We have been renting costumes for our school productions for years! This place is the best! They have gone through some tough times with the fire, and always pulls out a home run for us! Highly recommend! read more

I had such a wonderful experience here tonight! I went to get a flapper costume for a small gathering with COVID safe friends and the lady working brought me a wonderful selection of ones both for sale and for rent. They had so many great options! She also allowed me to try it on to ensure it fit before buying. I really appreciated that as some stores aren't allowing that now and it's really inconvenient. The store is positively stuffed with costumes but the lady working seemed to know exactly where everything was. The prices are also great! I got a beautiful dress and a few props for around $50! Just know that they are not taking credit cards right now but accept cash, check, and even Venmo. I really appreciate the kind lady working (whose name now escapes me) and I will definitely be back for all my costume needs! Support your local businesses! read more

Great experience renting from Gene's Costumes. Wide selection and we were able to try them on before leaving. Ginger (owner) was happy to help us with costume ideas. Our costumes were pretty new and had been cleaned prior to pick up. We got so many compliments on our costumes. Return was flexible and easy. Look forward to my next visit! read more

they have an eclectic and unusual collection of costumes, you can assemble about anything you want out of the individual pieces they have. The proprietors are nice and helpful. read more

Definitely swing by if you want a nostalgic trip while shopping for your Halloween costume. Even though it's in a small old building, the racks really do have a lot of options, especially for makeup and accessories, and the prices are surprisingly reasonable. And the staff are definitely characters and always very entertaining. Parking is tight; it's actually in a small lot behind the building and it's easy to miss the turn, but there are more (larger) spaces near the firehouse next door. read more

Over the years, I've called Gene's Costumes with some pretty wild requests for costumes and they always come up with something great! This time, we needed suffragettes costumes, all white from antique hat to granny boots. And by the way, Votes for Women sashes too. They nailed it and guests were taking photos of the actors in these costumes all night long. There's no other place I'd turn to, for creativity, price or kindness. read more

Friendly staff. A very wide selection given the size of the store. I was able to find what I want to be Baron Samedi. read more

Gene's Costumes - Yes that's the store. Gene's costumes. - Costumes Near Me - Kensington, Maryland

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Never open. Never answers there phone or email address. The hours on the website do not reflect the hours that they are actually open and I made a very long drive twice in a row based on the website just to find them closed despite the posted hours. read more

This store has a no return and no refund policy. My teenage daughter bought an item on Friday for $37 for a costume dance at school on Saturday. The item was unopened and we had a receipt. Saturday morning my daughter felt ill and was unable to attend the dance. I took the item back to the store and was told they were a small business and could not afford to offer a refund! Unopened, with receipt, less than 24 hours after the sale and NO customer service. Give them any money and that is the end of their dealings with you. I asked several times and was told a I wasn't doing myself any favors by asking. The proprietor doesn't understand the concept of offering service or building business. They don't seem to understand that a teenager has just learned about greed. I feel sorry for these people. Just be aware if you shop there. read more

I went to a roaring 20s party last weekend and needed to rent something to wear. The selection were ok. They differently need to upgrade for the prices that they charge for rentals. After spending about 45min trying on things I finally left with a beaded/ sequin shell that was one size fit all. So I didn't bother to try it on and that was a bad mistake. Later that evening when it was time to get dress I was stuck with a costume that reeked of body odor!!! The armpits were hurrible! Ruin my night. So when it was time to return the funky costume there wasn't anyone there to open the store. After waiting a hour and a half I left a note for someone to call me once they got there. After no response I called and they had the nerve to question me if I was going to be back before they closed. Once I arrived (at this point I'm boiling) I told them about the odor and asked if they clean there ideas. I was told sometimes to never. That was the worst experience and I will never rent there again. read more

Gene's Costumes is the best!!! Ginger has helped my school for the past two (2) years with costumes for our annual theatrical performance. Her costumes have received rave reviews from parents and faculty. She has been a great help to our school. Thanks for all you do, Best wishes Rose read more

