Costume Factory Fancy Dress Hire Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. How much does it cost to purchase a costume 'made to order'?

A. Prices can start at around $600 for a tailor-made two piece suit or costume, mascots vary in price - usually between $1500 to $5000. The most expensive costume we have produced so far was a $10,000 mascot for a well known national advertising campaign. It can take three to six weeks to make a costume to order. 

Q. What happened to J C Westend & Costume Capers?

A. After years of trading as J C Westend & Costume Capers, we reverted to the company's original name of Costume Factory. The Melbourne store relocated from 376 Lt. Bourke St a few doors up to the corner of Hardware Lane (on the first floor, above Flight Centre) in 2005. There are several web addresses that are part of the Costume Factory group including jcwestend.com.au, costumecapers.com.au & melbournecostumehire.com.au, they will all bring you back to the Costume Factory website.

Still have a question? Call us during opening hours and we'll be happy to explain everything!

Q. How long does it take to have a fitting and make a booking?

A. It usually takes at least half an hour to try on a costume and organise your booking, but you can take as much time as you need to find the perfect costume - just remember our changing rooms close half an hour before store closing times.

Q. What if I damage or lose the costume I hired?

A.  We understand that accidents may happen while you're having fun, if you spill something on the costume don't panic! We'd prefer to clean the stain ourselves, just bring it in and let us know what happened. If the costume is lost or stolen, we will have to recover the cost of replacement and this may be more than the security bond you have paid.

Q. Do your costumes come in lots of sizes?

A. We can usually cater for small, medium, large & extra large in mens & womens sizes. We often have more than one size available of our most popular costumes, but each store has a different range of stock.

Q. Do you have costumes for children?

A. We specialise in fancy dress costumes for men & women, but we do have a range of kids costumes to hire for ages 6 - 12. Prices usually start from $40 - $60, however if your child needs an adult sized costume the hire will be at standard adult rates of $70 - $100.

Q. How much does it cost to hire a costume, is it cheaper for one night?

A. The average cost of hire for almost all of our mens & womens costumes is $70 to $100 for one, two or three nights. This price can include a wig & accessories.  There is also a refundable security bond required - usually $100 per costume. Seasonal costumes such as Father Christmas & Easter Bunny have special hire rates, extended hire is available for all our costumes. 

Q. Can you email photos of the costumes I am interested in to me?

A. Sorry, there just aren't enough hours in the day to photograph all the costumes we have and email them individually to our customers. A small sample of our costumes can be seen on the Photos & Ideas pages, we are working to add more all the time but there are literally thousands of costumes available between our five stores. The best thing to do is phone to see if the costumes you're looking for are available to view when you're ready to come in, you won't believe how many costumes there are to choose from.

Q. Do I have to book my costume ahead of time?

A. Costumes can be booked up to three weeks ahead of collection, the more notice we have the better. You can also come in at the last moment and if it's on the floor you can hire it on the same day.