Kristine Cornish knows costumes.
Renaissance fair costumes. Super hero costumes. Intricate costumes with fancy wigs and a ton of accessories.
So, as owner of Drapeau’s Costumes of Maine in Lisbon, Halloween is her kind of holiday.
Cornish’s view: Don’t be afraid to accessorize. Batman is the best superhero costume ever.
And even though Drapeau’s never runs out, for the very best selection you might want to get in line. Two months early.
Name: Kristine Scribner Cornish
Age: 25 with 26 years experience (Add it together — 51.)
Town: Topsham, but originally Lewiston
Married/single/relationship: Married
Job: Costume Mistress/Owner Drapeau’s Costumes of Maine
What got you interested in running a costume shop? Sometimes I wondered myself, but I guess it started with my love of Renaissance “faires” and creating the garb to wear to fairs and feasts.
How many costumes does Drapeau’s have? Somewhere around 4,000.
How many wigs? Two-hundred-and-fifty or so to rent. Hundreds for sale.
Do you sell your costumes or are they for-rent only? We are predominantly rentals, but we do have a nice selection of costume accessories and create-a-costume kits.
How early in the Halloween season do you start running out of the most popular costumes? We have never run out, but we do start taking reservations on Sept.1 and have customers that take the day off to be first and get the best selection.
What are the hallmarks of a great costume? Accessories! Accessories! Accessories!
Best costume you’ve ever seen? A historically accurate 18th-century samurai warrior from Japan that I saw at a Renaissance fair a few years ago. Absolutely breathtaking!
What’s the most popular costume this season? Super heroes, then zombies and pirates.
Best superhero costume ever: Batman, Superman or Spider-Man? Definitely Batman. He’s so dark, brooding and mysterious.
What did you dress up as for Halloween when you were a kid? All handmade by my mother: leopard, convict, ghost, witch and figure skater.
What will be your Halloween costume this year? Not telling! I’ve created something over the top.
Halloween, it’s all about the candy or all about dressing up? For kids — candy. For adults — dressing up, because everything’s better in costume!
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- Kristine Cornish hangs out with some of her “friends” at her shop, Drapeau’s Costume Shop in Lisbon Falls recently.
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