Volunteers at the Costume Bank helped create “Game of Thrones” characters from scratch, from Jaime Lannister’s gold hand, right, to the broad sword and furs of the North.
A group of Los Altos volunteers preserves a pre-Amazon vision of dressing up for Halloween, assembling from scratch elaborate and sometimes handmade disguises for local trick-or-treaters and costume partiers.
Los Altos’ Costume Bank rents and sells costumes year-round, but October represents their busiest time of year – and the period in which they raise the lion’s share of their funding for local causes. The shop raises proceeds for the Assistance League of Los Altos, a nonprofit organization whose volunteers man the store and serve as personal costume stylists. The Assistance League uses proceeds to support their programs providing housing for patients and their families adjacent to Stanford Hospital, and baby supplies for underserved families in Santa Clara County.
“Most of our costumes are not plastic, packaged costumes – many are handmade, a lot are vintage,” said Costume Bank volunteer Katie Hammerson, describing hand-beaded 1920s dresses and Renaissance gowns.
In addition to full outfits, the Costume Bank sells accessories including makeup, masks, gloves and more. Its Halloween rentals span an unusually long term – you can pick up a costume anytime from today onward and keep it until Nov. 5 – and range in price from $20 for a simple outfit to up to $90 for a Henry VIII resplendent in full Tudor form.
The personal shopping aspect of the Costume Bank makes it a unique, concierge costumer to the region. Volunteers familiar with the shop’s deep library of costumes work with visitors to materialize a character with bespoke pieces.
“We carry some of the traditional costumes – ghosts, heroes – but our volunteers are good at creating a super-unique costume,” Hammerson said. “People come in with an idea of what they want to be, and it’s not a question of handing them a pre-organized costume, but pulling from our accessories. We really try to give personal service – a costume no one else will have, that makes a personal statement. That’s one of the most fun parts of it – helping people figure that out.”
The Costume Bank has extended its hours to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends through Nov. 1. It’s located at 169 State St., Los Altos.
For more information, call 941-2610 or visit losaltos-assistanceleague.org.
