The Rope Dancers, a drama set in a New York tenement in the early 20th century, was staged on Broadway in 1957. ‘It was the first time I felt I knew what I was doing,’ wrote Zipprodt

In 1958, Zipprodt designed the costumes for a successful off-Broadway version of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, including this one for John Proctor appearing in court. ‘All the costumes were made in my apartment with my Singer sewing machine,’ she wrote

In 1960, she worked with another great American playwright, Tennessee Williams, on Period of Adjustment. The dress Barbara Baxley wore as the newlywed Isabel was made from wool crepe in a pink salmon colour

Sada Thompson’s costume for Mrs Molly in ‘a wonderful little production’ of The Matchmaker, which toured New York state in 1963

Sketches for the 1963 musical She Loves Me, a ‘charming romance’ in which the story ‘progresses through all four seasons’

Fiddler on the Roof, which premiered on Broadway in 1964, won Zipprodt the first of her three Tony awards. One of her tasks was ‘to make poor people’s clothes looks realistically poor. That meant the tones of all their clothes had to be conservative and dark’

Zipprodt also designed for the big screen. Mike Nichols asked her to do the costumes for The Graduate (1967), including several versions of the leopard coat worn by Anne Bancroft as Mrs Robinson. But she returned to the stage, calling her Hollywood experience ‘the most miserable 18 weeks of my life’

She reunited with Bancroft and Nichols for a 1967 Broadway production of Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, in which Bancroft mostly wore black

A Kit Kat Club dancer’s costume for the musical Cabaret, which won Zipprodt her second Tony award, in 1967

One of the travelling players in the musical Pippin, which ran on Broadway from 1972 to 1977. Director Bob Fosse told Zipprodt he wanted costumes that were ‘magical and anachronistic’

Zipprodt had a hit with the 1975 crime musical Chicago, reuniting her with Fosse. Her first creations included these ‘raunchy’ ones, made from ‘silver glittery fabric and rhinestones’, worn by Gwen Verdon (as Roxie) and Chita Rivera (as Velma) during the show’s early performances. They were later replaced by leotards and tailcoats

Madame Rosepettle’s ballgown from a 1963 production of the farce Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad. If the Song Doesn’t Work, Change the Dress: The Illustrated Memoirs of Broadway Costume Designer Patricia Zipprodt is published on 6 February by Methuen Drama