The ladies at The Wardrobe are brilliant. They have the ideas, they have an energetic attitude to…read morefind something you'll find inspiring. I went there to find a costume for Halloween. I haven't been to many dress up parties and at first was bit daunted by the rows and rows of costumes hanging up. Rather than asking for help straight away I wondered up and down the isles. I spotted some black fairy wings, then a giant long tutu. I tried them on and liked my makeshift costume. I did ask for help in the end from the inspiration queens to make it a more complete outfit. They pointed showed me the vial (as potion holding) necklace, the lace cloves and the black pixie style hat. Nice - a co-created outfit. But if you can't be bothered thinking about it then it needn't be an hours and hours dress up affair. They have rows and rows of ready to wear outfits in all shapes and sizes. Snow white, furry bear, Victorian ball, vampire, Alice In Wonderland, American Indian, Arabian, Hook, drag, geisha, 40's style, mermaid, gangster, Moulin Rouge. They have loads of bits and bobs to make your outfit complete - some of which are for sale. Fake eyelashes, black angel wings, masks, scarfs, feather bowers, shoes. It was fun just trawling though place. Take mates - you'll be in histerics.

The Wardrobe is located towards the back of Chatswood and attracts customers from all over the…read moreNorth Shore. The large space houses hundreds of costumes and accessories from historical periods to modern day fairytales. Everything is dry cleaned after use and can be found in order. They have an inspiration board showcasing satisfied customers wearing their costumes. Costumes can be booked well in advance, but a deposit must be made in order for the costume to be held. While their costumes are in abundance, one drawback is the smell. The place smells very moldy. Perhaps this is difficult to avoid given the thousands of costumes tightly bunched together. When browsing and riffling through costumes, it can be a little difficult to pull out costumes. They are on metal coat hangers which makes them a little difficult to get out. On the upside, the store has a look book which customers can flick through if they are time poor. The costumes are very reasonably priced. While not all costumes are of the highest quality, there's plenty to do and see at The Wardrobe. Hopefully they will soon invest in a changing room. Currently you have to change in front of customers which is very off-putting. Otherwise, The Wardrobe is the best costume shop I have ever rented from!

I laughed out loud as I walked past this store, all decked out in over-the-top halloween…read moredecorations! A spot of brightness on the otherwise bland strip at Bondi Junction. They're a costume/novelty store, and these kinds of stores are always heaps of fun to browse around. Fancy Shmancy has all kinds of costumes, from zombie-bride get-ups, to evil clown masks and fake blood, they have the lot. The sales attendant is also exactly how you'd expect the sales attendant of a costume store to be; loud, bubbly, and constantly joking around. Next Halloween, totally coming here.

Is there such a thing as too much choice? When it comes to donuts, no. When it comes to costumes, I…read moremean, I don't want to rule it out as an option but I almost got epilepsy in this place, which I guess is a good thing when you're looking for something to stand out at a costume party. This place has a metric ass-ton of costumes, it's hard to know where to start. Speaking of ass, I was half-assing my outfit for a party.... I just needed a mask. That's all, sadly. Which kind of sucked because from giant M&M outfits to period pieces, there's a lotta razzle dazzle in here, it's the sort of place you come when you want to one-up everyone at your ex-girlfriend's Halloween party and nothing less than the best will do. I actually wish I had that kind of party to go to because dreeeesss uuuuuppss! Ah well, Halloween is just around the corner.

The Elegant Edwardian High Tea I organised for some Yelp friends and I went off with a bang - and…read moreit went off with a bang in no small part thanks to this awesome shop. Two levels crammed full of costumes from every possibly historical period, right through to Star Wars and Star Trek and you-name-it-they-got-it costumes. Friendly, attentive staff make the burden of choice easy as pie and their helpful knowledge is abundant and impressive. Great pricing and an excellent hire policy round out the the experience to make this a 5 star business in my view. Truly awesome.

The staff at Newtown Dangerfield are as cool as the clothes. Apparently for some, a range of their…read moreclothes qualifies as dress-up costumes. On my most recent trip here a lady was asking the staff for Halloween dress up ideas. Where some might take incredible insult to someone coming and asking to borrow their wardrobe for a laugh, the staff were only too happy to help, offering up suggestions as to what could work the best. Their celebrity inspired shirts are cute and you can usually find a few nice dresses/skirts in here. It's my first stop for duffel coats/jackets and you can usually find a pretty nice selection of them on the sale rack. They have great accessories too, with hats, scarves, tights, beanies and kitsch jewellery going at pretty cheap prices.

Very nice staff, very cool clothes. Wish it was a bit cheaper, but heading there during a sale is a…read moregreat way to get a hold of some nice alternative clothes. I particularly recommend their denim overalls - very nice quality. If you're anything like me though, you won't buy much if it's at full price. Hold out for a sale, or head to Clear It! up the road for old stock at a discounted price.

