Step inside this legendary shop full of handmade costumes — while you still can

For nearly half a century, Ursula Boschet has run a legendary costume shop in Los Angeles.

Enter its doors, and ghoulish masks of past presidents stare down at you from above a wall of wacky, colorful wigs. An impressive collection of stick-on mutton chops, mustaches and goatees — all made of real human hair — is neatly arranged underneath a glass counter. Signed headshots of Hollywood stars decorate the walls, a who’s who of the shop’s famous clientele.

Now, the shop will close its doors for good.

“It’s not like it used to be,” says Boschet, the 90-year-old owner and costume designer. Fewer customers come in to see the costumes in person, she says, because of online shopping. And she says rent and the cost of employees is too high for her to afford. Plus, she’s ready to retire — “I can’t wait ‘til I’m 100!” she jokes.

Boschet is closing shop after nearly half a century in business.

Maggie Shannon for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Maggie Shannon for NPR

Boschet has been designing clothing and costumes for as long as she can remember. “It’s just my thing,” she says. She became a tailor at 14 years old, in post-war Germany. She still has a thick, Stuttgart accent. “I learned everything in Europe. Everybody had a trade back then,” she says.

She and her late husband, Herman Boschet, both immigrated to the United States in 1962. Herman began a custom-framing business, and Ursula designed costumes for theater companies, Hollywood studios and even for Disney parades. In 1976, she opened her costume store in Culver City, before moving the business about 30 years ago to Santa Monica, where it still stands today.

There are still hundreds of handmade costumes in the back of the store, many designed and sewn by Boschet herself. The small, cramped section in the back used to be the rental department, but now, there are price tags on all the merchandise — everything is for sale. Boschet hopes to make it through one final Halloween. Although, as her website reads: “Every day is Halloween at Ursula’s Costumes.”

Racks of costumes stretch from floor to ceiling, adorned with velvety Renaissance dresses, chain-and-leather glam rocker getups and everything in between.

Boschet flips through a lookbook full of her custom designs.

Maggie Shannon for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Maggie Shannon for NPR

“We have belly dancers, genies … a little bit of everything,” she says. “We made all this over 48 years.” A neat row of massive animal heads lines the top of the wall, including bunnies, pandas, pigs and a giant goldfish head. “They’re all different, there is not one [costume that is] the same,” says Boschet.

The shop is a draw for everyday Angelenos, but lots of celebrities, too — Kate Beckinsale, Victoria Tennant and Steve Martin have frequented Boschet’s store over the decades. In fact, Boschet became so well known for her talents among the Hollywood crowd that she says she was tapped to play an extra in a few movies, including in the 1980 TV drama The Jayne Mansfield Story starring Loni Anderson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Her role? A tailor.

She grows nostalgic as she flips through the pages of a lookbook, many of which feature old photos of Herman and Ursula dressed as Cleopatra and Marc Antony, Morticia Addams, and Herman’s favorite: Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. “We did everything you could think of,” she says.

Ghoulish masks of famous political figures, ornately beaded headpieces and props hang from the walls and ceiling. Customers can come in and share their ideas with Boschet, and she helps them bring that vision to life.

Maggie Shannon for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Maggie Shannon for NPR

Even when Herman would protest wearing a costume to a party, Ursula says she would lay one out for him, and when he’d return home from work, “he didn’t say a word.” He would put on the costume “and he would have the most fun,” she laughs. “Because costumes are fun! You can be whatever you want.”

Despite vicious competition from online sellers, some customers still prefer the bespoke experience of creating custom costumes with Boschet. Actor Jamie Lee Curtis — who, fittingly, starred in the 1978 horror movie Halloween — has been patronizing Ursula’s Costumes for decades.

“We were devotees of Ursula’s in my house,” she told NPR. “We were starting to think about Halloween in February, like we were already starting to discuss ideas.” Curtis’ daughter Ruby is a cosplayer, so Ursula’s Costumes was a frequent stop for her. Ruby’s recent wedding was cosplay-themed, and Curtis says many guests purchased their costumes from Boschet’s shop. “[Ursula] loves a collaboration,” says Curtis. “When I would go in and present the picture of what it was we were trying to create, you could see her light up.”

Every costume is now for sale as Boschet prepares to say goodbye to her shop.

Maggie Shannon for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Maggie Shannon for NPR

When NPR spoke to Curtis for this story, it was the first she had heard of Ursula’s Costumes shuttering, and said she “wept” at the news. “I just want to say thank you to her for having a place to create magic and fantasy for people. It’s a service. And now, of course, there’s the internet,” says Curtis. “But it’s not the same as having someone use their creativity to help you express yours.”

Boschet, too, expresses deep gratitude for customers for having supported her shop over nearly half a century. Now, she looks forward to a long-needed vacation. She says she hopes to enjoy what L.A. has to offer, including the cinema. But she says she’ll be paying attention to the costumes, not the plot. “Of course! The story? Everyone knows that!”