Costumes, customized

Coming up with the perfect Halloween costume idea always seems to be a struggle in the month of October. Children and adults stress themselves over finding the scariest disguise or wildest getup. This becomes increasingly difficult to do when pop-up stores are churning out the same old mass-produced ensembles.

Luckily for Greater Lansing residents, Uniquely Yours Costume Rental and Tailoring and the Costume Shop managed by Riverwalk Theatre offer alternatives to large chain costume stores.

Uniquely Yours, owned and operated by Laura Ozanich for 23 years, offers upward of 2,000 custommade costumes, ranging from a bowl of chili to Queen Victoria.

“When we first opened, I wanted to try to do something different,” Ozanich said. “There were other costume shops around, and I knew ours would need to stick out somehow. We started taking custom orders for costumes for Halloween and other events and holidays. After some time, our work spoke for itself, and we were ready to find a bigger location.”

The shop has moved several times to accommodate its growing inventory, most recently to its storefront on Saginaw Street, just west of Frandor.

The need for a bigger space is an issue that affected the Costume Shop managed by Riverwalk Theatre as well. Operating out of the second floor of a former Lansing fire station had become too much for the shop's crew.

“We have costumes and materials dating back to the 1940s. It just became too difficult to work in so little space,” said Katie Doyle, the shop’s manager.

The shop moved a few miles northeast to a space on May Street, tucked between Saginaw Street and Oakland Avenue.

“Our new location actually has a floor where costumes can be put on display,” Doyle said. “We want to be able to offer as many costumes as possible. We already have thousands in storage and hundreds more in the shop.”

Both shops offer custom-made costumes for customers looking to bring their Halloween fantasies to life and are working extended hours for the month of October to deal with the extra holiday demand.

Uniquely Yours Costume Rental and Tailoring

Call for appointment (Inside Maurer's Sanitary Cleaners) 2815 E. Saginaw St., Lansing (517) 303-2211

The Costume Shop managed by Riverwalk Theatre

Expanded October hours: 2-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday 1131 May St., Lansing (517) 484-9199, rwtcostumeshop.com