Library to Open Free Halloween Costume Shop Oct. 1
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Halloween costumes are noted for one night of Polyester, Nylon, Lycra, Satin, elastic and the faint possibility of glitter, at prices often reserved for cashmere.
That’s why beginning Oct. 1 the Anderson County Library will reopen its Free Halloween Costume Shop at the Main Library Branch in Anderson.
It is a practical move for parents familiar with the annual rite of costume costs and their short life. A pirate becomes a pirate for a night. A princess leaves the house in a plastic tiara, returns with a pillowcase heavy with candy, and then vanishes into a closet. A superhero, a dinosaur, a ghost, a firefighter, a cartoon character — each has a brief appearance in public before being folded into a storage bin, placed on a high shelf or forgotten behind winter coats.
At the Anderson County Library, those retired identities are being given another chance.
The library’s Youth Services Department is collecting gently used Halloween costumes, dance outfits and similar clothing for its annual Free Halloween Costume Shop. The project is intended to make trick-or-treating less expensive for families while also keeping usable costumes in circulation rather than sending them to a landfill.
The principle is simple: bring a costume if you have one, but do not feel obligated to do so. The library’s shop is not a swap in the strict sense, a family does not need to donate an outfit, hold a library card or prove anything beyond an interest in finding a costume.
“You do not have to bring in one to get a costume. So, it’s not a swap; it’s just a costume shop.” said Jessica Davis, a youth librarian at the Anderson Main Library.
The program has grown in recent years, Davis said, though she did not have a precise count of the children served. The community’s response has been enthusiastic, and families frequently return costumes after Halloween so they can be offered again the following year.
“They love it,” said Davis. “The community has been overwhelmingly satisfied with it. A lot of times, they will bring the costumes back after Halloween. So, we’ll get those, recycle them for the next year, and another child that size next year gets to use it.”
The idea is both practical and faintly magical: a costume passes from one child to another, carrying none of the original owner’s identity but all of its potential. A cape that once belonged to a third grader can become a different cape in a different neighborhood. A dance dress can make another child feel transformed. The familiar Halloween premise — that a person can become someone else for an evening — is sustained by reuse.
Library Director Annie Sutton described the project as a way to make a seasonal tradition more accessible.
“The costume swap is a unique opportunity for families to visit the library and for parents to outfit their kids for trick or treating in a budget friendly way,” said Sutton.
The shop is open to children and teenagers age 17 and younger. The library accepts adult-sized clothing as well, Davis said, because older children and teens often need those sizes.
The current collection includes many costumes in the 7-to-8-size range. The greatest need, she said, is for infant and toddler costumes, along with adult sizes larger than small. Any clean, gently used costume that has no visible stains and minimal wear is welcome.
The library is now in its donation phase, when residents are invited to search closets, storage tubs and the assorted domestic archives where Halloween costumes tend to accumulate.
The donation window is meant to give Youth Services staff time to collect, sort, organize and photograph the costumes before families begin choosing them.
“It’s just for people to clean out their storage spaces, find all their costumes, bring them in,” said Davis. “That gives us time to compile all of them, organize them, and then open up the shop window for people to come in and actually receive the costume.”
Davis said the collection period closes Sept. 23.
Once the Costume Shop opens Oct. 1, it will operate through Oct. 31, during regular library hours and while supplies last. Davis advised families to come as early as possible for the broadest selection.
Rather than require families to sift through crowded racks, the library will organize the available costumes in a catalog. Visitors can look through a binder containing photographs of the inventory, identify an outfit in the right size and ask library staff to retrieve it.
“We have a catalog. It’ll be in a binder,” said Davis. “You can flip through and see a picture of all the costumes that we have. We have these plus several other racks of costumes, and you just flip through and say, ‘Hey, this is my child’s size. Can we take it?’ Sure. And we go get it and give it to you.”
The catalog will also be available through the Events section of AndersonLibrary.org, where the Costume Shop appears on the October calendar.
The Anderson Main Library is open from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2-6 p.m. Sunday.
For parents facing the annual prospect of purchasing an outfit that may be worn for only a few hours, the library’s Costume Shop offers a small form of relief. For donors, it offers a way to turn an old costume into another child’s one-night transformation.
The arrangement also makes room for a more durable Halloween tradition: one in which the monster mask, astronaut helmet or fairy wings do not disappear into a plastic bin after Oct. 31, but re-enter the world, ready for another child and another evening of make-believe.
For more information, contact the Anderson County Library’s Youth Services Department at 864-260-4500, ext. 158, or email childrens@andersonlibrary.org.
