The Sally Ann Parsons designs consist entirely of costume bibles produced by Parsons-Meares, Ltd., a costume construction company specializing in costumes for stage, film, dance and opera. Materials date from 1980, the year that the company was established, to 2001. The collection contains photocopies of designers' sketches, patterns and costume construction notes (including some oversized materials), swatches and samples of other supplies used, photographs from fittings, as well as close-up images illustrating costume details, and measurements. It also contains working records such as cast lists, contact lists, supplies order forms, a small amount of correspondence, cost estimates, worksheets and shipping lists. A large number of the costume bibles found in this collection are for Broadway productions, including Cats, Sophisticated Ladies, Starlight Express, Grease (revival), and The Will Rogers Follies. Dance productions are also amply represented, especially designs created by Willa Kim for the San Francisco Ballet. Other projects include film, opera, and ice shows. In addition to its frequent projects with Kim during this period, Parsons-Meares, Ltd. also collaborated with many other leading costume designers in the field, including Eiko Ishioka, Jane Greenwood, William Ivey Long, and Patricia Zipprodt. The collection does not contain any other records pertaining to the operations of Parsons-Meares, Ltd. or materials for productions on which Sally Ann Parsons served as a costume designer.
Sally Ann Parsons is a costume designer and vice-president of Parsons-Meares, Ltd., a theatrical costume construction company. From the 1970s through the 1980s, Parsons served as the costume designer for several dance projects. She created costumes for solo performers, including Margaret Beals and Daniel Nagrin, as well as dance groups, such as the Don Redlich Dance Company and the Phoebe Neville Dance Company. Established in 1980, Parsons-Meares, Ltd. became one of the major firms in specialized costume manufacturing for stage, film, dance and opera productions. The company participated in many productions, executing the work of leading costume designers, including Jane Greenwood, William Ivey Long, Willa Kim, and Patricia Zipprodt. Among the company's clients during the 1980s and 1990s were the Broadway shows, Cats (1982), Starlight Express (1987), Grease (revival, 1994), and The Will Rogers Follies (1991). They also have constructed costumes for dance companies, including the New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, as well as costumes for films, opera, and a number of Disney productions.