Top 6 Costume Rental Companies in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is a great place to have an imagination. In addition to being home of the world's best theme parks, production studios and filming location rentals, it's also full of amazing costume companies. While most folks only dress-up for Halloween (and the occasional Cosplay event) in the LA production world, shopping for affordable props and costumes is about as common as going out for groceries.
To accommodate all of this demand there's a long list of bonafide costume rental companies, from affordable costume rental startups like Thrifty Rents, to storied names like the Western Costume Company some which have been in operation for over 100 years!
With our Giggster community of over 10,000 LA-based producers, and hundreds of shoots per week we get to see a lot of amazing costumes, props and set designs. To make finding the right one a little bit easier, we surveyed 68 users and asked them to share their favorite company's for renting costumes in LA.
You can find the full list below (not ranked in any order):
1) Western Costume Company
Western Costume Company is a legend of Hollywood and American cinema in general. Not only have they provided wardrobes for the most iconic films and TV series' of time (see Gone with the Wind, Titanic, Westworld) they can make the auspicious claim of providing the all the Civil War costumes in D. W. Griffith's 1915 "masterpiece" Birth of a Nation (not sure if that's something to brag about). Regardless, they're clearly the OG costume rental service in the city, and if you've never been to their warehouse, it's definitely worth a trip. Prices are surprisingly affordable for such a respected brand, starting at only $45 per day, and ranging well into hundreds.
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Click here to learn more about their inventory and rates
2) United American Costume Co.
Aside from the ridiculously long-standing Western Costume Company (which was founded during the Qing Dynasty) the United American Costume Corp. would take the crown as the longest operating costume rental service in Los Angeles, establish back in 1977 by Luster Bayless. Founded with the goal of providing quality wardrobe for affordable prices, United American Costume Corp. picked up a reputation during the 1980s as the go-to option to make a period project a wardrobe success (hits included Hoffa, The Natural, and Back to the Future.
Today the company's collection of costumes is one the largest in the world with two commercial buildings containing more than 70,000 square feet of wardrobe. The inventory covers the period outfits ranging from the 1750’s through the 1970’s and service uniforms up to the present day.
Click here to learn more about their inventory and rates
3) Ursula's Costumes
Ursula's Costumes is a long-standing Santa Monica institution providing a range of costumes and props for both purchase and rent. Unlike some of the other companies on this list, Ursula's is geared more toward the casual costume renter with a traditional storefront full of holiday outfits and masks. However, it also offers a long list of production themed costume rentals as well, with over 300 unique and affordable outfits to choose from. The company is also a great source for other low-cost wardrobe and set-design pieces such as fog machines and wigs and beards and costume jewelry.
Click here to learn more about their inventory and rates
4) It's a Wrap Hollywood
Burbank-based It's a Wrap describe themselves as a '7,000 square-foot fashion and prop resale emporium.' While many of the prices are dirt cheap (some clearance rack items can be had for as little as $1) they've also got plenty of quality, with an upstairs designer section, full of Prada, Gucci and Saint Laurent used for fashion-focused productions. One of the coolest things about the It's a Wrap is that the staff list the name of the show the item came from on the price tag, often mentioning the actor who wore it. As Hollywood's go-to thrift store, they have used costumes and wardrobes from just about every TV show and actor in existence, including but not limited to: Sex and the City, Seinfeld, NCIS, Beverly Hills, 90210, Gossip Girl and The Muppets.
Click here to learn more about their inventory and rates
5) Eastern Costume
Yes, you've read that correctly - LA is home to both a Western AND Eastern Costume Company. While Eastern Costume isn't quite as old, they have a stellar reputation in the production industry and come highly recommended. Serving as a full service costume house and wardrobe supply company they specialize in military, police and civilian wardrobe ranging from the 1920’s to present day. They offer star fitting rooms, production offices, and an in-house tailor shop. They also have a pretty comprehensive website which should help streamline your search.
Click here to learn more about their inventory and rates
6) Thrifty Rents
Thrifty Rents is the new kid on the block in the costume rental industry, but it's serving a very important niche: cost conscious indie production companies in need of the high-demand production uniforms (cops, doctor, prisoner, judge etc.). If you're renting an affordable standing set on Giggster and need a some low cost costumes on demand, Thrifty is a great choice with rental prices starting at only $20 per day. Free delivery available for orders in Los Angeles over $100.
Click here to learn more about their inventory and rates
Still missing your film location?
This list should have you pretty much covered when it comes to tracking down an a solid costume rental option in LA. But what about the actually on-site filming location where all the action takes place? That's where Giggster comes in! We've got thousands of unique film-ready properties from millionaire mansions to desert shacks.
If you have any questions about this list or our services feel free to reach out to our team via Giggster.com.