Imagine Theatre's Rental Program
With our costume rental program we strive to offer...
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Affordability
Imagine Theatre is dedicated to offering all of our rentals at affordable rates. We believe that everyone should have affordable access to quality costumes and rentals. Quality
You can read more below about the history of this costume collection, but many were crafted by professional craftspersons for professional theatres/settings. |
Joy
There is nothing like that moment when you first put on your costume or hold your very first prop - Imagine wants to help foster those moments. Quantity
Imagine Theatre is home to a large collection of costume with an estimated 30,000 costume pieces spanning all styles and sizes. |
Help Us Be Affordable & SustainableBy making a monthly donation, or a one-time donation, you allow Imagine to keep the fees for all of our programs affordable.
Specifically for our Rental Programs we are looking for 30 families/donors to donate $50/month. This money would cover all the new operational costs of the building and the Rental Program, and help with space renovations. |
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Ready to Rent from Us?
At this time, Imagine Theatre only rents to schools, organizations, and non-profits. We are not renting to individuals at this time.
The Cost:
The Cost:
- Imagine strives to be flexible in our pricing - and we consider various details for each rental. We ask that you reach out out to us so that we can figure out how to best support you with your given budget.
- The average item costs $3-8 for a show rental, with specialty items costing about $10-$20. As expected, the more items rented, the lower the cost per item. Show bundle cost largely depends on the amount of costumes and the budget, but an average show bundle runs $300-$600 for 50ish pieces. Show Rentals are expected to be about 4wk in length with flexibility.
Questions?
Email [email protected]
Email [email protected]
The Process:
Questions?
Email [email protected]
- Read the Costume Rental Agreement to ensure you/your organization can fulfill all expectations outlined in the agreement form. This includes laundering expectations, payment/return dates, etc.
- Fill out our Costume Rental Interest Form. This form will ask you for your contact information, what show you are looking to find pieces for, your budget, etc.
- The Costume Rental Program Manager will reach out to you within 2 business days to let you know if we are able to meet your needs. If we are, the Manager will invite you to come to our costume space to view/pull pieces.
- After finding the pieces you need, during your appointment the Manager will work with you to set a reasonable price and you will be asked to sign our Costume Rental Agreement before leaving the costume shop.
- After the Costume Rental Agreement is signed you are allowed to take the costumes with you. Within 24hrs an invoice, with your signed contract attached, will be sent to your email. Per our policy, all invoices must be paid in full within 14 days after receipt of invoice. We accepts check, debit/credit, and ACH as forms of payment.
- Per the Costume Rental Agreement, you have 10 days after the close of your show to return the rented costumes. The agreement outlines cleaning expectations, alterations, and any fees that may be charged. The length of each rental is considered on a case by case basis with the Costume Rental Manager.
Questions?
Email [email protected]
About This Collection
1890
In 1890 Ellen Marie Wonder started creating costumes and floats for the City of Portland's Rose Festival Parade. The businesses she created, Portland-Chicago Costume House, even costumed performers to entertain WWI soldiers’ families and continued to make costumes during WWII, using burlap since regular fabric was not available.
1950's
After being passed down to Ellen's daughter Lillian, the business finally found its way to Helen, Lillian's daughter-in-law. In 1957 the business changed its name to Helen's Pacific Costumers (or simply known as "Helen's") and was located across from what is now the Powell's City of Books. Helen's was known for crafting many award winning costumes, and being THE place to go when renting your halloween costume.
1970's
Pam Monette started working for Helen's in 1971, and quickly got the business started in making mascot. Because of this, Helen's became well known for their mascots - they crafted an Oregon Beaver Mascot for each Oregon State Park, created 30+ Easter Bunnies, and 40+ Santa Clauses, with their last big mascot being Trimet's "Hopster" to promote the new Hop Pass System.
1990's
When Helen passed away the business was left to Monette, making her the 4th woman to own the business. Most Portlander's in the theatre scene knew Helen's location as being on Northeast Glisan, which crammed 30,000+ costume pieces, mascots, props, and various rooms into 2,000 sq ft.
2017
No longer able to compete with large retailers and cheap costumes that ship right to your door, Helen's closed in 2017. Until their closure Helen's remained popular for quality costumes, rentals, and mascots.
Not wanting to see the collection be parted off, VG purchased the whole collection with the mission to make the costumes available for community and children theatres.
2020
After various life circumstances, VG was looking to downsize the collection. Imagine Theatre Executive Directors Alec & Lauren went to one of the sales in hopes of getting some great deals on costumes.
From the moment they walked in they knew how important this collection was not just to the new organization they were running but to the whole theatre community. After sharing information, and talking about Imagine's mission, VG offered to sell Imagine Theatre the whole collection. Within 1 week the money was raised via private donors, and Imagine Theatre became the new home to this historic collection.
Imagine Theatre is dedicated to keeping arts accessible for all. The Imagine Theatre Rental Program aims to provide community theatres, schools, etc. with affordable, high-quality costume rentals because there is nothing more exciting then the first time you put on your costume and walk on stage.
In 1890 Ellen Marie Wonder started creating costumes and floats for the City of Portland's Rose Festival Parade. The businesses she created, Portland-Chicago Costume House, even costumed performers to entertain WWI soldiers’ families and continued to make costumes during WWII, using burlap since regular fabric was not available.
1950's
After being passed down to Ellen's daughter Lillian, the business finally found its way to Helen, Lillian's daughter-in-law. In 1957 the business changed its name to Helen's Pacific Costumers (or simply known as "Helen's") and was located across from what is now the Powell's City of Books. Helen's was known for crafting many award winning costumes, and being THE place to go when renting your halloween costume.
1970's
Pam Monette started working for Helen's in 1971, and quickly got the business started in making mascot. Because of this, Helen's became well known for their mascots - they crafted an Oregon Beaver Mascot for each Oregon State Park, created 30+ Easter Bunnies, and 40+ Santa Clauses, with their last big mascot being Trimet's "Hopster" to promote the new Hop Pass System.
1990's
When Helen passed away the business was left to Monette, making her the 4th woman to own the business. Most Portlander's in the theatre scene knew Helen's location as being on Northeast Glisan, which crammed 30,000+ costume pieces, mascots, props, and various rooms into 2,000 sq ft.
2017
No longer able to compete with large retailers and cheap costumes that ship right to your door, Helen's closed in 2017. Until their closure Helen's remained popular for quality costumes, rentals, and mascots.
Not wanting to see the collection be parted off, VG purchased the whole collection with the mission to make the costumes available for community and children theatres.
2020
After various life circumstances, VG was looking to downsize the collection. Imagine Theatre Executive Directors Alec & Lauren went to one of the sales in hopes of getting some great deals on costumes.
From the moment they walked in they knew how important this collection was not just to the new organization they were running but to the whole theatre community. After sharing information, and talking about Imagine's mission, VG offered to sell Imagine Theatre the whole collection. Within 1 week the money was raised via private donors, and Imagine Theatre became the new home to this historic collection.
Imagine Theatre is dedicated to keeping arts accessible for all. The Imagine Theatre Rental Program aims to provide community theatres, schools, etc. with affordable, high-quality costume rentals because there is nothing more exciting then the first time you put on your costume and walk on stage.
