Snow White costume on display
Full wall of costumes in Rabajas Reyes
Lydia at work
The exterior of Rabajas Reyes
By Ed Avis
When you plan a trip to Spain, you probably expect to eat some paella, gaze at the architecture and see a flamenco dance. But if you’re in the costume business, you also want to see what that business looks like there. And that’s exactly what I did – I visited two costume shops in Barcelona and chatted with the proprietors.
Little Corner Shop
The first store I visited was on a busy corner about three blocks from the apartment my wife, Kathy Furore (the editor of Costumer magazine) and I had rented for the month. We had walked by the store a half dozen times before I finally stopped by one afternoon in early April.
The shop was tiny, barely bigger than a walk-in closet. All of the wall space was packed with hanging costumes. The only sign on the outside said Rebajas de Reyes, which translates to “Three Kings Day Sale.”
The owner, Lydia, was entirely friendly and happy to talk about her business. She told me that costumes are her main business, but she also sells children’s garments, small toys, accessories, etc. She buys her costumes from Disguise and Rubie’s, and she had a number of licensed costumes – such as Spiderman and Cinderella – prominently displayed.
I asked her if Halloween is important for her, and she said it’s far less important than Carnival and Reyes (Three Kings Day), but that it is growing. She said Halloween first came into her sights four years ago, and two years ago it started growing rapidly. She told me that Christmas, on the other hand, is not a big gift-giving season in Catalonia (where Barcelona is located), and it doesn’t stimulate sales in her store.
Reyes is celebrated in Barcelona on January 5 with a major parade, and the next morning children find gifts in their shoes or under their bed. Thus, the little toys Lydia sells in her store are perfect for Reyes gifts.
Carnival is a seven-day long celebration in Barcelona that typically runs from late February to early March. It features parades, costume parties and other festivities that involve dressing up. Naturally, then, it is a major holiday for costume retailing.
Another interesting category of goods she sells is little cake-toppers and small toys that godparents buy – evidently, it’s a tradition to bring a cake with a toy on top when a godchild is born.
Lydia told me that she has a hard time predicting what costumes will sell well (sounds familiar, right?), and that the sales reps who visit often seem more interested in unloading inventory than offering worthwhile advice in that area. She also complained about city inspectors, taxes, and other bureaucratic concerns.
She has owned the tiny store for 10 years; previously she lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she also owned a clothing store. A big difference she noted between customers in Barcelona and those in Argentina is that Barcelonans are much more reserved and rarely show great enthusiasm for the costumes, unlike how children in Argentina acted when they found something they liked in her store.
Nevertheless, she said she is happy to be in Barcelona, which she considers a safe and clean city.
Hats and masks
Exterior sign at Menkes
Fancy hats
The Flamenco Department
The Make-up Counter
Beautiful Big Store
My next stop was an entirely different experience. I visited Menkes, a beautiful and grand costume business founded in 1950. Their store is on a major boulevard about six blocks from our apartment.
The store was as clean and well organized as a major department store. The front area was all brand name costumes, wigs, accessories, etc., and a section of make-up. Behind that area was the flamenco department, full of beautiful dresses and shoes suited for the thousands of flamenco performers in Barcelona.
On the second floor was a vast rental department, which included the high quality costumes used by theaters.
I spoke with Gaspar, a manager. He confirmed that Halloween, Carnival and Reyes are important sales periods for them, but unlike Lydia, Gaspar said Christmas is also a good season for Menkes.
Gaspar said that Menkes suffers from the competition of pop-up stores and big retailers selling costumes at Halloween – just like in the U.S. – but that their quality is so much higher that it does not significantly impact sales.
Menkes has a well designed website with e-commerce capabilities. I didn’t ask Gaspar what percentage of sales comes through the site, but judging from the bells and whistles on the site, I’m guessing online sales are brisk.
The website also contains news about some of the promotions Menkes participates in – they sponsor a classic car rally; they have a program that offers special service and pricing to dance schools; and they sell flamenco garments and footwear wholesale to schools, professional dance companies and other retailers.
The business has additional locations in Valencia and Bilbao, Spain.
The contrast between Menkes and the little corner costume shop was vast, but they each seemed to be succeeding in their niches. It was a true pleasure for me to spend some time visiting those businesses, and I hope I have the chance to do so again someday.