The atmosphere inside the old factory outlet became magical. The outside world and all of its issues do not matter to Daniel Bernardo and the employees of Rose Costumes. They each had a sparkle in their eyes and the motivation to keep the magic alive with the costumes they were wearing, as well as the ones that people from all over the DFW Metroplex (and beyond) come to rent.
Bernardo, the Director of Marketing and Education for the company, walks throughout the store and gives his customers a tour of the sections that have been decorated and specifically detailed to transform into a whole new world beyond what Bernardo lives in today. From Belle’s Ballroom, filled with majestic dresses of all colors and fabrics, to the Throne Room that is filled with armor and robes made for a king, Berardo said that each costume has a transformative power with an impactful story.
This has been a story in the making for 40 years.
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Rose Costumes did not originate with costumes. Beginning as “Secondhand Rose” in 1976, the purpose of the store was to sell vintage clothing and jewelry, and to repair blue jeans. It was located on Fry Street, and college students from all over Denton went to owners Judy Smith and Patsy Morgan to not only get their blue jeans repairs, but also to ask about renting clothing to use for stage productions. Morgan eventually left the business to begin another shop in Austin and Smith became the sole owner of the popular Denton hangout spot. As the store’s popularity grew and the need for costumes increased, Smith moved the location of the store across town and changes the business model to accommodate customer needs and became Rose Costumes. At the turn of the century, Rose Costumes moved to its current location off of I-35 N in the Stonehill Center, and the store has since been focused on providing theatrical makeup, renting costumes to individual customers, theater companies and local high schools, Bernardo said.
“Costumes are not just about Halloween for us anymore,” Bernardo said. “Our major business contact has been theater companies, schools competing in One-Act Play and performing musicals, as well as production companies for movies and documentaries.”
However, despite major profits coming from theater companies, Bernardo said that Rose Costumes is still happy to keep its doors open to consumers who are looking for costumes for the Halloween season.
The difference between Rose Costumes and other stores (such as Party City) is the quality of the products and material at Rose’s, Bernardo said.
“We learned from our brothers and sisters in the industry, and how they were struggling and suffering through that that we shouldn’t be fighting the coming of the internet, pop-up Halloween stores and things of that nature,” Bernardo said, “We [Rose Costumes] distinguish ourselves by the quality of what we have and I can guarantee there are pieces here that you will not find anywhere else because I saw them made here.”
Being the only year-round costume store in the area and with advancements with their social media accounts has created bonds with many schools, directors, and production teams alike.
The company has been able to post costumes online and it has led to increasing engagements with their social media accounts and has promoted more traffic within the store, too. Bernardo said that they have even been able to get students who have worn their costumes for productions to follow their accounts to see themselves on the account(s) and to receive shout from Rose’s.
Additionally, UNT photography freshman Bri Bolden said that she remembers not having a lot of theatrical resources in high school and watching her classmates struggle to put on productions due to lack of resources.
“I remember my friends used to have to wait until basketball season was over so an impromptu stage could be constricted in the auditorium since we did not have a permanent stage,” Bolden said. “We went to a very small school and theater was not the main focus of the school. When I went inside Rose Costumes and heard about what they offer students and directors, it made me sad because I know my friends in high school could have used this resource and thrived. Rose Costumes is truly an asset.”
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Bernardo stops in the Barracks section of the store. He grabs a costume for a poor boy: a ragged shirt made up of different fabrics patched on to cover the holes from the original fabric, soot stains, etc. He looks at it with great intent, as if recollecting a personal memory with that specific costume. Then, he looks up at the customer he was helping and said “Every last piece here has a story about how it got here. They came from the mind if a couple of brilliant women who have led this company. A costume has a transformative power, I’ve seen theater kids come out of their shells. I’ve seen very awkward teenagers discover something about themselves and become comfortable in their identity. And we can add these stories to these pieces. I invite everyone to come here to Denton to learn and engage with these costumes and the stories they have.”