By Ed Avis
Brian Allen sees the two customers every year. They come to his shop, Costume Gallery in Lady Lake, Florida, in wheelchairs, and they want costumes just like any other customer. After all, nearly everyone enjoys dressing up occasionally, and using a wheelchair makes no difference. On a recent visit, the customers purchased poncho-like costumes, which are more convenient for some people with disabilities than other costumes.
“If a customer is in a wheelchair, the poncho fits over their head and drapes around the body,” Allen explains. “It’s easy to get on and off. So if you add some boppers, it makes a nice costume.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 19 percent of the U.S. population had some type of disability in 2010. That represents a huge potential market—if your shop is able to provide the appropriate accommodations for people with disabilities, you may find a growing market among them.
The appropriate accommodations for customers with disabilities vary with the individual, of course. Some ideas for people with various physical disabilities are below. However, remember that some disabilities are not immediately noticeable.
“We recently did a custom rebuild for a gentleman's cosplay Ghost Rider costume who has high-functioning ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder),” says Shawn Sturdevant, owner of A to Z Theatrical Supply and Service, Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri. “It was originally built without thought towards the client’s condition. To make it more user-friendly for our client, we were able to rewire and clean up all of the special effects as well as recreate the flames that cover the skull of the costume to line up with the client's specific needs.”
Ideas for Customers in Wheelchairs
One idea for helping customers in wheelchairs is to incorporate the chair itself in the costume. Search the internet under “wheelchair costumes” and you’ll find dozens of ideas, such as:
* Decorate the chair so it looks like a car or other vehicle, such as the Batmobile or a steam shovel, then provide the related costume to the person using the chair.
* Make the wheelchair into a throne, so the user can dress up like a queen or a character from the King of Thrones.
* Create a “table” on the front of the chair, so the person can dress up like a chef, DJ, magician, or any other character that uses a flat surface as a workspace.
Ideas for Customers with Other Physical Disabilities
As with wheelchair ideas, customers with other physical disabilities may choose to incorporate the disability into the costume. Again, the internet is full of ideas.
For example, a customer with a missing arm could “replace” the arm with a weapon and become a cyborg; or that individual could dress up like a zombie and carry a fake arm in his hand, as if he just tore it off. Someone with a missing leg could become a peglegged pirate or the lamp from “A Christmas Story.”
People who use crutches may want to incorporate them into a costume. For example, they could wear an animal costume, and decorate the crutches to look like the front legs of that animal, so when they walk with the crutches they become a four-legged character.
In other cases, a customer with a disability may not want to draw attention to the disability. In those cases, a loose-fitting costume – such as the ponchos that Brian Allen’s customers purchased – may be suitable.
Ideas for Customers with Sensory-Related Disabilities
Another category of disability involves sensory stimulation. For example, you may have a customer who wants to portray a character who wears a mask – a superhero, for example – but is not comfortable with something covering her face. In those cases, one option is to put the mask on a long stick, so the person can hold it up to her face without it actually touching.
Some people are highly sensitive to different materials. Custom costumes made with the right fabrics may be ideal for these customers.
The key thing to remember is that customers with disabilities want to participate in Halloween, Mardia Gras, and other dress-up events just like anyone else. By recognizing their special needs, you will be serving an important customer category.
# # #