Kansas City, KS – A costume shop, attached to a now-closed auto body repair shop on State Avenue, has been outfitting people in all types of costumes for three decades.
This year is shaping up better than last says Jerry Vest, owner of Have Guns Will Rent Costumes and Props. Vest said 2020 was a bad year for his costume business, as the pandemic shut down Halloween plans for many.
Vest has owned the shop at 1313 State Avenue in KCK for the past 30 years. It's tucked right next to an auto body shop, which Vest closed recently, he says, due to his age.
Inside the store you’ll find racks of costumes hanging high and low. All types, from the simple and inexpensive that you can buy outright, to those made of ornate, lush fabrics you can rent. You'll also find weapons, swords and knives and axes, and... as it reads in the shop's name, guns for rent. Stage guns that is, props. And there's more:
“I do sell a lot of human body parts, but those are for people’s private parties and front yards,” said Vest.
We're assuming those aren't actual body parts.
Vest says his Halloween business is coming back after a rough 2020, and credits the KC Renaissance Festival with helping him stay in business.
“The Renaissance Festival was extended by two weeks so people came in for suits of armor and even pirate outfits,” said Vest.
And surprisingly, with all of the choices for costume rentals, from witches to goblins to superheros to swashbuckling pirates and more, Vest said his top rental has nothing to do with Halloween. Vest said his number one costume rental is:
“Santa!”