LA Costume Resources Guide
A curated directory of costume rental houses, fabric shops, and wardrobe resources across Los Angeles
Overview
This guide compiles the top costume rental houses, fabric stores, and wardrobe resources scattered throughout Los Angeles. It covers everything from Hollywood Boulevard vintage shops to downtown fabric district suppliers that production designers rely on daily.
Inside you will find addresses, price ranges, and specialty notes for each location. Whether you need a period-accurate Victorian gown or a modern streetwear look, the guide points you to the right neighborhood and vendor.
How It Works
Los Angeles remains the epicenter of the American entertainment wardrobe industry, with decades of costume houses serving film, television, and theatre productions. Many of these vendors also rent directly to individual actors for personal projects and auditions.
The guide is available at no cost and is regularly updated by working costume designers and stylists. Community contributions help keep listings accurate and comprehensive.
Who Uses It
An invaluable starting point for any actor or filmmaker who needs to source costumes in LA without a studio wardrobe department. Bookmark it before your next period piece or themed audition. The guide also includes tips on negotiating rental rates and securing last-minute pieces during peak production seasons. Many costume supervisors keep this guide bookmarked on their phones for quick reference while scouting locations.
Pricing & Plans
The LA Costume Resources Guide is entirely free to access and does not require registration or a subscription. There are no paid tiers, premium listings, or hidden fees associated with using the directory. Compared to hiring a costume sourcing consultant, which can cost $500 or more per day, this guide empowers you to do your own legwork at zero cost. The community-maintained model means listings stay current without the overhead of a commercial operation. For actors and small productions operating on tight budgets, this represents significant savings in both research time and consulting fees. The guide is more comprehensive than scattered Google searches and more reliable than crowd-sourced review sites for industry-specific costume needs.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
The guide's greatest strength is its breadth of coverage across the entire Los Angeles basin, from North Hollywood to downtown and out to the Westside. Listings are organized by specialty, making it easy to find exactly the type of vendor you need, whether that is period military uniforms, ethnic garments, or contemporary streetwear. The inclusion of insider tips from working costume designers adds practical value that commercial directories lack. Regular updates from active industry professionals keep the information accurate and relevant to current production needs. The guide also notes which vendors are willing to work with individual actors versus only serving productions, saving you the awkwardness of showing up at a wholesale-only location. Community contributions create a living document that improves over time as more professionals share their experiences.
What Could Be Better
The guide lacks a searchable digital interface, which means browsing through the full list can be time-consuming when you need something specific quickly. Not all listed vendors have been verified recently, so occasional outdated addresses, phone numbers, or business closures are possible. The guide is heavily focused on Los Angeles and offers little to no coverage of costume resources in other production hubs like Atlanta, Vancouver, or Chicago. Some listings lack detailed pricing information, requiring you to call ahead before visiting. The guide does not include user reviews or ratings, so you cannot easily gauge the quality of service at each vendor. Additionally, the free and volunteer-maintained nature means update cycles can be inconsistent, with some sections more current than others.
Our Recommendation
We recommend the LA Costume Resources Guide for any actor, indie filmmaker, or costume designer working in the Los Angeles area who needs a reliable starting point for sourcing costumes and wardrobe materials. It is especially valuable for newcomers to LA who are not yet familiar with the geography of costume resources across the sprawling city. If you are working outside of Los Angeles, this guide will be of limited use and you should seek out region-specific resources instead. Actors who only need modern, off-the-rack audition wardrobe may find retail stores like Zara or H&M more practical for everyday needs. For large studio productions with dedicated wardrobe departments, the guide is less necessary since those teams already have established vendor relationships. However, for the independent and emerging professional, this is one of the best free tools available for navigating LA's costume landscape.
Pro Tips
Call ahead before visiting any vendor, as hours and appointment policies can change, especially during busy production seasons in spring and fall. Build relationships with staff at your favorite rental houses by being respectful of their time and returning garments in excellent condition, as repeat customers often get priority access and better rates. Take photos of items and their price tags during visits so you can compare options later without relying on memory. Join local costume designer Facebook groups and forums where the guide is frequently discussed and updated with real-time recommendations. If you find a listing that is outdated or a great new vendor that is missing, contribute your knowledge back to the guide to help the community. Plan your costume sourcing trips during weekday mornings when vendors are less busy and staff have more time to help you find exactly what you need.