Southern Costume Co. is closing its doors after 13 years in business, and owner Wingate Jones said the reasons for calling it quits are many.
“I have been acting in a philanthropic nature for a long time,” Jones said. “And I think that in retrospect, I probably would have shut it down a long time ago, hindsight being cheap.”
That admission encapsulated the bitter pill many small business owners are forced to swallow when they can no longer go on operating in the red. In Jones’ case, the call was to shut down his Lafayette Street warehouse.
Southern Costume has manufactured and sold costumes from its 9,000-square-foot Central Business District location to film productions, Mardi Gras krewes and walk-in customers since 2011.
The coronavirus pandemic and the Hollywood writers’ strike made it difficult to continue. But Jones said Southern Costume was done in by a broader, more pernicious shift that undermined its business model.
“I think people got real accustomed to shopping and getting essential goods, if not services, online,” he said.
Jones, 67, got into the business following the footsteps of his father, who ran Western Costume Co. in Los Angeles. After a stint at Universal Studios’ wardrobe department, he moved to New Orleans to bring Hollywood-inspired costumes to the South. In addition to owning the shop, he also served as costume supervisor and designer.
But the business ultimately wasn’t generating the revenue to sustain itself. By the weekend, Southern Costume was selling off its inventory, allowing customers to fill a bag with leftover costumes for $5. Washers and dryers, sewing and embroidery machines and office furniture were also on sale.
Jones said the inventory sale has been going well enough, but that overall, shutting down has been upsetting. Nevertheless, he is proud to have supplied costumes and services for more than a decade.
“It’s just closing one chapter and opening another,” he said. “That’s all it is.”
