For the "Pretty Little Liars" Costume Designer, it's Halloween Every Day

By Ket Lamb
October 17, 2011

Pretty Little Liars

from left to right: Troian Bellisario, Shay Mitchell, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale as the Pretty Little Liars

Tall and strikingly edgy with a slash of punk, Mandi Line has been working steadily as a costume designer since shortly after graduating from California's Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). Her quirky projects range from costuming indie films such as "The Crow: Wicked Prayer" to dressing contestants as mannequins on "Australia's Next Top Model".

Line has added her stamp to Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva" as well as ABC Family's series "10 Things I Hate About You" and the collegiate show "Greek". But perhaps her biggest gig yet is as costume designer on the network's popular teen drama, "Pretty Little Liars". The show, a "Gossip Girl"-gone thriller, but with a more accessible sensibility, has the costumes—trendy, covetable, sometimes vampy—to match, and has provided plenty of fodder for fashion bloggers.

Pretty Little Halloween Special (via ABC Family)

Although season two ended this summer, a much-anticipated "Pretty Little Liars" Halloween Special prequel premieres this Wednesday. Between working out at the gym and a plethora of fittings, costume designer Line chatted with The Inside Source at Warner Brothers, where the show is shooting. While she didn't offer up any spoilers, Line did dish on the Pretty Little Liars, Halloween costumes, and why Paula Abdul was the toughest person she ever fit.

The Inside Source: How would you describe your own style?

Mandi Line: Dark, edgy. I love black. When I was young, I was wild and crazy. I looked gothic, but I loved pop. There's a show called Cirque Berzerk, a really cool gothic carnival. That's kind of how I looked growing up. When you get to my age, you realize you really can't pull off tutus, corsets, and big platforms every single day. There's a brand called All Saints. That's me!

Mandi Line

"Pretty Little Liars" Costume Designer Mandi Lane

Find Mandi Line's Favorite, All Saints, on eBay:

Roll over items for details

All Saints Coat

(buy it now price, $210)

All Saints Steampunk Dress

(buy it now price, $62.47)

All Saints Poet Shirt

(buy it now price, $203.02)

The Inside Source: What was the biggest costume challenge you've had in your career?

Mandi Line: Easy. Paula Abdul on "Drop Dead Diva". She was seven hours late. I had never seen her. She had dropped two sizes [from the ones were given]. We had 20 minutes to fit her. We weren't able to sew, so her costume was held together with tape, pins, and plastic. She promised that she wouldn't dance. On set, through my peripheral vision, I suddenly saw her going up in the air, flipping! I don't know how it happened, but on camera, it looked flawless and beautiful.

The Inside Source: Whom do you like to dress the most on "Pretty Little Liars"?

Mandi Line: It changes weekly. Automatically, it's Aria [played by Lucy Hale]. She's a little mini-me. But, Ashley [Ashley Benson, who plays Hanna Marin] has such an amazing energy about her that I look forward to her fittings. She's a glorious handful. I love dressing her because she's so grateful, happy, and spazzy. Troian [Troian Bellisario who plays Spencer Hastings] actually has the best sense of style, so her outfits come out great and different. Shay [Shay Mitchell who plays Emily Fields], is one of my great friends. Since she's so different than her character, sometimes she's the toughest. Mona [played by Janel Parrish] is really fun. I just put her in completely inappropriate, over the top clothes.

The Inside Source: Whom do you identify with the most?

Mandi Line: Fashion-wise, Aria. But Hanna's character is exactly who I was in high school. We had no money, but it looked like we did. I was that popular girl that maintained her looks at all times, even if the world was going to crumble. [In high school,] it's all about your looks. Then, you have the moments when you realize it's not. Hanna has really intimate, tough, episodes, where she has to get real with herself, and I get it.

The Inside Source: Do you reuse the same clothes in the show?