The little shop up a back alley in lower Surry Hills is a quaint hope to those random dress up…read morecostume party needs. If you're in the area, and want to waste some time and take some funny photo's, hop in there and try on heaps of things! Sure to make a day of it! I went to get a Mexican costume, and although I didn't buy/rent it, as it was a bit out of my price range, I was very impressed by the customer service. The ladies there were incredibly helpful when it came to picking something for a party, and weren't pushy at all when it came to the sale. The level of costume even included some rustic leather boots, which were amazing on their own, but unfortunately I couldn't commit myself to spent up to $80 for 1 night's rental. They seem to be very strict on the return conditions, and condition of the clothes, so have a chat, and don't rush the paperwork if you're unsure. It is about $15 per extra day you hire, so check when they're open, and ask if they have a pick up service in your area.

No, I don't know what snog the frog means…read more If I had to guess I'd say it references kissing the toad that turns into a prince. Because who doesn't want a prince? I mean, you'd be pretty disappointed if you got Prince Harry, because so many reasons. Or it could reference the fad of toad-licking, which was popular for a short period of time in an episode of Family Guy that starred way too much Meg. The effect of stepping into this emporium of wonder and delight is like a good toad lick such is the myriad and dizzying array of costumes the likes of which you can scarcely imagine exist. Gorilla suits with caged Kermit the frogs inside, latex Indiana Jones masks, Kronos from The Simpsons. They're super helpful and have just a metric @$$-ton of fun stuff, go and try. I got stuck in a sea monster costume here and had to be cut out of it. True story. But that led me to King Neptune, which I rocked at Yelp's 10th Birthday Maritime Mixer. I looked a little girly without the beard though.

If you're stuck for ideas and low on cash, head to Homeline Trader in Chatswood Chase. They have…read moreplenty of stock and the prices are ridiculously cheap. Having been invited to a Halloween birthday, I required a costume that was rather cheap. Browsing through the store, I immediately came across a cute outfit with the accessories only costing me a mere $2.50. I will definitely be returning for Christmas outfits this year and any decorations required! They also sell a range of homewares and decorative items such as candles. Would definitely recommend to those who are on a budget or are simply looking for cheap costumes!

I need some Christmas jumpers. You know the kind, those tacky wintry American Christmas woollen…read moremasterpieces. Santa's face knitted into the torso, a reindeer singing a merry tune. Turtle neck sweaters, egg nog by the fire place. That retro kitsch winter wear that hipsters have taken a liking to and forced the prices to skyrocket, just before we need them for a video clip. I venture into various second hand shops in the hope of finding my nerdy holiday holy grail. But alas, in this humid and hot Christmas season of Australia, there is little reason for a clothes shop to even contemplate selling jumpers. I go into U-Turn, there are sequinned dresses, feather boas and brightly coloured pants in a myriad of styles. If e'er there was a place to find such a bizarre and 1950's familial jumper, this would be the place. In a shop full of unfashionable fashion items and trashy club wear, in a store where you're more likely to find a pair of knee high silver boots than a gentleman's polo shirt, the women working behind the counter are aptly dressed. The walls are covered in 1950's movie posters such as 'Attack of the Fifty Foot Women' and record sleeves with Simon and Garfunkel in the dressing rooms, because who wouldn't want to slip out of their garbs with Paul and Art looking down at their holiest of holies?

This is a second hand store focussing mainly on T-shirts - there's a great deal to buy 3 for $10…read more Some of the items in here are pretty groovy, you can usually find a retro dress or two or a pair of flairs. You can tell the managers do put thought into the selection of garments. The clothes also seem relatively clean, considering they are second hand, I think it's worth the look, there's a range of shoes as well that could be handy. So if you want to up the grunge factor then why not check out U Turn. Might have something to blaze a trail of drunken glory in, for your next big rock gig.

My husband (a thongs and board shorts guy) was very trepidatious about the whole suit thing for our…read moredaughter's wedding. Absolutely needless worry as, once we entered Man About Town Suit hire, David had him fitted, styled and all was simply 'tickety-boo'. David worked like a magician as he fitted, stylised and adjusted. The first thing we said as we left the shop was 'Wow; that was so easy' and that is why I am giving Man About Suit Hire five stars - the experience was painless and seamless. David was also generous and warm.

My dad and I are in Sydney for NYE and somehow managed to leave our suits in Uluru. A quick Google…read moresearch led us to Albert at Man About Town and we could not have been more lucky. Albert got us all measured up and when he realized that my dad's pants would need hemming he hemmed them right there in front of us- for a RENTAL! Not only did he hem them immediately, he also ironed the entire tux. As if this was not already amazing customer service, he also picks up your rental from your hotel's concierge if your flight schedule is chaotic- for no extra charge! And wait, there is more. We were expecting to pay for a multi day rental as we picked up today (12/28) and need it for NYE. Nope. Just the flat fee for the tux. The price came out to be roughly $125 USD/person. This is comparable, if not cheaper, to what I would pay to rent a tux in D.C. for a wedding. The icing on the cake is that these tuxes are arguably better made than anything I have ever rented as a groomsmen. 10/10 would recommend Albert!