Creative Costumes Dresses You For Any Occasion

olympia halloween costumes
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By Eric Wilson-Edge

skookum sponsorI can be whatever I want. Seriously. I can be a baseball player or a chicken. Batman? Yep. A piece of meat? Check. A purple dinosaur with a disturbingly sweet song? Absolutely. I’m not superhuman and, while my parents are pretty amazing, their encouragement only goes so far.

olympia halloween costumesI’m in the second happiest place on Earth – Creative Costumes.

Denise Fuchs Keegan leads me around her shop. Her face lights up as she talks about her costumes. The enthusiasm is infectious. “Clothing is a universal language,” says Keegan. There is something different about this place. The outfits are not plastic.  They’re made from solid material which can be altered to fit each individual.

Then I see it.

Darth Vader. My childhood obsession. This isn’t some chintzy ‘did your mom make that Darth Vader.’  This is the real deal. I’m giddy to the point of needing medication. I really want to try it on but refrain.  I’m supposed to be a professional. Denise weaves through the rows of costumes. She shows me her theater quality make up and realistic wigs. I try to stay focused – it’s not easy.

And that’s the beauty.

“I can do just about anything in here – with enough notice,” says Keegan.  She’s done quite a bit.    Among other things Keegan helped start the Lacey Museum and is a charter member of the Thurston County Historic Commission. Her attention to detail helped land her the job as Costume Designer for a movie.

olympia halloween costumes“She’s pretty good at figuring out what would look good on you,” says Kathryne Wagner. Wagner needed flapper costumes for a murder mystery birthday party she was hosting. “She knows what a costume from a particular period should look like,” says Wagner.

Service is everything to Keegan.  She mentions a bad review on Yelp. It gnaws at her.  She doesn’t know about the 14 other reviews – all very positive. It doesn’t seem to help.  “I’m not going to tell you ‘yes’ to get you out here,” says Fuchs Keegan. “I want the ‘yes’ to mean something.”

The evidence is on the wall.

When I first walk in I see pictures of people. People dressed as Mozart or as characters from Alice in Wonderland. Most faces are not familiar – some are. Former Governor Chris Gregoire smiles back at me. She’s dressed as Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web. There’s a young girl dressed as Henry V for school project. She got an “A.” There are thousands of stories in this building.

“This couple came in. They were going on a dinner train. The gentleman pulled me aside and told me he was going to propose to her on the train. He wanted to make sure she was dressed to the nines.  The whole cast on the train was in on it. They called him up as a suspect and called her up as a second suspect.  He knelt down and proposed to her,” tells Keegan.

“Faith Lutheran School in Lacey calls me every year because they have a cookie sale. Their principal wears a milk carton outfit and the teachers wear cookies and they run around the parking lot and help sell the kids’ cookies,” she shares with a smile.

olympia halloween costumesI spend a couple of hours talking with Denise. It’s easy conversation. She shows me the accessories – real swords and a Tommy Gun. The gun doesn’t work but is substantial and imposing.  Just about the only thing Keegan doesn’t have is a real lightsaber. Too bad because I know what I want to be.  I want to be Darth Vader.

Visits to Creative Costumes are by appointment only. This time of year is especially busy. Keegan recommends calling and emailing just to be sure.

Creative Costumes

6431 Rich Road SE

Olympia, WA 98501

360.413.0232

 

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