Find the Victorian frock coat in a 42 chest in a minute.
For wardrobe supervisors, costume store keepers and props managers in school, community and professional theatre, where stock is unique, photographed by memory and lent between companies.
| Item | Location | Qty | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frock coat, black wool, 1880s · chest 42 IT-000801 | Twelfth Night 2026 | 1 | In the show |
| Petticoat, white cotton, full · waist 28 IT-000815 | Costume store / Rail 3 | 1 | Available |
| Soldier's tunic, red, Napoleonic · chest 40 IT-000822 | Out on loan | 1 | Riverside Players · due 30 Mar |
| Tricorn hat, black felt · 58 cm IT-000836 | Costume store / Hat boxes | 1 | Reserved · Pirates, May |
| Stage blood, 500 ml IT-000850 | Props store / Hand props | 2 bottles | Low · min 4 |
Sound familiar?
The director wants "something like the coat from Christmas Carol three years ago". It's on a rail somewhere, or lent to the amateur company down the road, or cut down for a smaller actor. The store is organised by one person's memory, the spreadsheet has no photos, and at strike nobody's sure which of the twelve petticoats came back.
Pull, fit, run, strike.
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Pull for the show
Search "frock coat, 42" or filter by period and colour, with photos in the results. Move what you pull to the production's folder with one scan each, so the store knows those rails are in rehearsal.
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Fittings and alterations
Note the alteration on the costume ("taken in 2 in, Twelfth Night 2026") and update the chest size field. The next show sees what it actually measures now.
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Lending to another company
Send the partner company a read-only share link to the store, with requests on. They ask for the six soldiers' tunics for March; you approve, hand them to their wardrobe contact with a due date and a signature.
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Strike
Count the production folder by scanning each piece back. Anything not scanned shows as not seen, so missing petticoats are found while the cast is still in the building.
How it looks in ItemTally.
Folders are the real places theatre wardrobes, costume stores and props keep things. Every take, return, count and move becomes a dated line with a name on it, and lines are never edited.
Your workspace
- Costume store
- Rail 1–6Women's, by period
- Rail 7–12Men's, by period
- Hat boxes
- Shoe racksBy size
- Props store
- Hand props
- Furniture
- Twelfth Night 2026In rehearsal · back at strike
- Out on loan
What does the work in a wardrobe.
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QR asset tracking
A small tag sewn or pinned into each garment, a label on every hat box. One scan opens the photo, sizes and history.
How it works → -
Stock counts
Count a production's folder at strike. Pieces nobody scanned show as not seen, before the cast goes home.
How it works → -
Reservations
Hold the tricorn hats for the May production while another show is still pulling from the store.
How it works → -
Equipment checkout
Lend to other companies with a due date and a signature, and see everything out on loan in one view.
How it works →
No hire invoicing, measurements per actor or show budgets. ItemTally records the costume, where it is and who has it. If you hire costumes out commercially and need quotes, deposits and invoices, a rental system fits better. Keep actors' measurements in your wardrobe bible, away from a shared register.
The questions wardrobe teams ask.
Photographing two thousand costumes will take forever.
Start with what moves. Photograph each piece as it's pulled for a show and as it comes back at strike. In a season, the pieces that matter have photos, and the rest can wait for a quiet week.
Labels on costumes look wrong on stage.
Put the label on a fabric tag inside a hem or a waistband, or on the hanger for pieces that stay hung. Hats, shoes and props take a sticker underneath.
How do I organise a costume inventory?
By what people search for. Give each piece a photo and custom fields for size (chest, waist, head), period, colour and gender, and file it by rail. Then search and filters find "1880s, men's, chest 42" without walking the store.
Can I track which show used a costume?
Yes. Moving a piece to a production's folder and back is in its history, and you can tag it with the show. The history shows every production it has been in.
Can other companies see what we have?
Send a read-only share link to the store or one rail. They see photos and names without prices, and with requests on they can ask for items and dates. You approve each one.
Can I use custom fields for sizes?
Yes. Custom fields can be text, numbers, dates or a pick list, and they filter everywhere. Chest as a number, period as a pick list.
What does it cost for a school or community theatre?
One wardrobe keeper is free on Shelf with unlimited items. Lending to other companies is a hand-over, which is free. A small wardrobe team of up to five is €19/mo on Stockroom.
Photograph the next show's pull as you go.
Free forever for one editor and ten borrowers. No card.
Free for one editor and ten borrowers, with unlimited items. No card needed.