Chorus Gents - Musician

Exoticism was popular on the stage at the turn of the 20th century, with many shows enjoying far flung settings - Asia, Egypt, South Pacific islands, Mexico, Spain, etc. Locales such as these gave Caroline Siedle a lot of play in her designing.

The costumes of the chorus were an important part of emphasizing the unusual locations. While Siedle's chorus girl designs are often quite elaborate, her work for the gentlemen of the chorus could be just as memorable.

For example, here we have a drawing labeled "Musician with tom tom. Chorus gent act 1". I do not know what show this was meant for, but on the back we find that this is “Sketch #37 for Act 1, 4 chorus gents musicians”. Also, “Nos. 27 Mr Herman 28 Mr Arling 2 dupes as per sketch and color”. This leads me to believe there were 4 musicians, but possibly only 2 of them were tom-tom players wearing this design, while the others had other instruments and perhaps different costumes. Of course this is just speculation on my part - I have no other information to work with, and I’ve had no luck tracing Mr. Herman or Mr. Arling. 

At any rate, Siedle has come up with a striking outfit and colorful hat for her tom-tom players! The polka dot pattern and striped accents on the tunic, along with the bold plaid of the hat, are very eye-catching. Her love of asymmetry can be seen in the unusual neckline, dropping down into a slit on the right to reveal a little more skin.