(click here to open the letter)

Instead of getting roommates like a normal person... I decided to find a way to monetize the downstairs somehow. I had a FT job and a decent savings, so I had some runway to start dreaming.

The idea of Costume Closet came quickly, but not as you would expect. It first was "Muse Collective", which existed for so little time, no one knows about it.

The concept was simple... I already had my craft station down in the basement, so I was going to add more stations and turn it into a makers space for creators.

As we were thinking of membership benefits, I turned to my own costume closet tucked within what we now call the "back closet". As a membership perk, makers could borrow my creations & festival wardrobe (I was already hosting themed pre-game parties for years and used to friends borrowing items).

This one little perk was the ember that caught flame and turned into the "Costume Closet" rental structure as we know it today.

Back in Aug. 2021, we were planning on attending Mayan Warrior at Mirage. As a test to the original Muse Collective makers space perk of a shared wardrobe, we wanted to see if people had interest in borrowing from the first collection.

We threw out a text in the Mayan Warrior event chat inviting people to borrow for the night out and we were shocked when a bunch of friends showed up as well as 8 people we didn't know at all! People loved it.

Since the idea was originally part of a membership perk, I wanted the rentals to be donation based -- pay what you want. My friend, Blake (photo #5), pulled me aside that night and told me that it was a sweet idea, but would never survive.

After that night, he created a mock spreadsheet for me "The Emporium Inventory" (photo #6) that helped me imagine the pricing structure and kicked off my dive into creating a fully DIY tracking database in Airtable that we still use today!

And thats when I ditched the makers space idea and the "Costume Closet" concept fully took over.

• ^{Costume Closet is Closing — A Love Letter to Our Community}

• ^{from Sammie the Clown Stylist Fairy}

History & Lore _{(more to come)}

₂₀₂₁

• ^{The Original Business Concept}

• ^{The first experiment: Donation-based rentals for Mayan Warrior}

I hope you are so proud of yourself and what you’ve done! Can’t wait to see ya again—whenever that may be—and excited for your future ventures 💕

Jordan H

Meira

Taylor T.

Iva Porfirova

TL;DR - My experience renting an outfit from Costume Closet was fun, easy, affirming, and adventurous. Making an appointment for intake, pick up, and drop off were smooth and seamless.

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I made an appointment with Costume Closet because my personal closet was lacking the right flare for an event I was attending. For my intake, Felicia picked out a series of outfits based off the look I was going for (the intake form was super helpful and easy to fill out!) and I loved everything on the rack. All the clothes were spotless, clean, and smelled fresh. You'd never even know someone had worn them.

There is a private room to change, multiple mirrors, and an extensive collection of accessories to make your outfit pop. You have an hour during intake to try on outfits and Felicia is there to help and offer input if you want it (she's fabulous!) The prices were very reasonable, both for rental and if you want to purchase the items.

Most importantly, my outfit was a hit! I was a walking disco ball - a dream come true - and felt so confident at the event. (photo taken by Alex Webster / @alexwebsterphoto)

I will absolutely be returning to Costume Closet for future events and parties. Highly recommend renting from them, 10/10 a fantastic experience!

^{Monica Pirani ( google maps review )}

Leave us a love note or share your story

I was so excited and musically prepared for it, and 2 weeks before showtime it dawned on me that I had NO IDEA what I would wear for this momentous lifetime achievement. 😱 I went to Felicia and the Costume Closet team and they truly turned me into the warrior rockstar vision I was hoping to embody as I took on that stage.

I crushed that DJ set, and it was highly because I was carrying that level of confidence knowing I looked amazing in my Costume Closet outfit. ⚡️🙌🏽

I’m going to miss CC SO MUCH! 🥺

I love you guys. Thank you! Thank you! A million times. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🥹🥹🥺🖤

We also got pieces for our 2nd Miami Music Week & I have to say, the fits with the butterfly shawl & face chains will always be one of my FAVORITE looks we’ve done. I think about that shawl often! Hahaa!

Costume Closet always gave you the ability to wear something you couldn’t find anywhere else or at a fraction of the retail price.

We love you Costume Closet! Thank you for the memories! ✨