FAIR OAKS, Calif. — After more than 110 years in business, a Sacramento County costume store is shutting its doors Saturday as the owners set to retire.
The now family operated store, Capital Costumes Inc., was established in 1909 on K Street in Sacramento but now can be found on Madison Avenue in Fair Oaks.
Anna Silva, her sister and their mother purchased the costume store 44 years ago to bring historically accurate, quality costumes to the region.
“My mom had her masters degree in costume design and costume history, so that was her forte. She was known for her historical accuracy in her costuming, and that’s what we set our foundation on,” said Silva.
The shop, established by William H. Enos, originally only carried handmade costumes for rent, but quickly expanded into other things like theater makeup, dance uniforms and more.
Long before Silva and her family started caring for the company, it was renting costumes and other goods — something they kept track of on their website and in store.
“Past orders: 1920, Rental clown suit: $1.50… 1924, Capital Theatre: 4 usher uniforms: $16.50, 4 extra pants: $3.75… 1979, Rental clown suit: $6.50,” their website says.
Silva says this little piece of history closing is bittersweet, but she’s ready for retirement.
“We have so many good memories and there’s sadness too,” she said. “You don’t realize how big it is until it’s ending.”
Everything in the store is 30% to 50% off and all the handmade costumes — designed, created and kept up by Silva and her family — are long gone, but some items like theater makeup still linger.
It’s why Scott Rivers has been coming to the store for 20 years.
“They’re my go-to,” he said. “I love the connection, the expertise, the knowledge they have regarding makeup as well as all dancewear and costumes. They’re a wealth of knowledge and just really fun to work with. It’s just a joy to come in here and say 'Hi' to them.”
He says he’s become friends with the owners, something they say isn’t all that uncommon in their business. They have return customers come by with their children or grandchildren, or maybe even just to say hello and tell them stories about what happened in costume.
“We had a gentleman come in yesterday to remind us of the Santa suit that he rented from us and he climbed on the roof and tore off the rain gutter because he was trying to have Santa appear on the roof of his home for his kids,” said Silva. “We’ve had so much fun… We’ve met a lot of really great entertainers and performers over the years who have just had a real impact on our lives.”
The shop's last day open will be Saturday. They’ll be open from noon to 6 p.m. at 8121 Madison Ave, Suite F1 in Fair Oaks.
