Personal Care and Service

Costume Attendants

Select, fit, and take care of costumes for cast members, and aid entertainers. May assist with multiple costume changes during performances.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Costume Attendants

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Costume Attendants. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$50,400USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$24.23USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$32,150$15.46
25th$38,610$18.56
50th · Median$50,400$24.23
75th$77,680$37.34
90th$109,520$52.66

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

Costume AttendantCostume CutterCostume DraperCostume DresserCostume MistressCostume SeamstressCostume Shop CoordinatorCostume SpecialistCostume TechnicianCostumerCostumer AssistantDraper
Expand more title examples (15)
DresserFashion AssistantShop AttendantTheatrical Wardrobe AttendantTheatrical Wardrobe DresserUniform AttendantWardrobe AssistantWardrobe AttendantWardrobe CustodianWardrobe DresserWardrobe MistressWardrobe SpecialistWardrobe StylistWardrobe SupervisorWardrobe Technician

Typical tasks

  • Create worksheets for dressing lists, show notes, or costume checks.
  • Provide dressing assistance to cast members or assign cast dressers to assist specific cast members with costume changes.
  • Arrange costumes in order of use to facilitate quick-change procedures for performances.
  • Design or construct costumes or send them to tailors for construction, major repairs, or alterations.
  • Examine costume fit on cast members and sketch or write notes for alterations.
  • Distribute costumes or related equipment and keep records of item status.
Expand more tasks (15)
  • Check the appearance of costumes on stage or under lights to determine whether desired effects are being achieved.
  • Clean and press costumes before and after performances and perform any minor repairs.
  • Collaborate with production designers, costume designers, or other production staff to discuss and execute costume design details.
  • Monitor, maintain, or secure inventories of costumes, wigs, or makeup, providing keys or access to assigned directors, costume designers, or wardrobe mistresses/masters.
  • Purchase, rent, or requisition costumes or other wardrobe necessities.
  • Study books, pictures, or examples of period clothing to determine styles worn during specific periods in history.
  • Return borrowed or rented items when productions are complete and return other items to storage.
  • Review scripts or other production information to determine a story's locale or period, as well as the number of characters and required costumes.
  • Inventory stock to determine types or conditions of available costuming.
  • Direct the work of wardrobe crews during dress rehearsals or performances.
  • Participate in the hiring, training, scheduling, or supervision of alteration workers.
  • Provide managers with budget recommendations and take responsibility for budgetary line items related to costumes, storage, or makeup needs.
  • Assign lockers to employees and maintain locker rooms, dressing rooms, wig rooms, or costume storage or laundry areas.
  • Recommend vendors and monitor their work.
  • Care for non-clothing items, such as flags, table skirts, or draperies.

Skills used in this work

Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Expand more skills (29)
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
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Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Costume Attendants career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.