Fantasy Costumes

I am shocked and depressed that I only found out about this place weeks before they close. The people are super friendly, and they have a huge amount of costumes. The place is a little small, and when you come in you pick out the costumes you want from a computer screen. It’s probably better to peruse their website first before you come in.
Now you may say, after Halloween, why the need for costumes? Santa suits, Ren Faire, Christmas parties, Thanksgiving day party, Comic Cons, New Year’s Day parties, dress like a big cherub for Valentine’s Day for pete’s sake the list can go on and on. Rock bottom prices, they are only open for the rest of this week. Get the word out!

I love this place. It’s rather small and intimate but certainly jammed packed full of great costumes from mild to wild and everything in between.
I searched for a king and queen’s costume from the Renn Fair and found two great ones via their site. The couple who owns the shop is very friendly, honest and extremely helpful to ensure you are happy with your selection of costumes.
The costumes were in great shape, fit well and are easily altered with pins to create the perfect fit.
Btw, they do not take plastic (Master Card, Lady Visa, or Lord American Express). To rent the costumes you will need cash or check for the deposit, and cash for the actual rental.
Give them a try, you may be surprised with what you find.

This is one of those places you stumble upon when you’re looking for a costume for a party thrown by the greatest website that ever existed. (no shameful plugs here). I went into this store to rent a costume for a western themed party and what a treat it was.
This small store is tucked away in a very unassuming small shopping plaza on the southeast corner of University and McKinley (A block east of Hardy). You have probably driven by this plaza 100 Million billion times and never noticed it, but once you’ve been there, each time you pass by, you look over there and think, «Oh, there’s that little shop of horrors right over there.»
Yep, little shop of horrors! Why you ask? This store kinda reminds me of a horror film. First I walk in and there are pictures hanging on the walls of this very narrow front room. Shoes and hats galore are on display making the space seem even more narrow. I walk toward the back slowly as no one is in the front room and I call out, «is anyone here?» I kid you not, I thought I’d walked in on the set of Friday the 13^th. Very spooky and creepy in there, but isn’t that JUST the right place to buy or rent a costume!
I met the owner. What a nice man. He showed me his catalog of costumes. He showed me his many pics, a great deal of the pics of costumes were of him in them! I looked through the cow girl costumes and thought the selection was great. There was at least costume that I had an interest in. I was informed that the rental was around $ 50 and the deposit was $ 50. I did not rent one of their costumes because I decided to go with my own costume at home, but I will go there when I have a need for other costumes that I don’t keep readily in my closet, ie for the Renaissance Festival!!!
This place was fantastic. I highly recommend it.
Check them out.

I am flabbergasted. Flummoxed. Freaking the fug out.
WHY IS THIS PLACE NOT BEING TALKED ABOUT ON Unilocal???
I’m sorry, I just had to get that out of my system.
But seriously, how is it POSSIBLE that only one review exists for Fantasy Costume Rentals and that it dates back to 2009??? This is a spectacular business!
First off, let me tell you a funny little story about my discovery of this gem. My birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and I was planning a little shindig for myself. In true Heather fashion (I tend to go a little over the top with everything I do) I chose to have a theme, the «Roaring 20’s» as I was turning 29 (OMG I’m effing THIRTY next year?! When the hell did that happen??)
I digress.
I was looking for a costume and was unhappy with my choices at the «other» costume shop that shall not be named that seems to hold a monopoly on costume rentals in the valley. It was about midnight on a Sunday. I did a google search for costume rentals and Fantasy Costumes came up. I of course go straight to the reviews, and when I saw the only one written was in 2009, I was convinced they were no longer open. How would a costume fanatic like myself not know of this place? I decided to call the business number (keep in mind the time of night) to see if it was a disconnected number or if I reached a message listing hours. A man answers. Completely astounded to hear a live voice on the other end of the line, I stammered,
«Um, is this Fantasy Costumes??»
«Yes, it sure is.»
«OMG, I’m SOOOO sorry for calling so late. I didn’t think anyone would answer!»
«It’s ok, I have calls forwarded to my cell in case of emergencies.»
«So, uh, when are you open?»
«Tues-​Sun 10am-​6pm»
«Cool, thanks. Well, I’ll be seeing you in person soon! Goodnight!»
Located on University off of McKemy (near Hardy), this is a small unassuming shop that you really have to know about to notice. In the front of the shop are two large catalogs with pictures of the costumes in order of category, with a list of sizes each costume is available in. This makes it so easy to shop for something. I pointed at a couple of costumes and asked the owner about them. One he replied «That one’s really cheesy. I don’t think you’ll like it, but this one (he points) is really nice.» and then proceeds to bring out some options for me to try on.
For $ 45, I rented a super cute silver flapper dress (see pics), which came with a feather headpiece, long pearl necklace, boa, and free fishnet stockings! The «other» costume shop wanted $ 50 for a similar dress and that did not include the boa ($ 10 extra), necklace, or stockings. Just the dress and headband.
My boyfriend also rented a super cool gangster costume, which the owner was sure to adjust the length of the pants for him before we picked up the costumes. Again, it came with everything. Hat, shirt, tie, gloves, shoe covers, and he even pinned a red carnation on the jacket! Last minute, Jared realized the suspenders weren’t with the costume and he called the owner (on Sunday, the day he is closed) and the owner told him to come by right away and he would get the suspenders to him.
A couple of things to note. You can only pay with CASH or CHECK and a deposit (2x the cost of the rental) is required. But I will tell you, it is SO worth it. This guy is so organized, really cares for his costumes, and is not about nickel and diming. He provides a quality product for a reasonable price. I will be using Fantasy Costumes for my costume needs from this point on! Love love love!

