ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The aisles of Invincible Costume and Theatrical are crammed with a thousand stories, just waiting to be told.
Fuzzy, white bunny heads wait patiently in a row. A Chinese dragon peers down from a wall of wigs. Tinkerbell's dress soars silently above costumes for musketeers, cheerleaders, leprechauns and beasts.
Each garment stands ready, waiting for an opportunity to transform the mundane into the magical. Then the shop door bell rings. An ordinary person walks into the changing room and emerges as a hero or a villain, a cartoon character or a mobster.
"When they come in skeptical and they leave with a grin on their face - when they go out the door saying 'That was a lot of fun' - then I know I've succeeded," owner Michael Anderson said.
For 26 years, Invincible Costume & Theatrical has dressed the dreams of Minnesota. It designs, builds and rents theatrical costumes and accessories.
When Anderson started working at the shop, he had never made a costume.
An Air Force veteran and a graduate of the University of Iowa, he moved to St. Cloud in 1993 to be closer to his family. Although he held a degree in theater, he worked at a variety of jobs in other industries. Then in 1994 while volunteering at County Stearns Theatrical Company, he heard about a job opening at Invincible Costume and Theatrical. He decided to give it a try.
It proved a good fit.
"I love making things. I don't care what they are," Anderson said. "I've worked in leather, worked in plastics, worked as a carpenter and with concrete. I like the act of creation."
When former owner Sandra Oullette decided to sell the business in 1998, Anderson bought the company and set his sights on making the best costumes in the country.
Invincible Costume has thrived under Anderson's ownership, developing a reputation for historical accuracy and attention to detail.
"We don't rely on 50 feet and bright lights like most theatrical companies," Anderson said. "Our costumes have to look good not only onstage but close up. We can't do gold-painted macaroni."
Today Anderson has more than 7,000 costumes in every shape and size. There are furs, kilts, hoop skirts, military uniforms and wedding gowns. There are more than 1,000 hats and an entire shelf dedicated to go-go boots.
"I'm sure I own more powder blue tux coats than anyone else in the state," Anderson said.
Costumes rent for an average of $35, with the most expensive items available for $70. Anything they don't have, they make. So far, they've never been stumped.
"We make everything and we're very good at it," Anderson said.
Anderson is assisted in his work by seamstress Misty Rinkenberger, who helps build, alter and maintain costumes. During the busy Halloween season, eight seasonal employees join the Invincible team.
The shop serves customers across Minnesota and surrounding states. Some need a costume for a holiday or special occasion.
There are businesses and organizations that use characters to enliven events and promotions. And there are opera and theatrical companies looking to dress an entire cast.
Individual sales are highest at Halloween when Invincible rents out 500 to 1,200 costumes each year.
"That's all going out within a three-day period," Anderson said. "Imagine the laundry. One year we were cleaning costumes until Thanksgiving."
Holidays are also busy times, prompting orders from churches, retailers and restaurants. A leprechaun costume made its debut at the Sauk Rapids' Coborn's store on St. Patrick's Day. Now it's the Easter Bunny's turn. The shop's 20 bunny costumes are scheduled to appear at more than 60 Easter events.
Then there are the specialty orders, like the gold lame outfit and blond wig for a Mr. Montana Karaoke contest or the llama costumes for the United Way's Llama Llama Read-A-Rama.
But Invincible's main focus remains costuming theatrical productions. Anderson estimates he costumes about 70 productions each year. A recent production of "A Christmas Carol" required 120 period costumes.
"When you're truly reaching (the audience), when there's the willing suspension of disbelief, that's when we've been successful," Anderson said. "As Shakespeare said, 'The play's the thing.'"
Anderson is constantly building new pieces. Some are created to fill customer requests. Others are costumes for characters or projects that scratch a creative itch.
A replica of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow costume from "Pirates of the Caribbean" has been in the works for years.
"People will kill to get this outfit," Anderson said. "I've had people begging me to get this costume finished. I work on it when I can."
Though it's still under construction, one look at the worn French naval coat, waistcoat and breeches quickly conjures the image of Depp's charming but dissolute character. That authentic appearance didn't come easy.
"It's a big project. I've already added and removed dye 10 times on the coat," Anderson said. "I'm trying to make it appear worn by salt water, by the bottle, by the effects of time, by having wine poured on it - by anything that would happen to a pirate."
Another pet project is a replica of an Elizabethan costume Gwyneth Paltrow wore in "Shakespeare in Love." Anderson has been working on the exquisite gown on and off for five years. It is made of fine silk and features a hand-stitched Elizabethan corset and a cartridge pleated skirt that's painstakingly decorated with pearls.
"The lace collar alone has 300 stitches in it," Anderson said. "I'd be willing to bet that I'm the only guy in the world that has made one of these during the Super Bowl."
With each new project, Anderson learns new skills. He studies contemporary and period patterns and searches for new construction techniques. And he is constantly on the lookout for new materials and tools.
"There are a lot of new, well actually old, techniques from the 1500s in this gown," Anderson said. "I love history. It's all about learning new things for me."
The last decade has been hard on the costume rental industry. The last recession started a wave of costume shop closures that continues to this day.
"Ninety percent of U.S. costume shops went out of business in the last 10 years," Anderson said. "We deal with a completely expendable resource. There is nothing that we sell that people need to live, so these are the things that go first (in budgets)."
The current recession isn't helping. According to Anderson, his 2008 Halloween sales were the lowest in 20 years.
"We made less money than we did in 1988," Anderson said. "But in '88 there was nobody else doing adult costuming."
Competitors have sprung up as well. Internet vendors and "30-day shops" that spring up like mushrooms a month before Halloween have prices Anderson can't beat, but he hopes the quality of their materials and workmanship will make customers think twice before buying them.
"A cheap costume from China is going to look really good on the Internet," Anderson said. "But when you see them up close you realize the kind of shoddy materials they're made of. They're really basically plastic."
Invincible has responded to these challenges by continuing to do what it does best: Building authentic costumes with quality materials.
"We don't do it if it's not right. Any costumes that goes out of here is a reflection on us," Anderson said. "We do inexpensive, but we don't do cheap."
Anderson also keeps a sharp eye out for new trends and new audiences. When Renaissance-themed weddings became popular, Invincible Costume was there to outfit wedding parties. When '70s and '80s parties became hip, they were ready to outfit guests. This year, they are beginning to see requests for wigs and accessories for anime events.
"Like any business, we're always looking for new markets," Anderson said. "We do guerrilla theater. We do it anyway we can get it done. Like in guerrilla warfare, we make up the rules as we go along."
So far his strategy is working. Unlike many businesses that are tied to the arts, Invisible Costume has survived for 26 years.
"We're not getting richer. We're just hanging in there," Anderson said. "I think anybody in the arts would understand that survival right now is somewhat of an incredible thing."
Taken From FortMillTimes.com
