The Seagull (Act I) by Anton Checkov

Jenny Nguyen: Costume DesignerGroup 77

Historical Period

• The Seagull was made in the 1890s, so the clothing was formal

• Generally, women wore conservative dresses or business suits around this time

• Men often wore suits that consisted of a jacket, tie, slacks, and dress shoes (sometimes, a cigarette, top hat, and a cane would be involved, depending on their age)

Examples of Clothing

Women Men

Treplev• A dreamer who strives to become a famous

writer• Lives underneath the shadows of his mother,

Akadina, and her lover, Trigorin – who are both famous

• Clothes would more casual than Akadina and Trigorin

• He’s impatient, impulsive, and childish, so his clothes would represent someone youthful

Treplev’s Clothing

• Treplev’s hair would be messy, and ungroom, symbolizing his impulsiveness

• For the same reason, his clothes would be loose-fitting and casual, no tie at all – similar to the picture on the right, but with no cane, cigarette, or hat

• The colors of his clothes will be brown, because he doesn’t pay much attention to colors, just his work

Arkadina and Trigorin

• Arkadina is a well-known actress, and condescending when she watches her son’s, Treplev, production, implying that her clothes would be obviously expensive

• Trigorin is a famous writer, more aloof and sincere than Arkadina, so his clothing will not be as bold as Arkadina’s, even though they are dating

• Arkadina would wear a dress similar to the picture on the left

• The dress illustrates her wealth because of its extravagance

• She would most likely wear a dark dress, such as violet or olive, because she’s older

• She would also wear a heavy amount of make-up with her hair pinned up

Arkadina’s Clothing

• Trigorin would wear a simple suit, hinting at his wealth, but he’s not as obnoxious about it as much as Arkadina

• The suit would be dark navy, consist of a tie, suit jacket, hat, slacks, and dress shoes (no cane) – similar to the picture on the right

Trigorin’s Clothing

Nina

• 19 years old, hopeless romantic, ambitious• Yearns for Trigorin, who already has a lover• Lacks money because her mother gave her

inheritance to her father, and therefore, has an insecure future

• Wants to eventually become an actress• Her innocence is often overestimated by

others

Nina’s Clothing• Due to her young age, the color of

her dress will be a light, pastel pink (similar to the picture on the right); the light pink also symbolizes how people overestimate her innocence

• Since she is willing to chase after a man, her dress will be slightly provocative, showing off a bit of her chest and shoulders

• Nothing she wears will be apparently expensive, since her inheritance went to her father

• During her performance of Treplev’s play, she will be dressed in a white gown

Minor Characters: Masha and Medvedenko

• Medvedenko works as a schoolteacher, is poor, complains about his poverty, and chases after Masha; his clothes would be of low quality due to his financial situation and would be dark to symbolize his negative attitude and foreshadow

• Masha is depressed, has a pessimistic outlook on her life, and eventually settles for disappointment when she marries Medvedenko; therefore, she would be wearing black or dark gray conservative dresses and shoes at all times

Masha and Medvedenko’s Clothing

Masha Medvedenko