Lake Fong, Post-Gazette David Woolard, costume designer for "The Secret Letters of Jackie and Marilyn," watches as draper Mindy Miller puts together a costume for the show at the O'Reilly Theater.

By LaMont Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe are names that instantly convey unforgettable fashion.

The style icons are brought back to life with some fictional, gossipy twists in "The Secret Letters of Jackie and Marilyn," a new Pittsburgh Public Theater production that makes its worldwide premiere here Thursday. Based on a Wendy Leigh novel, the three-character play revolves around the two women -- portrayed by Heather Tom (Marilyn) and Gretchen Egolf (Jackie) -- and "Patty," Ms. Monroe's bikini waxer and confidante, played by Carole Shelley.

Logically, fashion figures heavily into the story. Nearly 20 outfits -- only one for Patty -- were created by a team of 10: award-winning New York costume designer David C. Woolard, PPT costume shop director Kelli French, three stitchers, two drapers, two first hands and an intern.

"I love, love, love everything I'm wearing," said Ms. Tom.

Mr. Woolard, who lived in the Pittsburgh area for several years as a small child, had to design some outfits that Ms. Monroe and Mrs. Kennedy might conceivably have worn in private. But the bigger task was reproducing looks worn publicly by the women that many in the audience will remember.

There's a re-creation of the deep-red, Christian Dior-inspired wool boucle day dress Mrs. Kennedy wore during a televised tour of the White House, for example, and the cream silk evening gown and cape that she wore to the inaugural gala and designed in collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman and Diana Vreeland.

For Ms. Monroe, there's a stunningly realistic version of the nude, second-skin dress she wore during her breathy rendition of "Happy Birthday" to her rumored secret lover, President John F. Kennedy.

Mr. Woolard, who also designed costumes for "A Grand Night for Singing" at the theater six years ago, said this project required a lot of research before and during sketching, fabric swatching and sewing.

Wardrobe crew sometimes worked 12-hour days, not unusual when costumes are made and not bought.

"These are couture outfits," said Mr. Woolard.

"This has been great fun because I know that the fashion is very important to this [production]. I think the audience is going to come and look at the fashion in this, and look at it as fashion and not just character reference. The audience already has a sense of who the characters are."

Most of the looks are in neutral colors, primarily black and white. Mr. Woolard decided later in the process to make the red day dress, which involved some in-depth research.

The theater's costume shop could not determine from photos whether the ensemble's jacket actually buttoned in the front, Ms. French said. So they phoned the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, where staff inspected the actual garment and verified what draper Mindy Miller suspected -- that the buttons were purely ornamental and the dress zippered in back.

Just one of the many ways costumers worked to ensure that the two main characters' looks were as authentic as possible.

"Everybody knows what this stuff looks like, so there's no cutting corners," said Mrs. French. "It's challenging because some stuff needs to look like reproductions ... and the idea today of what is sexy and attractive is different from what was attractive and sexy in the '60s."

Looks are continually tweaked to fit script changes and practical needs, she added.

Anticipating the first dress rehearsal yesterday, Ms. Egolf said it was interesting to see how Mrs. Kennedy's style developed over the years, "to see how someone becomes a fashion icon."

And the outfits she'll wear, she added, "capture the essence of that character, what we call the 'Jackie armor,' the beautiful armor like what a queen would wear."