What is a Costume House?

A costume house is a company that manufactures or rents costumes for theater, film, and other productions. These companies often have warehouses full of costumes to rent for customers.

A Costume (also spelled costume, costumer, costume, cloak, and tuxedo) is an ensemble of clothes worn for performing roles in theater or cinema or by members of an organized group for special occasions, such as the New Orleans Mardi Gras Krewes or San Antonio debutantes. A costume may either cover the body or reveal it, depending on its design and function.

The term costume is derived from French, Italian, and Medieval Latin costuma, ultimately from Latin consuetudo (“custom”). It is used to describe an outfit that reflects the character or identity of the wearer and is not merely functional.

Some costumes are designed to highlight particular characters or play a role; these often involve many hours of fastidious planning and construction, particularly for adult members of an organized group for high-visibility or prestige events such as Halloween or Mardi Gras.

A costume establishes an individual’s identity within a culture and emphasizes common social characteristics. These include age and gender, marital status, occupation, and religious affiliation.

Dress, in contrast, focuses on individual appearance to communicate information about an individual’s identity and provides sensory cues about an individual’s appearance without the observer asking questions. This is usually done through a combination of clothing items, hairstyles and accessories.

A costume shop typically has a variety of stations for stitching or surging, cutting tables, fabric storage and finishing tables. It also has a manager and stitcher. The manager deals with the budget for productions, and is responsible for work and costume building schedules and production crew requirements. The stitcher works on the actual construction of the costumes, often assisting with fittings, pinning, and alteration.