Home > Research > Elphaba > Elphaba Shiz Uniform Breakdown and Analysis

Elphaba Shiz Uniform Breakdown and Analysis

Below is a detailed breakdown and analysis of Elphaba's Shiz Uniform.  I break the outfit down from head to toe, starting from the top!  See Elphaba's Shiz Uniform Page for full pictures of the outfit.

Hat/Glasses

Elphaba's hat is a cute little beanie hat that is blue and knitted with holes between the stitches.  She wears the hat until the Ozdust ballroom scene where she starts using her iconic witch hat.  Elphaba also has glasses at the beginning.  The vary from actress to actress, they probably choose a frame that is flattering to each girls face.  They tend to be a silver wire frame of a oval shape.

Wig

Elphaba's hair is a dark brown color, varying in shade form actress to actress.  During the first part of Act I, she wears it in a braid, often swung over one of her shoulders.

lighter brown	medium brown	dark brown

Jacket and Shirt

The jacket of her uniform is worn over a dress and turtle neck top.  The jacket is actually very similar to Galinda's school uniform jacket.  It has a two pointed collar, long sleeves with a cuff and has three buttons down the front.  The edge of the collar, front opening and bottom are edged with black.  There is a black stripe at the beginning of the cuff.  The jacket also has two pockets, also edged with black.  Underneath the dress she wears, is a blue ribbed short collar turtle neck.  In the picture below you can see it is a false top and only goes below the arm pit, tricky!

three buttons down the front	note: the black edging does not go all the way around the bottom, it stops at the pockets!	the turtle neck is not full length under the costume
this turtle neck is much shorter	you can see it is a ribbed fabric	taller collar

Dress

Underneath the jacket, Elphaba wears a dress on top of the turtle neck shirt.  It has a square neckline with thick straps.  At the bust going to the waist are what I am going to call tucks going diagonally down the the right where they then turn into pleats at the waist.  The skirt also has a diagonal hem line being longer on the right side.  On the right side it goes well below the knee and on the left side just below the knee.  Elphaba later wears this dress by itself to the Ozdust Ballroom.

you can see the diagonal hem line here	the length is clearly seen here, higher on the left them the right	see the tucks and how they turn into pleats at the waistline
tucks in the top	square neckline	side zipper!

Shoes

Elphaba wears a chunky brown boot with her uniform.  It looks like they vary slightly from production to production.