Costumer Magazine
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NCA Launching Help Halloween Happen Campaign
This year’s Halloween was supposed to be giant, since it falls on a full-moon Saturday. Then COVID interfered, and suddenly everyone is worried that Halloween will not be nearly what it should be. Well, the NCA can’t cure COVID, but we can help make Read more
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Q&A With Dale Morton: Mascot Restoration
Dale Morton, owner of Dale Morton Studio Mascot Costumes, presented a session on mascot restoration at the 2019 NCA Conference. In this interview, Dale discusses his business. Read more
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Halloween 2020: What Will Happen?
Halloween is a giant event for the costume industry, and this year the holiday falls on a Saturday, the best possible day. But with COVID upending the world, how will Halloween 2020 go? Read more
Product Parade
Billie Eilish Costume
This BILLIE EILISH CLASSIC GREEN CHILD COSTUME from Disguise includes the top, shorts, headwrap and mask. Item #112579. Read more
Aug 6, 2020
1:09 PM
Beistle Skeleton Restroom Door Cover
Skeleton Restroom Door Cover (00014): Measuring 30" wide by 5' tall, this door cover is the perfect spooky decoration to guide your guests to the restroom. Read more
Aug 6, 2020
1:05 PM
Novelty Facemasks from Underwraps
Underwraps has developed a line of novelty masks that are perfect for the upcoming Halloween season. You can socially distance in style and keep the newest holiday essentials in stock. Styles are available for the entire family. Read more
Jun 25, 2020
2:16 PM
Morris Costumes Reaper's Ride
The full size Reaper sits atop an eerie steed from the underworld. Once activated, the Reaper’s mouth moves as he says one of six phrases as the horse bucks its head and kicks its front legs. Read more
Jun 11, 2020
1:53 PM
New Book: Hat Couture
Marianne Jongkind is a Dutch hat designer with more than 55 years of experience in hat making. She creates couture hats,both under her own name as well as for established fashion designers. The book (208 pages) is published in English and Dutch and c Read more
May 27, 2020
8:49 PM
Colonial Patriot Costume
This fancy and affordable Colonial Patriot Costume will impress your child’s classmates and teachers with its sophisticated colonial style and exquisite details. This classic and handsome costume features a blue jacket with decorative golden buttons. Read more
May 27, 2020
8:43 PM
Michael Neveux 2017
Glamour Muerta Costume from Starline
Get into the Halloween spirit and celebrate Day of the Dead style when you wear this gorgeous Glamour Muerta Costume! Read more
Feb 20, 2020
1:05 PM
Bunny Mascots from Sunnywood
Our Long Hair Bunny Mascot (#4074) has the Best Bunny Face On The Market! This polyester jumpsuit is covered with Luxurious Plush Fur. The Fully Lined Parade Head, specially designed to fit all head sizes. Attached mittens and attached feet with hard Read more
Feb 20, 2020
1:03 PM
Features
“Can I Try It On?” A Scary Question in the Time of COVID
When a customer walks into your store and starts looking around, you know that eventually he or she is going to find something to like. Back in the B.C. times (Before Covid), you’d gladly let that customer try on a costume or mask and never think twi Read more
Jul 23, 2020
4:14 PM
NCA Survey: Just a Trickle of Customers, Worried about Halloween
A survey of costume businesses in late June showed that shops are slowly reopening, but customers are not flooding back. Read more
Jul 9, 2020
4:09 PM
Safety Top of Mind as Atlanta Costume Shop Reopens
If anyone wonders how seriously Costumes ETC in Atlanta, Georgia is taking safety as it reopens, one sentence sums it up. Even the costumes are quarantined! Read more
Jul 9, 2020
2:58 PM
5 Ways You Can Beat the 90-Day Stores this Halloween
Halloween used to be great for costume shops, right? All those folks piling into the store to get their costumes for trick-or-treating or parties meant your cash register was smokin’! Read more
