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Masako Parshall, longtime wardrobe manager for the Texas Ballet Theater, finishes mending costumes in her final week before retirement in June 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)
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On her penultimate day at Texas Ballet Theater, it was hard for Masako Parshall to step away from her sewing machine or put down her seam ripper for even a few minutes.Tending to the company’s wardrobe — whether that meant designing new costumes from scratch, reinforcing seams or replacing worn elastic — has long been a part of her life.Parshall’s first stint with the company began in 1982 when it was known as Fort Worth Ballet. With the exception of a nine-year tenure at Casa Mañana, Parshall has worked with the dance troupe, now known as Texas Ballet Theater, ever since.“I’m 88!” Parshall exclaimed. “I’m too old to be working,” she said with a costume in hand and a laundry list of repairs she wanted to work through before calling it quits.Her journey to the ballet company — and Fort Worth — is an unlikely one. 

A native of Japan, Parshall survived the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, which decimated the city and killed an estimated 140,000 people, most of whom were civilians.Years later she met and married Maj. Fred Nathan Parshall Jr., who served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War.Masako became a U.S. citizen and the couple had a daughter named Martha who was born at Tachikawa Air Force Base in Tokyo.

Before the family’s move to America, Fred passed away.Friends and family tried to convince Masako to move to one of the coasts, where there was a higher concentration of Japanese Americans, but after doing some research she concluded that North Texas was the best fit.Though she only knew one person in the metroplex at the time, Masako was drawn to the good schools in the area, low crime rate and proximity to Carswell Air Force Base.Plus, she decided, it would help her daughter to fully integrate into the American way of life.Masako doesn’t spend much time talking about the challenges of adjusting to life as a widow and raising a daughter in a new country nearly 7,000 miles away from her homeland.“She’s been through so much,” daughter Martha Parshall said.But Masako is still smiling. 

Masako Parshall, right, and daughter Martha, left, look through a bin of costumes from previous performances on June 27, 2024, at Texas Ballet Theater. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)

Several decades later, Masako was lively as she and her daughter reflected on her career. “She can blame me for getting into costuming because I got into dance,” Martha said of her mother.

Following in her father’s footsteps, Masako trained as a tailor and made clothes for herself and her daughter. Women at church would frequently compliment their clothing. When they learned that Masako had sewn it, several asked if she could make something for them, too.

One of Masako’s clients also happened to be a board member of the Fort Worth Ballet, who recommended her for a position with the company.

“I made clothes for them,” Masako said. “Then they asked me to take this job, so I ended up here.”

“She recommended my mom,” added Martha, who is also an instructor with the Texas Ballet Theater school, “because at that time, my mom had already made a couple of tutus for me.” 

Masako Parshall looks through a row of ballet costumes she designed at Texas Ballet Theater, on June 27, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)

Before moving into its current location at 1540 Mall Circle, the ballet company had limited space. So, Masako said, she would hang costumes in the hallways at work or bring them home. 

“She was making everything at our house,” Martha said. “We had tutus hanging all over the place.”“Yeah,” Masako laughed. “Thread all over and costumes everywhere.”From time to time a big pot of dye would also be on the stove.“The tights have to be dyed. And you need to try to get the shoes to match,” Martha said. “That’s the goal, (to match) from the tip of the toes to the top of the head.”The ballet’s wardrobe collection is vast and varied, from dresses for Dracula’s brides to Mother Ginger’s tentlike skirt in “The Nutcracker,” every piece has multiple parts to help give dancers as much mobility as possible.On top of that, the costumes are designed to be adjustable so that they fit multiple dancers.To accomplish this, many costumes have a few rows of snaps, buttons or hook-and-eye closures that allow adjustments from one performance to the next. 

Baby wipes work wonders for removing stage makeup from fabric, and vodka is key to keeping the costumes fresh and odor-free between performances.

Ballet costumes hang in storage June 27, 2024, at Texas Ballet Theater. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)

“What’s funny is I don’t drink,” Masako said. “I don’t go to the liquor store (unless there’s a show).”When she walked into the liquor store, shopkeepers knew that it was ballet season.“Oh, you have a performance today? Let me get your vodka,” Masako laughed. But when the ballet begins its new season with “Cinderella” Sept. 13, it will be someone else’s turn to go to the liquor store.Several people have already asked Masako if she might be interested in new sewing projects, but she’s trying to keep her schedule clear — for now.

“I gotta do my own thing,” she said. 

Masako Parshall sits in her work station and replaces worn elastic of a ballet costume on June 27, 2024, at Texas Ballet Theater. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)

Marcheta Fornoff covers arts and culture for the Fort Worth Report. Reach her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.