a person responsible for maintaining and sometimes making the costumes in a theatre
wardrobe mistress in American English
noun
a woman in charge of keeping theatrical costumes cleaned, pressed, and in wearable condition
Word origin
[1895–1900]This word is first recorded in the period 1895–1900. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Marxism, apothecaries' measure, flamenco, freewheel, neon
Examples of 'wardrobe mistress' in a sentence
wardrobe mistress
A wardrobe mistress arrives with my armour.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
She was the wardrobe mistress.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Don't trust dry cleaners; a wardrobe mistress told me to carry hand wipes and mop up small stains as you go.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Who knows how many the wardrobe mistress had gone through before deciding, finally, on these: a white plastic drop-pendant, evocatively shaped like a tear.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
June, who was the show's wardrobe mistress at the time, just kept making him a bigger one because it kept falling off.
The Sun (2017)
They had tried their best, but it was good old-fashioned wardrobe mistressing that received all the attention.