Jun 25, 2020
4:12 PM
7 Takeaways from Today’s Halloween 2020 Webinar
Halloween is going to happen! That was the key lesson from today’s NCA webinar on Halloween 2020. Despite the COVID fears and general anxieties in the world at the moment, people want to get out and celebrate. Read more
Jun 25, 2020
3:52 PM
Video Posted: Webinar on Reopening Your Costume Shop
The end of the COVID shutdown is near, and some costume shops have already started opening. In this webinar, we heard from three costume shop owners who have reopened -- Janine Caufield of Caufield's in Louisville, KY; Caren Bricker of Vintage Ooolee Read more
May 28, 2020
12:52 PM
Shifting Strategy at Performance Studios: Inventory for Sale
The COVID crisis dealt a blow to sales at Performance Studios in Antioch, Tennessee, just like at every other costume shop. But because much of the company's business has been based on events, and all of them have been cancelled, the situation is dir Read more
May 27, 2020
4:17 PM
March Ahead with New Mask Marketing
While many states are lifting stay-at-home orders and allowing businesses to re-open, nothing is likely going to be “business as usual” for some time. And whatever the next several months bring, masks are going to be a big part of the picture for you Read more
May 14, 2020
5:24 PM
Pandemics and the Costume Connection: How past crises impacted the industry
Are you at the point that you just can’t take any more negative coronavirus news? Are you trying to find that proverbial light at the end of this Covid-19 tunnel? To lighten the mood, we bring you a quick trip back in time for a look at costumes insp Read more
May 14, 2020
5:28 PM
Lifeline for Theatrical Rental Shops: 7 Tips for Surviving the Covid-19 Crisis
It’s undeniably a tough time for costumers. And those whose business focused on theatrical rentals are navigating a particularly rough road as schools and community theaters cancel their long-planned Spring productions, with no guarantee that the sta Read more
Apr 30, 2020
6:26 PM
Anna Bizon
Encouraging Words: Conversations with NCA’s Vendor Members
I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with a lot of NCA’s vendor members over the past couple of weeks, and I’d like to share some of these conversations with you. I had reached out to them for three reasons: To see how they’re doing during this crisis, Read more
Apr 30, 2020
6:05 PM
Coronavirus Survival Tip: Get Crafty
Looking for another potential way to make money during the coronavirus crisis? Here’s an idea from NCA Board Member Lori Hammes of Curtains Up Costumes in Sigourney, Iowa. She is making and selling craft kits, and plans to start Read more
Apr 16, 2020
2:32 PM
Coronavirus Survival Tip: Make the Most of Makeup
With all of the rumors and recommendations swirling around about when life will return to some semblance of normal, it’s hard to know what to believe and how to plan for the future. Since getting back to business likely will happen in fits and starts Read more
Apr 16, 2020
1:39 PM
8 More Ideas for Costume Shops to Survive Coronavirus
The coronavirus crisis has many businesses on the ropes. But let’s not throw in the towel yet! Here are some ideas to keep your cash register ringing, or at least to keep your shop in front of potential customers’ eyes. Read more
Apr 2, 2020
11:06 AM
Need an Online Store? Try Shopify First
We have heard from several NCA members over the past week that they need advice on selling their products online. This is suddenly an urgent need, since so many members have been forced to close their stores due to coronavirus. Read more
Mar 31, 2020
3:49 PM
How the CARES Act Will Help Your Costume Shop Survive
The federal government last week passed the CARES Act, a major piece of legislation designed to help businesses survive the coronavirus crisis. Here are the key details of how the act can help you Read more
Mar 30, 2020
4:35 PM
Costumers Unite to Help the Healthcare Workers!
