I called them to see if I could get an Easter bunny suit at a discount since its out of season. After watching Entourage a couple of weeks ago, I was inspired. I called the number and got a recording indicating that number was no longer in service. After visiting their website, my suspicions were confirmed: After serving the community for 32 years, Raleigh Creative Costumes closed its doors in late July of 2007. As to why it closed its doors, read on.
Ms. Doug Haas was the one owner throughout the store’s tenure on Hillsborough Street. She had over 8,000 square feet of outfits and accessories. There were tons of options from her shop, but you couldn’t just walk in and rent it. You had to know a thing or two. Read on for an example: “There’s some basic things in history that they should know. A young man came in, wanting to dress like a confederate solider. I asked him if he wanted to be Jeb Stuart because I was gonna put a feather in his hat if he did. And he said, ‘Who’s Jeb Stuart?’ And I said, ‘I will not rent you this costume until you come back with a paper at least one page long, telling me who Jeb Stuart is!”
Maybe its practices like this that led to the increase of rent on her lease. Maybe not. But these times are tryin’ and people need to get by, so it goes. One thing is for sure: No one will be getting that kind of lesson anymore from a woman selling disguises. It seems pretty certain that Ms. Haas is also giving up, as she is not saving her inventory for another location. By now, she has auctioned off all her rentals, sold all her vintage clothing and liquidated her books and other print resources at half.com.
Josh Hull, a bartender at the Jackpot, bought 3 hats from Ms. Haas when he discovered the store was closing. “They’re pretty sweet hats,” He said. As of press time, no witnesses have seen these hats worn. There is suspect that Mr. Hull is selling them on eBay. As for the stores owner, Ms. Haas can now live in her own skin, doing what the real Ms. Haas likes to do.
Its a shame to see this era of disguise come to an end. She worked real hard to help people pretend.
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