I remember a time not too long ago when all we had to make clothing stay in place was "Top Stick". Now for those who currently rave about Fashion Tape all I can ask is,"Why pay more?"
I don't know of any working stylist in this town who doesn't use Top Stick. It has been around and a must have staple in Fashion Stylist Kits since we have been around. It is cheaper then Fashion Tape - Top Stick is around $7 for a pack of 50 vs Fashion Tape that can run $9 for a pack of 36 (depending where you go). In a busy week I can use up to 4 boxes (the most I ever used was 5 boxes on one Photo Shoot!).
For any aspiring Fashion Stylist Top Stick is something you need to know how to use...because it can be misused. Story time:
I was on a shoot recently and it was the end of the shooting day. As Talent (that's what you would call an actor or model on a working set) was getting ready to take her wardrobe off for the day; someone had placed Top Stick to secure her Wig... well everyone looked around to see who did it. As I knew it wasn't me all I could think was,"My God that is going to hurt soooo much". As the Hair Stylist tried to pull it slowly all you could hear was Talent breathing hard trying to deal with the pain as all the hairs from the back of her neck to her sideburns where being pulled. After about 5min of what I am sure was pure Hell for her, the wig was off... but some of the Top Stick was still mixed into her hair.
So what can you learn from this... here are a few rules to keep in mind:
Don't use Top Stick around the Hairline of anyone!
Before using it on anyone test it out on some NON visible part of their body to see how their skin will react. Some people have really sensitive skin.
Try not to place it on top of ANY body hair - if you can.
Remember that a little goes along way. So cut it into a smaller size if you need to.
Lastly, some fabrics don't like Top Stick. So once more, if it is a new type of Fabric that you have never used Top Stick on, test it on a place no one will see.
Oh, one last thing. The reason most of us like "Top Stick" is because other types can sometimes leave a residue behind on you, your clothing, or both... not cute.
A great place to buy Top Stick is http://www.sallybeauty.com/
