoulder to shoulder): 14 in. (35.6 cm)
• Dimensions: Waist (flat): 15 1/2 in. 39.4 cm
• Place used: New York City, Manhattan, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Object number: 2007.3.132
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.