Costume hire

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 12

Costume hire

Outlandish, extraordinary sights regularly set the scene at 139 Worcester Street as party goers prepare to bedeck themselves in costumes for the night. Maskerade Costume Hire have fancy dress costumes for all occasions including twenty-first birthdays, private parties, reunions, fund-raising club nights and masquerade balls. Maskerade, which used to belong to De-Larno the magic man, has accumulated 2000 costumes over the years. Included in the collection are fantasy witches, wizards and ■devils, monks and nuns, court jesters, Henry VIII, Victorians for centennials, cowboys and Indians, Beefeaters, Romans, costumes of the 19205, gorillas, Bugs Bunny, the Pink Panther and Father Christmas. Children’s costumes follow a similar pattern with the addition of perhaps a few more animals, ballet dancers and spacemen. Shirley Caddick, the owner of Maskerade Costume Hire, says that 80 to 90 per cent of the costumes have been made specificially for hire. The rest are bought. The costumes have to be made in washable fabrics and she says this makes them slightly different from theatrical costumes. The busiest time for Maskerade is from midwinter through to Christmas. There are usually three large masquerade balls held in Christchurch every year and at least three or four private fancy dress parties every week. “People are always

looking forward to the party when they come in to choose a costume and they have tremendous fun trying things on,” says Shirley Caddick. People like having fancy dress parties because everyone can have a good laugh, no one gets embarrassed and it breaks the ice.” Maskerade Costume Hire is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m rf