About Costume Ladies

Almost everyone who comes in to Costume Ladies exclaims at how many costumes there are and what a fun shop it is.  And this is the way it's been for more than 25 years.   

In the mid-1980s, two sisters combined their considerable designing and sewing talents to open a rental costume business in Brattleboro, VT.   They were Cathy Sprague and Margaret Moulton.  Cathy had been making her collection of vintage fashions available to friends for tea parties and was finding the demand remarkable.  Margaret was sewing and altering clothes as a business.  When Cathy moved to the area, she and Margaret decided to combine their efforts and Costume Ladies was born.  It was one of Brattleboro's most beloved shops for nearly 20 years.  They sewed every kind of costume imaginable.  If Cathy could design it, Margaret could sew it (as Cathy says).  Some years later another sister, Judy Clark, joined and brought her own unique perspective to the business.  When in 2005 the sisters decided to sell the shop, it was bought by Barbara Kasper who moved it to West Chesterfield, NH.  Six years later, she moved the shop north to Walpole, where it flourishes with a Main Street address.  Barbara's interest in sewing and historical costume had been fostered in equal parts by having 4 daughters and being involved in community theatre.  Owning a costume shop seemed like a logical extension of her activities (plus, it got her sewing machine off the dining room table).  Since then, Costume Ladies' inventory has continued to expand in rental and retail with tuxedo and formal wear rentals, and newly available accessories like specialty shoes and theatrical contact lenses.

We have more than 2,500 rental costumes ranging from cavemen to aliens.  Gowns created to emulate 12th century fashions hang on racks across from cowboy dusters and antebellum ball gowns.  Renaissance and medieval dress share a section with pirates and buccaneers.  The psychedelic 60s and the swinging 70s groove near the roaring 20s and fabulous 40s.  Angels and devils, witches and wizards, kings and queens, poodle skirts and leather jackets all beckon enticingly for the costume enthusiast.  If you are at wits’ end trying to locate a Roman soldier uniform or have a yen to impersonate Medusa, a visit to Costume Ladies will fulfill your wildest dreams.  Have you been invited to a Victorian tea party?  Come try on a beautiful bustle-back day dress or a lovely corseted promenade gown.  Ever wondered what it feels like to walk in a hoop skirt?   The fashions of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler await you.

Immerse yourself in TV nostalgia with the Beverly Hillbillies, the Jetsons, Bonanza, Gilligan’s Island, the Munsters, the Flintstones and the Addams Family.  Remember Sonny & Cher?  Laugh-In?  The Village People?  Looking for Susan B. Anthony?  Lucy?  Uncle Sam?  Wonder Woman?  Marilyn Monroe?  Elvis?  The King has been sighted at Costume Ladies….

Is your child a fan of a specific cartoon character and having a special birthday?  Are you looking for an Easter Bunny costume or perhaps Santa & Mrs. Claus and their elves?  Heck, we even have Rudolph, Frosty and some gingerbread men!

The whole point of Costume Ladies is fun.  We’re here because we love costumes and dressing up, and we have fun helping other people who love the same things.  We have costumes in sizes for small children to plus-size adults.  We’ve sewn most of those we rent, and have created many to accommodate specific needs.  In fact, we will sew to order if you have always wanted a certain costume for your very own.

For weddings, cruises, prom season and other formal events, Costume Ladies also has a full line of designer formal wear.  Call us for your tuxedo rental occasions; complete rentals (including everything except shoes) run from $89.00, and the shoes rent for only $18 more.  We have the latest styles from Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, Fumagalli and dozens more.  The number of coordinating vest and tie colors will astonish you. 

We also carry several lines of professional theatrical and recreational make-up, wigs, beards, moustaches, Mardi Gras masks and beads, and lots of other hard-to-find accessories.  If you’re looking for theatrical/cosmetic contact lenses, Costume Ladies is the place to come.  It’s impossible to list everything we carry, so give yourself a treat and stop in to browse.  It’s fun just to walk through the shop!

We’re on Main Street in Walpole, diagonally opposite Burdick Chocolate, in the back of the gray building with the Law Offices sign.

We’re open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and on Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.  The shop is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.  During Halloween season, of course, the shop is open 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.