Established in 1987.
Acting the Part came from a bit of a bonkers idea and a love of sewing. A couple of months before I turned 21, I leased a small office upstairs in Epping and moved in with the 60 odd costumes that I had made.
Back in the 80s there was no such thing as packet costumes and costume hire shops tended towards being a bit old, tatty and sometimes smelly. I wanted my store to be exactly the opposite.
In 2007 after almost 20 years in Epping we moved to much larger store in Carlingford which is in North Western Sydney between Parramatta and Epping. Our current store is over three times as large as our previous store, has easier parking and lots of new stock, which we continue to add to.
We are a real costume shop where you can try things on. Afterall, if you are going to a special event the last thing you want is to wear something from a discount store that you didn’t get to try on before you bought it.
The Sydney costume business has changed considerably over the years, and we have always been very keen to change with it. We now both hire and sell costumes. We choose the costumes we sell very carefully and make sure we get our hands on one first to check out the quality and that it actually looks like the picture in real life. From experience we know that the fabric, quality and sizing of packet costumes varies enormously. There are hundreds of places online where you can buy costumes but the opportunity to try before you buy, or hire makes a visit to our store well worth it.
Unlike many mass-produced costumes our hire costumes are made from quality fabrics which makes a huge difference in both fit and comfort. Because we make these hire costumes we are able to stock costumes to suit all shapes and sizes. Our hire collection includes 1000s of items, if you need a single accessory or themed items for a whole group we can help. Most of our hire costumes have been made or purchased new for this business and all of our costumes are cleaned every time they are returned to our store. If you have been put off costume hire stores in the past, thinking they were full of musty old clothes you will be pleasantly surprised by a visit to our shop.
Forty years of experience in the costume hire business collecting, sourcing and making new costumes means we know what’s available and how to curate the perfect outfit for you from our collection.
In addition to selling and hiring costumes we also stock costume accessories, wigs, makeup, and a great range of eye masks for masquerade parties.
Our balloon range includes pre inflated helium balloons, quality balloons in a huge range of colours, giant number shaped balloons and air or helium filled table arrangements.