Multimillion Dollar Collection of Costumes

There were more than 500 boxes in all, newly purchased by Marilynn Wick to add to her multimillion dollar collection of costumes at Costume World which she rents to professional theatres and high school productions.

The mother-daughter duo opened a museum in 2011, showcasing more than one million costumes from nearly 50 shows, guiding daily tours through a nondescript South Florida warehouse against a backdrop of hand painted sets and a marquee replica from storied Broadway theatres like the Winter Garden.

For many of the shows, the Wicks own multiple sets: the original Broadway costumes, the Broadway revivals and two or three that their own wardrobe company has recreated to rent out for school productions.

While there’s nothing wrong with store-bought costumes (one of my other favorites as a child was a fairy one my mom bought at the mall), there is something fun and extra-personal about the homemade ones.