Best costume shops in KL

Halloween is almost here! Or, let us guess, your company’s throwing a big year-end themed bash, and you’re scrambling to put together a costume. Betty herself is available to help you win best dressed, but be sure to call ahead to make an appointment. The shop is filled with everything from Great Gatsby gear and glam rock fits, to ambitious masks, headgears, wigs, wings and other separates. For an easy win — or at the very least, to earn sweet likes from all your online friends — there are even God of Prosperity suits and inflatable dinosaur costumes. Nobody puts Choi San Yeh in a corner. Or T-Rex.

Costumes Adonis is more than a costume shop. It’s an experience. A one-stop shop for the family, fans go back year after year for the sport of rummaging through every nook and cranny of a store stocked with over a thousand costumes from all over the world (and the Marvel multiverse). There are staff on hand to help you into your get-up and pick out the perfect finishing touch for your look, whether it’s face paint or fake blood or flamboyant feathers. The fun isn’t limited to adults; Costumes Adonis has cute-but-creepy outfits for the little monster in your life, too. 

If you’re after a Cik Siti Wan Kembang or Cleopatra costume, House of Aron Nawi is the holy grail. It’s a must-visit for anyone with a fancy do coming up, and we mean fancy. The store specialises in one-of-a-kind cultural costumes, dazzling and detailed. 

Here, live out your bangsawan, Bollywood or Yanxi Palace dreams, complete with hair, make-up and styling services; clients include celebrities the likes of Aina Abdul and Zizan Razak, so you’re in good hands. Of course, classics such as Cruella and Captain Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean are available too, or if you’re looking for something simpler, there’s always a Darth Vader helmet or The Landlady’s wig from Kung Fu Hustle.

Spotlight’s costumes run a bit generic (“Banana”, “Greek God”, “Prisoner Jumpsuit”), but they’re cheap, cheerful and there’s a solid selection to choose from if you’re not trying to get too complicated. Shop accessories such as eye patches, temporary tattoos, tiaras, wands, and wigs, plus face and body paint, beards and moustaches and more to bring any basic outfit to life. Tip: if you need to pick up extras for your party, Spotlight also stocks supplies including decorations, tableware, and party favours.

It doesn’t get much more straightforward than YYG Costumes Shop: choose from tons of costumes, most pre-packaged and ready-to-wear, some that you can put together. Animal onesies, Disney princesses, superhero costumes, and everything from fruit and vegetables (your kid could go as a strawberry, hey) to vampire and witch — it’s perfect for that spooktacular party you’ve got planned. Sure, you won’t find anything glam or overly posh here, but there are plenty of prosthetics you didn't know you needed like elf ears, and makeup and wigs.

Balloon Wonderland, you might gather, is a wonderland of balloons. It’s an all-in-one party supply store and the go-to place for inflatables of all shapes, sizes and colours. But beyond balloons and party décor, this chainlet is a favourite with mums and last-minute costume hunters with its collection of classic pre-packaged costumes to make-believe as a gladiator, pirate or vampire. Or put on a pair of cat’s ears or a witch’s pointed hat! They never go out of fashion.

Lights, camera, action. Greet the season in style and take centrestage in a costume from Centrestage Vision Dynamic. The company has worked with everyone from Ning Baizura to Upin and Ipin, so you know they’ve got the goods. The trick is it’s all in the details: from flapper-girl glamour to Halloween’s favourite mistress of evil, Maleficent to intricate traditional dress fit for royalty, pageantry, and the stage at ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, the shop has tons of accessories and embellishments to take it to the next level.

One of the oldest costume shops in Kuala Lumpur, Costumes ‘N’ Parties is still the best in the business. Their large, well-lit premises house their extensive range of costumes, as well as stage makeup and a broad selection of wigs, hats and accessories. You don’t even need to physically rifle through all the racks, with their laminated albums ready for you to flick through.

Wisma Central is a strange place to find yourself looking for a costume shop. Tucked discreetly in a corner, Costumes Empire is a small shop but a good one. If the signage isn’t enough to clue you in, you’ll also see mannequins outside the door, outfitted in whatever costume that strikes the staff’s fancy (on our visit it was a red Riding Hood outfit accessorised with a green witch’s hat). Inside it’s bright and clean, with most of the costuming genres well represented: fairy tales, Star Wars and a good selection of jewel-toned ‘retro’ clothes. If you can’t find a Red Riding Hood costume anywhere else, you’ll find it here – we spied one entire rack full of them.

Make a stop at MOB PARTY LAB (formerly M&K Party House) to source out kitschy knick-knacks and costimes – think Chinese opera masks, paper lanterns and skeleton models. Here’s a Time Out tip for all your Halloween needs: the store stocks horror props such as severed limbs and skull heads.

With over 6,000 costumes available, Century Fiesta should be your choice if you don’t fancy heading into the city to pick out an outfit. We were impressed by their Lady Gaga section, which must be a good moneymaker, and their selection of different ethnic costumes, including Thai, Vietnamese, Spanish, Brazilian and Korean.

Started in 2013, Jom Fiesta Costume Rental and Party Shop houses over 5,000 costumes and it is one of the largest costume shops in Malaysia. You can browse through the costumes on their website or just make your way to their physical shop at Taman Melati Utama. You will find a variety of costumes like Superheroes and Villains, Renaissance, circus and formal suits. Mascots, shoes, wigs, head accessories and even costumes for toddlers are up for rent.

Melody Party offers not only costume rentals but also sell costumes. Expect a wide variety of costumes from occupational uniforms, vampires to movie characters and pirates. Costumes aside, they also supply party decorations such as balloons, tableware, wedding items and a photo booth as well as a party planning service for occasions like birthday-themed parties and anniversaries.

Eternal Costume and Cosplay Rental specialises in cosplay costumes and themed costumes inspired by manga and comics. Apart from renting, customers can also purchase the costumes either at a second-hand price or buying it brand new. You will find costumes like maids, Japanese school uniforms, Yukatas and Cheongsams with accessories such as wigs to go with the dresses.