There’s more than meets the eye at local costume shop

By Kalea Hall

khall@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

A lot of people don’t realize what’s inside 5232 Market St.

Once inside, customers can easily get lost in search of who or what to be for a day.

Quincy’s Costumes is a year-round costume shop with hundreds of costume options for customers looking to take on a new role, whether it be for Halloween, a party, a play or any other event that requires a change of appearance.

“We make it a happy experience,” said Quinton Hoover, shop co-owner.

There’s superhero costumes and Disney princesses; Roaring ’20s flappers and hippies from the ’60s; Star Wars characters and fairy wings.

Statues of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe showing off their iconic looks are the center of this costume store. At the back of the shop, a mannequin donning her 1950s poodle skirt offers up a plastic hamburger. A dreamy 1970 Challis Gold Cord makes this costume shop feel like a movie set. The store has a trove of treasures any child or adult would want to touch.

Quinton and his wife, Diana, have owned the store and added to its character for more than 30 years. It spun off their original business, Youngstown Dance Supply, which is connected to Quincy’s.

“We wanted to work for ourselves and have our own business,” Quinton said.

The couple chose to start a dance-supply business because they had two daughters in dance and a space – the size of a closet – right next to a dance studio was open to rent, so dance supply was a natural fit for the location.

When customers began to ask for different costumes, such as Santa Claus, the Hoovers saw an opportunity.

“We started renting out Santas and snowmen and the Easter Bunny,” Quinton said.

“It just evolved to what people were asking for,” Diana added.

The Hoovers have continued to expand their dance-supply business with two other locations, one in Warren and another in Cleveland, and they are also part owners of the Outdoor Recreational Equipment, ORE, right next door to the costume shop and dance-supply store on Market Street and another ORE location in Howland.

They’ve served three generations of customers.

There aren’t many gory costumes found at Quincy’s because they like to keep the store child friendly.

“We don’t want them to feel afraid to come here,” Diana said.

Superheroes and princesses tend to be top-selling costumes here.

Every year, the Hoovers see the Halloween excitement get bigger and bigger. The more excitement leads to more spending. The National Retail Federation says Americans will splurge on Halloween this year by spending $9.1 billion on costumes, candy and Halloween decor. That surpasses last year’s figure of $8.4 billion by 8.3 percent.

The origins of Halloween date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts celebrated the new year Nov. 1. This day marked the start of winter, which was associated with human death. The Celts believed that on the day before, Oct. 31, the boundary between the living and the dead blurred and ghosts returned to earth, according to The History Channel.

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated Nov. 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween, according to The History Channel.

Halloween really came to America during the second half of the 19th century when a new wave of immigrants arrived.

“Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today’s ‘trick-or-treat’ tradition,” the History Channel’s “Story of Halloween” reads.

In the 1950s, the holiday became directed toward children. Trick-or-treat was revived with the community providing small treats to children.

The holiday, though still spooky at times, is meant for fun. The Hoovers like to be a part of that fun.

“It’s a happy business,” Quinton said. “Our customers are happy to be around.”