Unmasking Valley costume stores
YOUNGSTOWN
Mariah Cicconi of Struthers and Rico Rodriguez of Niles love dressing up for Halloween. The two were perusing the inventory of masks, wigs and outfits at Ward’s Costume Shoppe, which has been around for more than 60 years.
The Mahoning Valley has its share of year-round local costume stores.
“When you’re a costumer, it’s in your blood,” said Shirley James, the owner of Ward’s Costume Shoppe at 533 Robbins Ave. in Niles.
Her mother and aunt started the store in 1949. James said she has been sewing costumes since she was in middle school.
The costume shop does daily and weekly rentals. With more than 2,000 rentals, the average price range for costumes ranges from $10 to $35. The most-expensive outfit is a Darth Vader costume with a voice amplifier that costs $150 to rent.
“Every outfit is a little different,” James said.
It’s a tough industry, she added. Having a year-round costume store comes with slow periods from January to July, she said. That comes along with the costs of washing and repairing costumes.
The Internet does not make things easier, since people can purchase costumes online, James said.
Brian Palumbo, owner of Geppetto’s Costumes, 130 S. Bridge St., Struthers, agreed with James. The cost of buying a costume can vary depending on the company and character. Either way, costumes have to be rented out several times to make a profit, he said. Another challenge is that costume rentals don’t last forever.
“We take a lot of pride in our costumes,” Palumbo said, adding that costume rentals are retired at some point. Some costumes just do not last as long as you want, he said.
“It’s kind of a gamble,” he added.
Palumbo said the store relocated from Chicago in 2006 and sells primarily theatrical, masquerade and mascot costumes. It’s also more of a hobby of his, he added.
Other challenges for costume stores are competing with the larger chain stores.
“Mom-and-pop stores are going by the wayside,” said Quinton Hoover, owner of Quincy’s Costumes, 5232 Market St., in Boardman.
Hoover and his wife, Diana, own seven stores within the area including a dance-supply store, which led them to selling costumes more than 30 years ago. The store sells theatrical costumes to costumes based on time periods such as the 1950s, he said. The most-expensive costume to rent is that of “Star Wars” character Chewbacca at $600, he said.
A person won’t find a scary costume at Quincy’s Costumes, however.
“We sell an upbeat, happier type of costume,” Hoover said.
That’s how James operates her store as well. Though they do sell many scary costumes and are open seven days a week with extended hours in October, James said they don’t consider themselves a Halloween store and structure the layout to be less scary.
“I don’t want the kids to be afraid,” she said.
James also does not rent out costumes of Santa Claus or Mrs. Claus until after October.
“Mr. and Mrs. Claus do not go out for Halloween,” she said.
On the other hand, Palumbo and James both said characters from the animated Disney movie “Frozen” will be popular this Halloween season.
“Elsa is going to be the biggest costume this year,” Palumbo said of one of the movie’s lead characters.