Western Costume is a costume warehouse in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

which supplies costumes and costuming supplies to the film and TV industry. One of the oldest businesses in the industry, the company outdates any studio or production company currently in operation.

History

The company was founded in 1912 by L. L. Burns, a former Indian trader who had amassed a collection of hundreds of American Indian artifacts, weapons, costumes and jewelry items. Burns reached out to silent film cowboy

William S. Hart William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and inte ...

and proposed that Hart allow him to outfit his films. Burns formed a partnership with Harry Revier to service the film industry in 1912, and in 1913 they rented the stables of Hollywood realtor Jacob Stern to establish the Burns & Revier Studio and Laboratory. The barn was subleased to

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

for the film '' The Squaw Man''. Burns noted the poor quality of the props being used and costumes worn by actors playing American Indians and was hired to provide costumes for the film. Burns's acumen for historically accurate Western wear spread quickly in the film industry, then just in its infancy. Burns expanded his collection with garments from second hand stores and purchased the stock of the only other costume and prop company of the day, Fishers.

The Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

forced Burns to sell his business and take a job as the head of the costume department at

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Western Costume kept its name through numerous sales both to individuals and a consortium of studios. It augmented its costume sale and rental business with uniform manufacturing for the

California National Guard The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...

. The company sells costumes used in well known films at auction from time to time. The company generally only deals with studios and filmmakers but each year, prior to Halloween, the company opens its doors to the general public. While only a subset of the collection is made available, costumes seen on screen are included. In recent years, dresses from ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'', pirate costumes from ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'', as well as costumes from '' Friday the 13th'' and '' Halloween'' have been available for rental.

Featured filmography

* ''

'' – all male costumes * ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...

'' – all costumes * ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

'' * ''

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...

'' * '' Bonanza'' * '' Thornbirds'' * ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

'' * '' The Right Stuff'' * ''

Once Upon A Time In The West ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' ( , "Once upon a time (there was) the West") is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Leone ...

References

External links

* {{Official, http://www.westerncostume.com/
Gallery of costumes from notable films
Film production companies of the United States Costume design Companies based in Los Angeles