When it comes to costumes this Halloween, head to Beyond Costumes in Yonkers, the hidden answer to all your costume consternation. There, you can find not only pre-packaged, ready-to-wear ensembles but also a bright, unending warehouse of rentable costumes representing every era (from the Renaissance to the 1980s), ethnicity (Egyptian maidens are perennial favorites), celebrity (Elvis is still the King), and profession (from policeman to marching-band grand marshal). Nestled among them are bins, boxes, and shelves of rotary telephones, old-fashioned irons, vintage paparazzi cameras, stacks of hats, and other props to complete just about any look. The store is home to approximately 20,000 sets of costumes, many authentic vintage pieces or castoffs from Broadway productions. (One jacket from The King and I still has Lou Diamond Phillips’s name scrawled on the label.) It’s no wonder the shop is a favorite of local professional theater groups, from the Taconic Opera to the Westchester Broadway Theatre.
“If you’re flexible, we can find something,” says Yon Zweibon, who’s owned the 40-year-old shop for the past decade. Zweibon is an unlikely costumer: a CPA and MBA who previously worked in real estate. “I used to structure complicated real estate deals,” she says. “This isn’t any simpler.”
This season’s trends? Zweibon reports people started calling her in late summer about Michael Jackson. If the King of Pop doesn’t suit your fancy, you can go with the classics pictured here: Henry VIII ($120 to rent) and Anne Boleyn ($100). The crown is included, but beheadings are not recommended, no matter how powerful the kingly cape makes you feel.
Beyond Costumes Inc, 530 Nepperhan Ave #2, Yonkers (914-963-1333)
