Legendary local fancy dress and wardrobe store Ursula’s Costumes at 2516 Wilshire Blvd is facing imminent closure. While a closing date hasn’t been officially set, owner Ursula Boschet is so sure that she’ll be forced to permanently shut her doors, she’s put a massive “Closing Down Sale” banner across both the front window and the store’s website.
A trip to Ursula’s Costumes is as much of a mind-blowing experience as visiting a History of Hollywood Wardrobe exhibition might be. Entire shelves and drawers are devoted to wigs, watches, ties, toupeés, masquerade masks and mustaches. Every conceivable nook and cranny is crammed full of fancy dress outfits and accessories including coats, cloaks, hats, helmets, gowns, gloves, jackets, jump suits, space suits, shirts, skirts, shorts and shoes from all eras and every chapter of cinema.
“The lease has been up for quite some time. I pay month by month, but I couldn’t pay the full amount [that is owed],” Ursula said, adding that she received nothing in the way of financial aid during the pandemic and that business still hasn’t returned to normal. “Business is really, really slow,” she said.
Ursula, who turns 90 on May 1, has retained her Stuttgart accent and has been in the wardrobe and costume business her whole life. The store at the Wilshire Blvd site has been her sole outlet for 30 years and for 18 years before that, she operated out of a studio in Culver City.
She explained that because business was so slow, she’s been forced to let staff go and as such, the “workroom” — a key component of her business — has been out of operation for some time. And the workroom is where the real magic happens.
Most of the front half of the store is taken up by more commonplace costumes and outfits, from ghouls and goblins to kings and cavemen to princes and princesses all the way to outfits from Star Wars, the Squid Game and SpongeBob SquarePants. But, if you’re lucky enough to be shown the back half of the store, a whole new, extraordinary experience awaits.
In this veritable Aladdin’s Cave, the walls are completely covered with framed photographs of television and movie stars, every one with a handwritten personal message that begins with “Hi Ursula…” Sean Connery is up there, as Ursula worked with him on one of his last movies; Bruce Willis is there; Richard Dean Anderson; the entire cast of Cagney & Lacey, as Ursula worked on that epic TV show for almost its entire run; Steve Martin and Victoria Tennant, who were married for eight years and according to Ursula, met for the very first time in her store, plus quite literally, hundreds more.
And then, once a few stairs have been successfully negotiated, you enter the workroom. This is where all the tailoring is done — or used to be — and where unique items were crafted from scratch. Hanging up are row after row of elaborate outfits that look like they belong in the movie Amadeus. Then there’s a costume that looks like a giant order of McDonald’s fries and shelves stuffed with sports team mascot-style giant animal heads, from bears to chickens to tigers and a curious number of Donnie Darko-meets-Alison in Wonderland-esque rabbit costumes. Clearly a popular item.
Ursula says that at the very least she would need a sizable amount of money to pay off her loan that she took out during the pandemic and that’s extremely unlikely. Apparently, her son and daughter also aren’t interested in running the store. Moreover, she says that online shopping has virtually destroyed her business. “You can come in here and try on whatever you need, then people leave the shop and go and buy it on Amazon,” she said.
Ursula was reluctant to give out too many details, but she says that movie stars including the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger pop into the store from time to time to buy a fanciful outfit for an event or Halloween or even just a birthday party.
She says that she has an appointment with a real estate agent on Tuesday, 27 February and after that meeting she’ll know the date that her iconic outlet will close. Frankly, it should be registered as a historic landmark.