Make / Hire / Buy Decision TreeEasyStagecraft Course · Tier 1B · Module 6 (Wardrobe & Makeup) · v1.0 · route every costume by garment type and quantity, not by gut

How to use. Run every costume on your show through this tree one piece at a time — not "the costumes" as a block. Get the route wrong (hiring what you could op-shop, making what you should hire) and the budget doubles for no visible gain on stage. Decide the route per garment, then cost the garment plus its alterations-and-maintenance line — because that hidden line is usually bigger than the garment.

The tree

Q1. Is this garment ordinary, present-day clothing — uniform, business wear, 80s/90s, everyday street clothes?

↙ YesNo — it's period / fantasy / character ↘

BUY — op-shop / charity / budget retail. Cheapest route, you can alter it freely, and it goes into school stock for next year.

A$5–25 op-shop · A$15–50 fast-fashion. Catalogue it in EasyInventory afterward.

Q2. Do you need MANY of the same thing — a matching/themed chorus or ensemble?

↓

↙ Yes — many matching piecesNo — one or a few statement pieces ↘

Q3a. Do you have a wardrobe coordinator + a parent sewing team + lead time (start ≥ 8 weeks out)?

HIRE — one-off period/character leads where buying or making is uneconomic (the Fagin coat, the ballgown). A handful of statement pieces, hired, beats building them.

A$40–120 ensemble · A$120–300+ principal/period. Read the hire agreement BEFORE you sign.

↓

↙ Yes — team + time existNo — no team or no time ↘

MAKE — cheapest per-unit at volume. Chorus/ensemble in matching costumes, or period shows where hiring 30 matching pieces is eye-watering.

A$25–80 fabric+notions per simple garment. Volunteer hours are FINITE, not free.

HIRE the lot — without a coordinator, a team, and lead time, "make" produces a pile of half-finished costumes the week before opening. Hire instead.

No team / no time = do not attempt to make. That decision is the trap that burns volunteers out.

The route decision in one line

Many of the same thing → MAKE. A few statement period/character pieces → HIRE. Modern everyday clothing → BUY. Most school shows use all three at once: op-shop the contemporary chorus, make the matching ensemble, hire the two or three principals whose look has to land.

Side-by-side comparison

Factor	MAKE	HIRE	BUY
Rough AU cost	A$25–80 fabric/notions per garment	A$40–120 ensemble; A$120–300+ principal	A$5–25 op-shop; A$15–50 fast-fashion
Best for	Many matching/themed pieces; period at volume	One-off period/character leads	Modern, contemporary, everyday clothing
Alteration freedom	Full — you cut to fit	Limited — often pin & tack only, no permanent cuts	Full — own it, alter/dye/distress it
Goes into school stock?	Yes	No — returned	Yes
Hidden cost to watch	Volunteer burnout; lead time	Sizing risk, damage charges, return-clean fees	Sizing luck; alterations on second-hand fit
The trap	Treating volunteer hours as zero	Hiring what you could op-shop	Buying period/fantasy (you can't op-shop an 1890s frock coat)

Worked routing — a contemporary-set musical, cast of 30

Garment	Route	Why
20× matching diner-staff uniforms (chorus)	MAKE	Many of the same thing, matching. Cheapest per-unit at volume; team builds from one pattern.
Present-day teen street clothes (ensemble)	BUY	Real modern clothing — op-shop run dresses the lot for the price of two hires.
Lead's 1950s formal gown	HIRE	One statement period piece. Building or buying a credible period gown is uneconomic for one wear.
Business suits for the two adult character roles	BUY	Op-shop suits + alter to fit. Owned, reusable, far cheaper than hire.
Period band-leader uniform (1 only)	HIRE	Single elaborate character piece — hire beats making one-off.

The point. One show, three routes, each matched to the garment. A "hire everything" baseline for this cast would cost multiples of the routed plan — for the identical look on stage.

The two rules under everything

Decide make/hire/buy per piece, not per "costume". One "costume" is usually ~6 separate pieces; route each on its own merits.
Catalogue what the school already owns first. The cheapest route of all is "we already have it." Shop your own EasyInventory stock before sourcing anything new.