The Texas Opera Ghost

This three piece suit was originally designed by Maria Björnson for the original 1986 musical.

Over time, this suit has evolved, but some of the original elements still exist in current productions.

It features buttonholes along the side of the lapels and on the opening of the tailcoat. Various types of fabric, from silk to velvet.

I commisoned this to Magnoli Clothiers, who make expertly detailed costumes and clothing for BTTF the musical.

They took it to their level and were able to create this highly detailed suit, nearly almost as if it were off the stage. So much so that this suit has been Phantom approved!

This past Saturday I attended Permian Basin Comic Con X and had the most incredible time! I met wonderful cosplayers and lovely people!

And of course I participated in the cosplay contest and won best performance (I did the main title routine)

Alrighty tumblrs of the opera, this is a huge cosplay post.

I have researched, looked at every phantom video, and looked at every photo, I have too many screenshots to get a scrap to get this cloak to how it should look.

And finally, here it is, my recreation of the Phantom's cloak.

I comissoned the cloak itself from Wenda Lynne Designs on etsy (and who is on instagram) She did a fantastic job on getting everything perfect. And now! It's time to compare.

From the front floral appliques to the back designer motifs, I'm proud of the work so far. My best guesstimate is that these appliques were put together for the Phantom from the 90s to its final days in 2023. Each of these appliques has been seen on various displays and stages.

Various notable phantoms have worn this design such as:

Laird Mackintosh, Ben Crawford, Davis Gaines, Franc D'Ambrosio, Jeremy Stolle, and Hugh Panaro (many more too)

I haven't done anything to the collar, as I'm not sure what design to try and recreate. The early 90s design consists of a triple circle motif. The now touring and broadway production had various shapes, so we'll try that path later!

Here's the collar that was based on. From the ShowStoppers! Display.

Now, is it completely 1:1? Obviously not. Is it close? I think so!

Phantom's appliques are hard to find. Considering how old the show is, many of the appliques are probably in many people's attics or their great-aunt's dresses.

So this is my best attempt! But hey, the design is always different, varying production, some use more appliques, some use different!

So, let's just say that there is a basis on the cloak, and this is my version!

Hello there once again! If many of you don't know, I've been drowning myself in research over the Phantoms cloak.

One thing I have noticed, is there is a design that is repeated.

Yes, the West End production uses various antique black jet appliques for whoever steps onto the role, but my theory is that Broadway kept trading off a cloak.

This design features a leaf style of appliques in the front and "art-deco" style in the back.

Not only can this design be found on Broadway, but it has also been seen in numerous touring productions.

(The only question remains: Is this the original design??)

And moving on, it appears that this design was a bit refurbished. How so you ask? Take a look:

These are the only two clear shots I could get of this style. It can be found on a proshot of Ben Crawford and Norm Lewis in the main title. And can also be found in the farewell trailer for the Broadway production.

This design keeps the front the same. However, adding more appliques and appearing to "double the design," and angel wing look? An interesting choice indeed. If any phantom historians can figure out when this started, let us know!

Now for the big question may of you may have: can it be recreated? I myself have made the journey on trying. So far, there are only a few pieces that are nearly 100%. So you can make an 85-90% accurate Broadway cloak, lol.

I thought I'd make this post to make many of the Phans aware of this! It's interesting to see how they kept this cloak nearly the same and left me wondering if it's the OG.