For more than 40 years, Josette Myles has worked in the costume shop of the Kentucky Opera Center in Louisville.

Now 90 years old, this French native still creates a labyrinth.

Costumes for every show, many of them from scratch.

Our Mackenzie Spink visited the shop to learn more from Josette about the art of costume making.

As part of Kitty's ongoing series, the Next Chapter focused on the rewards and challenges of growing older.

When Josette Myles moved to the United States from France, she expected to use her college degrees in banking and bookkeeping to support her family.

I was looking for a job and I go to the bank and I could not walk in a bank because my degree was in French and I have to go back for a year in college, and I they know.

Her son, Eric, was performing with the Louisville Ballet at the time, and he encouraged her to find work there as a seamstress.

As a former ballet dancer herself, Myles had experience making tutus.

And I said, well, tell you what is it for four hours dancing and waiting for him.

And so for you, for our free, you can see what I'm doing.

And David Walker, a designer from England, was there.

And he looked at me.

He said, you really do for free and say, yes, I know I can.

So what I can do?

So I started so you look at me say, you are we are you.

You say you found your money somewhere she can.

So Miles worked at both the ballet and the Kentucky Opera until accepting a full time position with the opera in 1983.

Every costume she's made is stored in a climate controlled room.

They're often reused or rented to other theaters across the country.

I made that from scratch.

That was Otello.

I can.

Tell you all a show I. Did over the years, you know?

And like I said, he was no computer.

So everything is there.

And they avatar.

Then I'm old fashioned.

I like opera.

I know we need new one.

We need to attract new people like that.

But it's something good in a traditional costume.

Big ball.

No man on a uniform.

You know, it's.

I think it's something special by that.

Miles says there's more to a good costume than just how it looks.

So costume.

They have the move in it, and they cannot fall apart like a dancer.

You know, when they jump in the costume, get to go with them.

Cannot stay on the floor.

Over her career, she's gotten creative with finding materials.

Once she bought a wedding dress from goodwill for $5 and used the yards of lace for years.

If you.

See all that lace.

That's when.

When I buy old wedding dress.

I can use the lace like that because it's so much of it.

And, you know, cost me much time to take it apart.

Worship, press and whatever.

But you know, when you love something, you just do it.

It's very rewarding leather work, but you get so much pleasure out of it.

I mean, you make and you see it on stage and, you know, you see it maybe a dozen people there look at it and you can rent them out to the power of the country.

So it starts on it as on people enjoy something and you feel like I created that.

And look what you do.

So to me is I love it.

The Kentucky Opera Center recently through Josette, a party for her 90th birthday, where she was designated a Kentucky colonel, the state's highest civilian honor for Kentucky edition.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.

Jesuit is currently working on the costumes for The Barber of Seville, the opera's season kickoff, which begins October 9th.

You can see more of our Next Chapter initiative at our website dot org.