This place is great. They have a great selection of new and vintage items, and the staff is friendly and helpful, especially the owner! Check this place out! read more

The response from Gene's to my initial review is not accurate. I did NOT refuse an offer to use the costume for another date. I was told I could use "a" costume on another date, and I did not say I would or wouldn't. Also, my original comment acknowledged their no-refund policy, just as it acknowledged their ability to be flexible. Judging by the other reviews of Gene's, my bad experience with them is typical. But I thank them for opening the opportunity to reinforce it. read more

Ginger A's response to my comment is not accurate, but that was expected from Gene's Costumes. It rather reinforces my point of the kind of attitude that the owners and the people who work there have. As i mentioned earlier, they are always nice when you come in to make a purchase or rent an outfit. You will think that after getting all really negative reviews they would look themselves in the mirror and see how they can improve their customers experience. Instead, they write rebuttal comments filled with half truths and lies. Word of advice - stay away from these people!!! read more

My daughter rented a medieval maiden costume at a fair price and had a wonderful time parading in it with friends. The costume was clean and there was no problem with its condition. The store has racks of theme-driven costumes from which to choose. There are shelves of masks, swords, hats, and other paraphernalia. The manager said they have more costumes hidden in back storage, but if you come when they are not busy then they may bring them out. The store itself is a white house. Entrance to reserved parking (at the bottom of the steps, to the side of the house) is actually through the parking lot of the car repair business next door. The workers were friendly, helpful, and patient. The store closes at 6 PM during non-holidays and posts later closing hours during holidays. The store is stuffed so it'll be crowded on the day of the holiday; go early when it opens or the day before. Set aside extra time to choose your costume and plan to return your costume early, in case of traffic jams. In fairness, I wouldn't give much weight to the poor grades from some reviewers made years ago. I understand the reviewers had undergone through some rough times but this is a small business that probably has thin profits to offer fair prices. The costumes are unique so when a costume is taken from the store, other people who may want that particular style are denied the opportunity to rent that costume while it's gone; returning it to expect money back is denying the store money to pay rent, utilities, employees, costume cleaning, etc. Also, anyone in a last minute rush during the holidays at busy store times while expecting royalty service would be disgruntled and difficult. The rental agreement spells out the terms of borrowing the costumes and payment. People who want favors should either borrow from an understanding relative or shouldn't rent a costume from the beginning. The document exists for a reason, so expect to pay. Anything extra is gravy. My advice to people in general: be nice, expect the worst, and hope for the best. Go there when you aren't in a hurrying, desperate, and demanding frame of mind. I think you'll be pleased with the choices and service you get in return. read more

Staff were super-friendly, super-helpful. Amazing variety of costumes and accessories. This will be our first choice for costumes from now on. read more

I had a complicated request involving 4 costumes with a bunch of individual pieces and they worked with me to get everything just right. They listened to what I needed and totally delivered. Everyone was friendly and knowledgable. read more

There was a really nice lady that assisted me with shoulder length grey-blonde hair and an orange sweater on 10/30/14;the three stars are for her :) ! All the new costumes I tried on had some sort of hole or staining issue (deduct one point) ,the customer in the fitting room next door had the same issue.The suit I wanted was a green poison ivy bodysuit but some work was needed in regards to sewing a hole in the back up.I saw some of there hand sewn work that they say takes "5 minutes" and wasn't all that impressed.I asked that they use the sewing machine instead,I have an event to go to this evening and the last thing I needed was a split body suit allowing the world to see my "goodies".The owner was not the nicest (deduct one point) and said "no,it'll take to long.we can only hand sew today". I reminded her that I was paying full price for the costume ($60) so requesting I receive a quality product should not be out of the question,that's when my costume went bye bye and came back looking good 10-15 min later.The owner needs an attitude adjustment,I'll come back again though if in a real crunch where another option isn't available. read more