Costume Closet bursting at the seams

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This article was published 31/05/2018 (2866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VIRDEN — Hazel Lamont pushes her arms forward like a swimmer doing breaststroke as she wades through a row of costumes.

The materials swish together as they’re momentarily pushed out of place on the hangers, before falling back.

It’s just another Monday morning at Virden’s Costume Closet for Lamont, who has been volunteering here for nearly nine years.

It’s off the main road in Virden, with an estimated 26,000 pieces of clothing.

“It’s the best kept secret,” Lamont said.

The choices for customers range from Halloween costumes, square dance outfits, a retro rack, 1930s, 1940s, ethnic wear, and long dresses that Lamont said used to be popular but don’t go out so often anymore. There are also moustaches, top hats, and wigs.

There’s great potential to walk into Virden’s Costume Closet and walk out a completely different looking person.

It’s not expensive to do so, as the store works by renting out articles of clothing for $25 for the first one to five items, and $5 for all items after that to be used as a damage deposit that will be returned after bringing the item back in solid condition.

The store asks for a minimum $10 donation when the items are returned to help pay for costs to keep the building open and running.

The Costume Closet has been in business since the 1980s, when it was started by Arlene Collier.

“Arlene was a really good seamstress, she seemed to gather old fashioned clothes, and she was good at creating halloween costumes,” Lamont said.

In the beginning, it was run out of Collier’s attic, but she needed more space and she later moved to the Auditorium Theatre in Virden.

The Costume Closet remained there until the early 1990s, when it was moved to its present location at 484 6 Ave S.

Although Collier passed away a few years ago, the Costume Closet has remained open. All of the people who work here are volunteers.

“It’s hard to make a profit, but any profit we make goes to the (Virden Community Arts Council),” Lamont said.

She volunteers here because she enjoys it, and being in her 70s, she brings a lot of experience to the job.

“We have a lot of experience in materials and styles and fashions from the decades behind that other younger people don’t have,” she said.

Everything in the store is very well organized, with an entire aisle full of colour coded pink hats and pink necklaces, and another full with red hats and red necklaces. Other aisles are organized by date.

There’s a lot to choose from.

“1930s, 1940s, 1950s,” Lamont said as she brushes past numerous sections of the store.

One of the recent upgrades to the Costume Closet that helps with organization is the addition of clear boxes.

They were bought with funds donated by the Virden foundation so customers can more easily find what they’re looking for.

Better organization also helps the employees — even after being here for eight or nine years its challenging for Lamont to remember the exact location of all 26,000 items. She said she can often be heard asking one of the two other frequent volunteers for help.

“Where’s that? Betty, where’s this? Fran? Where’s that? It’s hard to know,” she said.

Recently, a large abundance of hats were rented out by a retirement residence looking to celebrate Prince Harry’s wedding in style.

“The organizers from the Elkwood manor in Elkhorn took about 25 to 30 hats to do a wedding tea (at the retirement residence) for Prince Harry’s wedding,” Lamont said.

Teachers also come here to rent costumes for school productions. One recent customer was Joanne Penner, who borrowed costumes for a school production of “The Lion King.”

Her husband lugged back two big blue boxes full of costumes they’d rented on Monday. Afterwards, they’ll all be washed before being placed back on their hangers for someone else to enjoy.

“Sometimes it’s just running and running,” Lamont said of the washing machine.

The costume closet is open every Monday from 9 a.m. to noon, and on Thursdays.

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