The best kept secret at MU: The Costume Shop

Millersville University is a school that has a myriad of activities to participate in, places to go, people to hang with and other fun stuff. The school is also known for a bird and marauder as mascots, the pond and the swans and many other things. However, one of the school’s little-known facts is that it has its very own costume shop.

Enter the Millersville Costume Shop. This shop is home to roughly 12,000 different costumes ranging from various theatrical genres and time periods. The shop also has entire costume sets for certain productions, such as The Wizard of Oz, The Music Man and Sweeney Todd.

The costume shop features costumes for various occasions, formal wear and other accessories. They also make repairs to articles of clothing for Millersville students. It is a place that the staff calls “the best-kept secret on campus.”

So why is the shop one of Millersville University’s best-kept secrets? It’s all about location. While they would prefer to be in a more accessible location, the shop has a nice space in the basement of the Hobbs residence hall. This location, however, appears to prevent many students from getting into the building.

What many students and staff do not know is that there is an entrance to the shop from the Hobbs parking lot. Prior to August 2008, the shop did not have a sign outside of Hobbs telling people how to get in. Now, they have an awning outside the back door along with a buzzer.

Almost all of the costumes found in the shop were given to Millersville as a gift from Lancaster resident Jean Loeb. According to the costume shop website, Loeb acquired the costumes in 1975 and at one time owned a rental shop in Columbia. She then chose to give all of the costumes in her collection to the University in 1982.

Most of the costumes that Loeb obtained were from the Wass & Son costume company. This company, located in Philadelphia, was the leading costume production company in the eastern United States for well over 100 years.

Other outfits in the shop have been donated from military personnel, Millersville alumni and other folks who live in the Lancaster area.

The shop is always busy working on costumes for a variety of plays and occasions. Easter is quickly approaching, and along with Halloween, makes for a lot of individual orders for the shop.

The spring season is also busy because many schools and theatrical groups hold plays or musicals during this time.

For example, the shop just completed the costumes and accessories for the Millersville University Theatre Department’s production of The Two Men of Verona, and is currently preparing attire for the upcoming production of Into the Woods, which debuts in mid-March.

The shop also helps with other campus programs, such as the Murder Mystery Dinner that takes place each fall. In December and May, the shop helps with the commencement attire for the graduates.

Most of the workers at the costume shop are students. The shop is willing to accommodate different schedules. If you like to sew and take care of costumes, talk to the shop about getting a job there next semester.

Several faculty members and students have found the shop to be a useful resource. Student teachers and former students who teach have used the costume shop for various activities and programs.

Some faculty members from the art and English departments have utilized the shop’s services or required that students use the shop for a project.

The costume shop rents costumes and other accessories out to Millersville students, faculty and staff. Students with proper ID can rent items for overnight use for as low as $10 or for up to a week for around $35.

In addition, the costume shop is happy to fix small problems, such as a broken zipper or button. The costume shop emphasizes that they are a resource for Millersville students for projects or other problems.

The workers at the shop look forward to finding ways to accent different outfits. One worker said that it is “exhilarating to fix problems” and “put out the fires” that are students’ clothing troubles.

Photographs are available for everyone to look through. The store is also easy to navigate because all of the costumes are separated boys from girls and arranged by time period.

The shop is a non-profit group, using the money collected from rental fees to maintain and develop the costume collection.

The Millersville Costume Shop is located in the basement of Hobbs Hall. To contact the shop, call (717)–872–3767 or e-mail costumeshop@millersville.edu.

If you wish to visit the shop, entry is allowed through the parking lot entrance of Hobbs by pressing a buzzer located outside the building. Current hours for the shop are: Tuesday and Wednesday noon to 7 p.m., Thursday noon to 5 p.m., and Friday noon to 3:00 p.m.