I found out about Fantasy Costumes while frantically searching on Google for a costume for a Santa party and bar crawl. It was the day before the event and I had already scoured several Party City and Fascinations stores in the valley looking for alternatives to a costume I ordered online earlier in the week (which happened to be far too low cut, tight, and short for me to feel comfortable wearing in public).
I zipped over to Fantasy after work keeping in mind it closes at 6PM. The store is buried in this tiny unassuming strip mall on the southwest corner of Apache and McClintock. I actually drove by it my first time and ended up turning around in Pep Boys parking lot. The main sign on the store front says only «Costumes». I was cheerfully greeted by enthusiastic owner Doug who was sporting an incredibly festive Christmas lights vest.
I expressed to Doug my concerns about finding only skanky Santa costumes and how I wanted something that was less hoochie but still CUTE and not matronly. He happily disappeared to the back room and emerged with four «Santa’s helper» type costumes for me to try. The third one was a total winner for me and I excitedly changed back into my clothes and brought the costume to Doug to pay. The costume came with three pieces– a belted Santa dress, capelet, and hat. The price of the rental was $ 45, plus a deposit of $ 90. All of the rentals use the same price structure, requiring a deposit double the price of the rental up front. The rental period is two days, Fantasy is closed on Sundays.
Before I could even get to the front of the store, Doug had pulled all kinds of accessories from around the store to give to me to use with my costume. An adorable red bag with white pompoms, a jingle bell necklace, a free pair of new-​in-​package white fishnet stockings for me to keep. The belt that came with the costume was a tad too big, but Doug was on the case and he swiftly added a loop to make sure the excess was held in place and not flapping around my waist.
Because of my own misinterpretation of the store’s web site, I failed to bring the correct amount of cash for the rental plus deposit, so I had to leave to go to the ATM. (By the way Fantasy only accepts cash and checks.) I zipped down the street to the ATM and back, only to go back inside and find Doug attaching individual jingle bells to the inside hem of the dress! He thought it would make the costume «extra special» for me and I was really touched by his thoughtfulness!
The costume turned out to be a great hit and I got several compliments. I did not use the capelet piece for myself but loaned it to a friend who had a sleeveless costume and wanted her shoulders covered. I returned my costume to Doug today and as I entered the store he already had my deposit envelope in hand. He asked me how the event was, how I liked my costume, and was genuinely interested in knowing how everything worked out. I told him I could not thank him enough and that everything was a hit!
If you are ever in need of a costume for any occasion, please stop by this hole in the wall shop. This kind of stellar customer service is something you can rarely find these days. It is so nice to see someone who truly loves what they do and who gets joy out of giving their customers a quality experience!