About
Please read all the rave reviews!
The Littlest Costume Shop is operated by just one person, myself (Mandy).
It started in 2013 - and grew out of my disillusionment working in the Fancy Dress industry. I was fed up of charging high prices for old, stained or poor quality costumes.
The whole purpose of The Littlest Costume Shop is to offer beautiful costumes in great condition and at a price that really is a viable alternative to buying rubbish from the internet - and the best way to do that is not to be paying shop rental prices.......
So I operate from a small studio at the bottom of the garden - costume fittings, drop off and pick up are by appointment only - but those appointments can be in the evenings or weekends including Sunday to be more convenient.
The hire section operates from the studio in Preston. (Some years we open a pop up accessories stall for the Halloween season). There is a good selection of every kind of costume in a tiny space but my speciality is 1920's. There over 50 beaded flapper dresses, plus furs, boas, pearls and fingerwaved and bob wigs - with top hat and tails, gangster and Peaky Blinders outfits too.
I'm happy to give any kind of advice. I love the people who contact me and have most of their costume bought from opp shops and just need makeup or a hat.... and I'm more than happy to help those people who are in a panic and have no idea what to do.
Small. Friendly. Independent. Sustainable.
Not too small to have a mission statement
To hire and sell the highest quality costumes, accessories and wigs with personalised, helpful and friendly service – sometimes in a pop up stall in the peak season, and by appointment at other times.
Important points
High quality costumes hired or made to order.
Friendly, helpful and personalised service
Accessible through a pop up stall at peak season and by appointment at other times.
Contact with customers through facebook, phone and email
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Not too small to have ethics either
General....
All paper used is recycled and we upcycle as much as we can -for instance your purchase might be shipped to you in packaging that we've recovered from our suppliers.
Hires....
I launder and clean our costumes in the most environmentally friendly way possible, - the laundry powder is eco-friendly and costumes are line dried with stainless steel pegs.
I use tank water for handwashing and clean using naturally anti-bacterial materials like eucalyptus oils or sphagnum moss disinfectant.
Sales....
It's hard for a small company like The Littlest Costume Shop to police where the accessories and costumes we sell come from. Even when we buy from an Australian or US supplier, it's likely that our products will be made in China or India.
With that in mind, I started by giving money to sponsor a small tailoring business in Sri Lanka and each year give to charities that support fair trade.
Last year I decided to phase out most of the costumes that I sell in plastic packets, since they're often of the low quality, use once type and not so good for the environment