According to the women, all the clothing ‘turned out very well’. “Theatre associations, schools that want to do something with musicals, some private individuals who wanted a specific costume that they had a memory of, and a Groningen competitor, they mainly picked up costumes from us when they heard that we were going to stop. And that gives us a nice feeling. Because it’s nice that the costumes get a second life and at least don’t end up in the landfill, because that would be a shame.”
The space that they currently rent on Havenkade is filled with three clothing racks, chock full of costumes for Sinterklaas and Christmas. All in all, about a thousand pieces of clothing. They are desperately needed these weeks. And they’re not going to throw them away either.
“So we are definitely stopping the Kostuumcentrale here on the Havenkade, that is over and done with. But we cannot say goodbye completely. We actually have so many permanent tenants who really need us every year during Sinterklaas and Christmas time. And not to forget about the Oktoberfests. We don’t want to disappoint them.”
And so both ladies hint that they will provide that loyal customer base with good costumes again next year. They don’t know how, what and where yet. They still have to talk about that. “But now let’s get through the hectic pace of this December and all the emotions of the closure. And when we have recovered from everything, we will see how we want to continue. So saying goodbye to everything is not something we can do yet. You can’t just let this go after so many years,” the duo concludes.