Renting a costume sounds fine in theory, but how can you be sure that your costume choice is clean?

Costume hire by its nature involves a costume being rented out to people again and again, for the life of the costume. Of course, there’s going to be questions about the cleanliness and hygiene of an outfit that has been worn by many others before you. Nearly everything in a costume store has been used before, that includes dresses, trousers, capes, shoes, wigs and many other costume pieces. How can you be sure that everything is clean?.

There is no need to fear. Good costume stores – those that offer costume rental for private parties as well as for professional events and even film or TV shoots – ensure that all their costumes are clean before they are hired out. The cost of cleaning is included in the costume rental, and the fancy dress shop will wash or dry clean and sanitise every costume and accessory upon its return. In fact, they suggest you don’t try to clean a costume yourself if you have spilt something on it, as their professional cleaning process is usually sufficient.

For more information about costume hire, contact your local costume shop.