Mandi Line: Bottom halves because we don't have the budget to get everything new. People wear the same pants, people wear the same skirts. Top halves—no, I don't like to. I have different themes every episode, just because I feel like it. In the last episode we shot [which will air in 2012], Aria wore stripes in every single scene, but all different kinds of stripes. Spencer wears animals all the time. Emily dresses like all my friends. Hanna actually wore a locket one time, and I put a picture of me and my assistant in it. Nobody knew. Aria will be from the 50s one day, a rocker the next day, then very vintage 20s. She's the schizophrenic of fashion.

The Inside Source: What was your favorite episode to work on and why?

Mandi Line: Homecoming! I was still new to the show. I'd actually been called to design "Pretty Little Liars", and I turned it down to do "Drop Dead Diva". When they let the designer go, Bob Levy [the Executive Producer of "Pretty Little Liars"] phoned and said, "You've got to take this show. You were meant to be on it." Homecoming came four episodes after I arrived. That was the first time we got the fashion buzz. It was huge from that second on. So many blogs wanted to know where to get Aria's dress. We didn't get it anywhere—we made the whole thing. To me, that's proving yourself as a designer.

Pretty Little Liars

Lucy Hale as "Aria" for Homecoming episode

The Inside Source: What is another favorite outfit that you created for the show?

Mandi Line: Spencer had a great one. She was standing on the bleachers in a great vintage floppy hat and a really cool polka dotted blouse from Tucker (which is a big designer, but they did a line for Target). She wore this man's vest I got from Wasteland and took in and altered, little boots, jeans, and a great, long green jacket.

This outfit, worn by Spencer, is one of Line's favorites.

The Inside Source: In the upcoming "Pretty Little Liars" Halloween Special, the show flashes back in time, introducing us to the main characters when they were a couple of years younger. To delineate the way main characters looked in the past from the way they look now, how did you dress them differently?

Mandi Line: Hanna was heavy, so we had to build a fat suit for her. Now, her character knows what's in style, what's in fashion. In the past, she was just trying to get by and not get made fun of. Then, Aria was a goth. I made her a really great, young, sweet goth. She wore a lot of homemade clothes. Everything was cut up and chopped. We made Spencer a little more preppy because as people get older, they find their own style. She was very much what her parents wanted. Same thing with Emily. She was very conservative.

Pretty Little Liars Halloween

from left to right: Shay Mitchell as "Emily", Ashley Benson as "Hanna", Lucy Hale as "Aria", and Troian Bellisario as "Spencer"

The Inside Source: Did you create any Halloween costumes on that show that you thought were really cool?

Mandi Line: Yeah, everyone's! The girls' costumes were great. Emily was a sexy Indian. We made that entire thing. Hanna was a little chubby Britney Spears. Aria was a goth witch. She was just sexy with corsets, a coffin necklace and spider earrings. Then, we made these great gloves, and she has bat shoes and striped tights. Spencer was Mary Queen of Scots. We got a costume from the rental house, but we completely changed it.

Dress Like the Pretty Little Liars Do on Halloween:

Sexy Indian Costume

(buy it now price, $49.99)

Britney Spears Costume from "Circus" Tour

(starting bid, $50)

Goth Witch Costume

Mary Queen of Scots Costume

(buy it now price, $69.99)

The Inside Source: What do you always have in your closet?

Mandi Line: Black boots, black jeans, black tee shirt, which is what I have on right now. A great hat—if you wake up with bad hair, throw a wool fedora on. Pump it up with some great accessories. I can't even tell you how many necklaces, earrings, and bracelets I've got! You can have a boring outfit, but if you throw on some great earrings and a chunky necklace, you're good to go!

The Inside Source: What piece of fashion advice would you like to give all the "Pretty Little Liars" devotees?

Mandi Line: If you really look at the "Pretty Little Liars", their clothes aren't that expensive. They're very obtainable. It's not "Gossip Girl". It's not that you have to get a whole new wardrobe. See the potential of what you have in your closet. Let go of thinking, "Oh, I would never wear that." Instead, look at it and say, "How can I make that better? It would be awesome if I put a bright blue belt with this brown." Don't get down on yourself because you can't buy something. You can always switch something up that you have.