Costume Shop That Was Staple Of LA’s Theater Community Says 'It Can't Just Go On Anymore'

On Monday morning at Valentino's Costume Group in North Hollywood, vintage singer Ashley Veal was buying up dozens of outfits for her shows, like 1940s and '50s-era dresses, tops and bottoms.

She didn’t know the shop existed until she learned on social media there was a closing sale this week.

“It's amazing to see this collection in person,” Veal says. “Just the amount of history in this room.”

Veal was there with her boyfriend Asi Lang as well as some 60 other people looking to get a good deal from this storied costume shop.

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“When you hear a place like this is basically giving up everything, you have no idea what gems you are gonna find,” says Lang. “We have enough for a small film production that we've hauled here. It's like all the ants come out to eat the sandwich.”

Ashley Veal and Asi Lang bought dozens of clothes for their entertainment jobs on Monday during Valentino's Costume Group's "Going Out of Business" Sale.

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A quarter century of costumes

After 25 years of providing zany wigs, zoot suits and Bob Mackie designs to high school students and industry professionals alike, Valentino’s is closing its doors for good later this month.

The shop struggled through the pandemic and two Hollywood strikes, launching a GoFundMe last fall to help pay the rent. But the recent death of Valentino’s co-owner Will Brattain last month makes it very difficult to keep the business open, says owner Shon LeBlanc.

“I'm really freaked out about all of this,” LeBlanc says. “It’s been super crazy. And we just can't continue. I can't live my life as a ball of anxiety. I'm too old.”

LeBlanc, who is 58, has been selling costume designs and rentals for nearly 40 years. He started designing for local theater and drag artists in his late teens. LeBlanc says that after he closes the shop in a couple of weeks, he will continue to design.

“I just can't deal with having the overhead of a space this big,” LeBlanc says. “We moved in here and we thought this was great. We're gonna be a union costume house. We're gonna get tons of work. And that just didn't happen. It's been the perfect storm of COVID, the strike, the negotiations, everything killing all of us.”

The 'perfect storm'

The historic months-long dual strikes by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA ended last fall, but the impacts are still being felt by companies. There are also unknowns, says LeBlanc, as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees — the union that represents makeup and costume designers — and the Teamsters, which includes transportation professionals and animal wranglers, negotiate with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

“Until all of that happens, we could go on strike in July. We don’t know,” LeBlanc says.

Last year Valentino’s became a signatory house — a union house, which opened up more business opportunities in film and television. But still, LeBlanc says, Valentino’s is just not able to afford the rent.

Shon LeBlanc's Valentino's Costume Group has a wide variety of opera wigs, gloves, shoes and more that entertainers can rent and buy for their performances.

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What's lost

LeBlanc says one of the things that set his shop apart was that it allowed high school students, from schools like Hollywood High and Village Christian, and their theater programs to pay what they wanted for their costumes.

“We grow up with these kids and … want to make it a fun experience for the kids to come to a real costume house,” says LeBlanc. “So we give them, you know, more than they would actually get if they go someplace else.”

Theater costume designer Michael Mullen was also at the shop on Monday to pull a couple of outfits for a few shows he’s working on. He's been getting costumes at Valentino’s for more than a decade.

Michael Mullen looks around for a bustle dress for an upcoming theater play during Valentino's "Going Out of Business" sale.

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Aaricka Washington

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LAist

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“I’m devastated that it's falling apart,” Mullen says. “It’s a huge blow to the L.A. theater community, to any film, TV production that needs good period costumes.”