Have you picked out a costume yet? No? Then read on, friends. The stores listed below are the best costume stores in NYC. Browse their aisles, and become something scary, sexy, silly, or something wholly unique.
Abracadabra
19 West 21st StreetNew York, NY
(212) 627-5194
Abracadabra stocks more than 100,000 items in a 12,000-square-foot superstore in Chelsea. In addition to an overwhelming selection of costumes for kids, cats, dogs, and adults, Abracadabra offers interesting props and accessories to decorate your house, including candles that appear to drip blood, severed arms, plastic rats, Day of the Dead heads, and black wreaths festooned with skulls. Whether you want to keep this stuff up year-round is your call.
Early Halloween
130 West 25th StreetNew York, NY 10001
(212) 691-2933
Early Halloween puts the glamour, or the edge, back into everyone’s favorite dress-up holiday. You have to make an appointment to visit this 8,500-square-foot Chelsea studio, but there you’ll find a fully stocked vintage clothing rental and styling house. It offers accessories and clothes for men, women, and kids, with a focus on the 20th century, and its wares often show up in magazines, fashion shoots, and album covers (as in Lady Gaga’s latest, pictured).
Frankie Steinz
580 BroadwaySuite 309
New York, NY 10012
(212) 925-1373
At this by-appointment-only Tribeca studio, you’ll work with costume designer Frankie Steinz to create a one-of-a-kind Halloween costume (indeed, this former accountant only accepts custom orders). Alternatively, you can rent one of her costumes, including Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, Louis XVI (pictured), a yodeler, or a can-can dancer. Among her many clients over the years have been HBO, Jack Nicholson, Anjelica Huston, Disney, and Sony Music Corp.
New York Costumes / Halloween Adventure
104 Fourth AvenueNew York, NY 10003
(212) 673-4546
Spanning an entire city block, New York Costumes Halloween Adventure has something for everyone. Literally. This huge store features row after row of latex masks, ranging from gory to scary to nightmarish, as well as ready-to-wear costumes in a range of sizes. You can be a 50s housewife, 70s rock star, an astronaut, Austin Powers, Barack Obama, Bugs Bunny, or hundreds of other characters/beings. Or you can sign up to get your face-painted by a professional makeup artist.
Ricky’s Halloween Superstores
Several locationsNew York, NY
(877) 44-RICKY
Ricky’s offers “Halloween with personality.” Here you’ll find all kinds of wigs, costumes, including those made for couples, masks, bald caps, and props like fake blood, fake teeth, and fake jewelry. You likely won’t be able to wear the stuff again, but at these prices you can afford to stock up for next year or do multiple changes throughout Halloween (just pretend you have multiple personality disorder). If you’d rather get creative and do-it-yourself, Ricky’s stocks plenty of makeup.
Creative Costume Company
242 W. 36 St., 8th fl.,New York, NY 10001
212-564-5552
Want to stand out from the crowd of ghosts, goblins and ghouls? Head to the Garment District and make an appointment with one of the knowledgeable costume guides at the Creative Costume Company. Choose from their extensive rental selection and enjoy a no-charge alteration fee. And if you’re looking for something totally unique, let them sketch, design and create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece you’ll treasure long past Halloween.
