The Hippodrome State Theatre will host its first costume sale in six years this weekend.
The Hipp Costume Sale Extravaganza will feature costumes, accessories and headpieces from various productions over the years. The sale will take place at the Hippodrome on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., Sarah Darden, the director of marketing and communications, wrote in an email.
Although the Hippodrome does donate some of the less elaborate pieces to Goodwill, Darden said donating “wildcard” costumes isn’t very easy. The Hippodrome will usually reuse costumes or sell them.
“We are just looking forward to cleaning out our closets and starting fresh,” Darden said.
The sale will include vintage items — the oldest of which are from the 1940s — and costumes made at the Hippodrome for specific shows, said Jessica Kreitzer, the costume shop supervisor.
The sale will include one-of-a-kind items like donated mink coats, capes and a large insect costume. Some of the more rare pieces were made by one of the six Hippodrome founders, Marilyn Wall, who was a costume designer at the Hippodrome for more than 40 years before recently retiring.
“She’s incredibly skilled,” Kreitzer said. “A lot of this is her designs and her artwork.”
Prices for the different pieces will vary depending on how old or elaborate they are. Most of the items are between $5 and $40. However, some specialty items will be about $250. Some of the more interesting pieces at the sale will be a dragon costume and a cape from “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
Other vintage clothing items included in the sale are ball gowns, wedding dresses, lingerie, stilettos and others the Hippodrome doesn’t have space for anymore.
“At this point, it’s hard to even walk through the costume stock room because we have so much,” Kreitzer said.
The Hippodrome doesn’t have a particular sales goal in mind, Darden said. The theater just wants to be able to give the community a chance to “raid its closet,” according to a press release.
The money made from the sale will make sure the Hippodrome continues to put on events that serve North Central Florida.
Kreitzer said if nothing else, people should come for the experience of seeing the costumes.
“It’s better to bring them into the community where people can wear them rather than just keep them stored away in secret when they’re really cool and special,” she said.