The NCA is sponsoring an effort to make 1,000 masks for medical personnel. The NCA 1,000 Mask Challenge acknowledges that many costume professionals are excellent sewers, and their skills can be put to use making these much-needed masks. Read more
Mar 27, 2020
2:59 PM
Coronavirus Webinar Video Posted, Other Resources
The recording of today's webinar titled "Coronavirus and Costume Shops" can now be viewed online. The webinar covered issues such as how long the virus lives on clothing, how to keep customers engaged, and what the various new federal acts entail. Read more
Mar 27, 2020
3:01 PM
8 Coronavirus Survival Tips for NCA Members
It’s bad out there, folks, and we all know it. “I have had to date nine cancellations, half who had already made a down payment (they get a one year credit towards anything that I offer) and the other half had not paid; I may not get their business a Read more
Mar 19, 2020
1:53 PM
Costuming News
Obituary: Stanley Geller, FunWorld
Stanley Geller, chairman of world Halloween giant FunWorld, has passed at the age of 94. The following tribute has been written by Sergio Battaner, sales and marketing director at Palmer Agencies (the European distributor for FunWorld), who had worke Read more
Aug 7, 2020
10:34 AM
Costumes from Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. being Auctioned
Prop Store, one of the leading film and TV memorabilia companies, in association with ABC Studios and Marvel Entertainment, has today announced the first Marvel Television Live Auction to feature original costumes, props and set decoration from Marve Read more
Aug 6, 2020
12:58 PM
Missing Masks: Costume Store Owner Demands Answers from Sheriff
Annemarie Aldrich is hunting for answers. At the coronavirus pandemic’s outset, her store, Denton's Rose Costumes, began sewing masks for inmates and staff at the Denton County Jail. Dubbing the effort “Project Mask Makers,” Aldrich said volunteers d Read more
Aug 6, 2020
12:53 PM
Scaled Back but Still Happening: Halloween will go on in Salem
There’s no better place for Halloween lovers to celebrate than Salem, Massachusetts. The town near Boston—famous (or infamous) for the 1692 witch trials—is usually overrun with locals and tourists alike during Halloween season. Read more
Aug 6, 2020
11:12 AM
Hershey Sweetens Outlook for Halloween
Halloween won’t be the same as usual. But Hershey is confident the Halloween season will still be sweet—and in early July, the company debuted new Halloween candy that confirms that confidence. Read more
Aug 6, 2020
11:10 AM
Halloween Expert Predicts "Micro Parties"
Halloween expert Palmer Agencies has been planning for a ‘different’ Halloween, with micro house parties and smaller gatherings, as sales and marketing manager Sergio Battaner explains. Read more
Jul 28, 2020
9:35 AM
Missing Comic-Con? Check Out These Costumes
Of all the events canceled because of the coronavirus, few are as lively and vibrant as Comic-Con. Every year, tens of thousands of people – many in elaborate costumes – convene in San Diego for a pop culture extravaganza. Hollywood studios peddle th Read more
Jul 23, 2020
4:43 PM
New NCA Member Database Underway
Managing all the data involved in an association can be daunting. Fortunately, there are several online systems that help association administrators effectively manage that data, and the NCA has been using a system called MemberClicks for the past se Read more
Jul 23, 2020
4:33 PM
Check Out the New NCA Digital Catalog
Making connections between NCA Buyer members and Vendor members is an important role of the association. That's the idea behind the 2020 NCA Digital Catalog, a 72-page online catalog packed with interesting products from 20 NCA Vendor members. Read more
Jul 9, 2020
4:52 PM
Home-bound family dines in costume—for 60 days!
“Quarantheme dinners.” That’s what Heather Zipser and her family call the daily dinners they’ve been eating, in costume, since mid-April. It was one month into the coronavirus pandemic when the 39-year-old mom from Indian Harbour Beach, Florida, coax Read more
Jul 9, 2020
4:15 PM
Broadway shops launch Costume Industry Coalition
A group of more than 40 small business owners, whose costuming businesses create pieces for theater, television, film and more, have created the Costume Industry Coalition to lobby legislators for rent abatement and to try to gain input into the reop Read more
Jul 9, 2020
4:14 PM
Dallas Costume Shop Benefits from Couple's Gift
A retired SMU professor and his wife, a retired florist, let their stimulus checks sit in their bank accounts for a month before a Dallas Morning News article helped them decide how to spend their combined $2,400. Read more
Jun 25, 2020
4:38 PM
Costumes by Margie Closing
The owner of NCA member Cher's Costumes by Margie, a costume shop that has served Indianapolis for 50 years, has decided to close the business. Owner Cheryl Harmon posted this message on Facebook on June 10: Read more
Jun 25, 2020
4:34 PM
Special Offer: Free Shipping and Hand Sanitizer
NCA Vendor Member Graftobian has a special offer for NCA retail members: Free ground shipping on wholesale orders over $300 & Get 10 Free Bottles of Hand Sanitizer Spray Read more
Jun 25, 2020
2:29 PM
Mehron Live-Stream Schedule for This Week
Join us on IG live! We will be answering all of your questions, demoing your favorite products, doing tutorials on requested looks, and so much more. Read more
Jun 22, 2020
4:46 PM
