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Did you ever wonder who makes those fantastic costumes you see up on the silver screen? And did you ever wish that you could get your hands on some of those Hollywood costumes at Halloween time? Well, you can. If you know about Western Costume, that is... Western Costume Company is the largest costume maker in the world, and the chief provider of costumes for most of the major Hollywood movie studios. (The wardrobe department at the nearby NBC Studios comes in a distant second.) Western Costume has created original costumes for countless classic films, from "Gone With the Wind" to "Broken Arrow," and the company also rents out used costumes to smaller studios with a lower budget. Western Costume Company is as much a part of the Hollywood tradition as Grauman's Chinese Theatre or the Hollywood Sign (although not nearly as well-known by the general public).
As you might expect,
Western Costume has a vast collection of used costumes and movie wardrobes
from days gone by - over 5 million in stock. Most of the year, they don't
rent costumes to the public - just to those in the movie industry. And
they don't give public tours.
For the month of October, Western Costume Company opens its doors to the general public, as a place to rent Halloween costumes. And what Halloween costumes! You get to pick from a stock of famous outfits, which includes everything from authentic civil war uniforms & Southern Belle dresses worn in "Gone With the Wind," to horned helmets from "Conan the Barbarian." But even during October's
Halloween rush, you don't get to walk in through the front door. Instead,
members of the public must go around to the back, to a small rear entrance.
Inside, you'll discover that only a tiny portion of the huge 120,000-square-foot
building has been sectioned off for public access, and at first it doesn't
seem to offer much - only about a dozen racks full of costumes. But slow
down and take a look at what they have on those racks... If you prefer the
thrills and chills of Hollywood horror movies, you can enjoy wearing Exploring these costumes
can be like a trip back in time. If you enjoy the 1950's look, you can
rent period poodle skirts or chinos worn in "Bye
Bye Birdie," Is Ancient Rome more
your style? Then choose costumes from Charlton Heston's
"Ben-Hur"
or Elizabeth Taylor's
And there are basic party costumes as well: a princess, a gorilla, Bigfoot, Elvis, Snow White, clowns, a ringmaster, a show girl, a cowboy or Indian, even a saloon girl. You can have a ball trying a host of wild hats, from feathered turbans (ala "Aladdin"), to dapper top hats that seem to come from The Mad Hatter's shop. The most expensive rental is a gigantic grizzly bear costume which stands about eight feet tall, complete with sharp teeth and claws. It will set you back $500. But most costume rental prices range from a low of $45 (for an "adult baby" or "Suzy Wong") to a high of around $100 (for some of the classier "Gone With the Wind" stuff). You can be a harem girl for $85, a cowboy for $60, or the Cowardly Lion for $90. I wouldn't drive a long way to come here, but if you're in the neighborhood, Western Costume is well worth a visit in October. Bring along a friend and let yourself go. Even if you don't actually rent anything, it can be a lot of fun rummaging around through the racks, looking at the various historic movie clothes & props, trying on the costumes... (Be careful with any costumes you do rent. A fan emailed me to say that they rented a vest from Western Costume for $75 (for a shoot, not at Halloween) and when they brought it back the company spotted a tear in the inner lining of the vest and charged them $300 for damage/replacement fees. The fan believed the tear was already there when they rented it and that Western just hadn't spotted it before. So to be on the safe side, if you rent a costume for Halloween, you might want to inspect it first, and make sure that any damage is mentioned on the rental receipt, so there won't be any misunderstandings later.) Western Costume Company accepts cash, checks, & credits cards (with a photo ID). All costumes are rented "as is," and all rentals and sales are final, so be sure to inspect the costumes and try them on before you rent them. All Halloween costumes must be returned before November 3rd. Hours: Western Costume is only open to the public only during the month of October - 10 AM to 6 PM, including Halloween.
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