The Fantasy of Dressing Up

You're putting me on.

When we imagine dressing up and costumes around this time of year, most people think of Halloween parties: vampires, werewolves, and zombies come to mind. Back in the day, Halloween was a time for creativity and imaginations to run wild, original costumes ruled the fall at parties and even Trick-or Treating. Grandmothers and mothers sat at their sewing machines for hours, and more recently, go to craft stores to create unique costumes for their kids. As those kids got older they created their own costumes to when we’re adults full on in control of what we want to be. People of all ages had no problem piecing together an innovative design. Times have changed, and we see a lot more people wanting to buy their costume in full, so the uniqueness is lost in the mass production of a particular costume. However, local year round costume shops like Costume World in the Strip District and Spotlight Costumes on the South Side have seen fads come and go of put-together costumes, but appreciate those willing to create their own ensembles every Halloween.

Spotlight Costumes in the South Side continues to pave the way for mom-and-pop costume stores since 1988. Spotlight offers wholesale and theatrical costumes, costume rentals and remain the largest distributor of renowned Ben Nye Makeup in the Tri-State area. Ron Thompson has been at Spotlight since the beginning, and extremely proud of it. He’s seen Spotlight provide makeup to theatre productions from Oliver to Shrek, popular superheroes at their lowest and their peaks, the steady influx of Dr. Who inspired outfits, and period piece costumes like those motivated by Downton Abbey. Accessories from gloves to jewelry, hats to mustaches – it’s easy to see how people can go from nothing to looking like a real extra in one of those series. Ron’s prediction for popular costumes this year? Orange is the New Black jumpsuits! Get your big red wigs and crazy eyes ready!

But it’s not just TV characters that influence costumes and what Spotlight and most year round costume shop carry. Feedback from loyal customers is also welcome, for example, after Kim Kardashian mentioned Ben Nye’s Banana foundation on her show and it was recommended by Drag Queens and Kings, Spotlight made sure to carry it, appeasing to the needs of anyone who enjoys changing their look – whether it’s for a play, a show, a party, or your own enjoyment.

Understandably, it may be cheaper to go with an already made Spiderman costume from a 30-day Halloween store, but it’ll be hard to differentiate you and the 50 other people with the same costume on. For example, on Walmart.com a Geisha girl costume is about $35, and you can tell why. There’s not really anything special about it and its quality is poor. Other online stores do offer a little more uniqueness and the quality is better, but the problem is the same as shopping online for normal clothing – the fit. Online costume shops usually sex everything up, but it’s hard to tell whether it will fit your body type, and there aren’t options to alter them. That same Geisha outfit runs between $50 and $80 on the online shops. All Spotlight’s rentals typically range from $75 to $90, and the same price applies for an authentic handmade costume that actually resembles a true Geisha. Makeup and wigs are available to polish the look, costumes can be altered while in the store, and accessories, like hats or gloves, can be made on the spot! Even if you do decide not to go with a rental, to have the opportunity to be original by creating from scratch some wacky concept, like a zombified Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause, are unbeatable and sure to be memorable for Halloweens to come.

For local costume shops, while they see a definite uptick in customers between September and October, their traffic is year round. The fantasy of dressing up isn’t just for special holidays either. For those of us who want something a little extra, like a wig or special makeup, year round costume stores are the way to go. But as Ron says, the local shops need support to last, “[they need to be] cultivated and groomed or [they] will wither and die.” He listed half a dozen year round stores no longer open for that very reason – lack of support. So if you’re looking for something more original to create or rent for Halloween, have an idea you want sewn up or altered, or want to try a new look, try the local year round stores right here in Pittsburgh, it’ll be worth your while!

Jahmeela Clarke is a Pittsburgh native, bornand raised in Penn Hills with her three sisters. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh via Kent State. She likes writing about local events, national crazes and home-grown artists.

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