Lots of different groups and individuals hire from us for all sorts of occasions and events. If you are unsure how to use us:

• Have a look at the information below
• Give us a call to make sure you arrange the type of appointment that best suits you
• Visit us during our open session on the first Saturday of every month between 10am and 3pm

Please be aware that from January 2012 a minimum spend for appointments applies, unless you are a Member or a Friend of the Surrey Arts Wardrobe. During your appointment you will be given an opportunity to terminate the appointment before incurring this minimum spend. If you choose to continue your appointment beyond this point you are committing to spending a minimum of £25.00.

Appointments

Saturdays

Private Hire

Hiring for productions

Hiring props

Appointments

We are by appointment only, please call and book in advance as we can get very busy. Appointments are made on a first come, first served basis.

We aim to provide the best service and experience for all of our customers by arriving on time for your appointment you will help us to achieve this.

We offer different types of appointment; when booking an appointment please allow enough time to select costumes, try them on if necessary and allow us a minimum of 15 minutes to complete the required paperwork and process payment.

• Half an hour appointments

  These are generally requested by customers who know what you want from the collection and just want to pick up one or two items.

• One hour appointments:

  These are our most commonly booked appointment as they give the customers flexibility. This type of appointment can be useful if it is your first visit to Surrey Arts Wardrobe, if you are not sure what you want, or if you need a full outfit.

• Hour and a half appointments:

  These are best for customers hiring for a production or looking for costumes for a number of people.

If you have a really big show and you would like to spend half a day or a day perusing the rails then please split your time with us and book a half hour appointment to get set up then a longer appointment later to confirm and book out your costumes.

Costumes can be taken with you on the day of your appointment or alternatively costumes can be reserved with a deposit for a later collection date. (Terms and conditions apply)

Saturdays

You can visit the Wardrobe without an appointment in our open sessions that are held on the first Saturday of every month from 10am to 3pm. These sessions are run so that you can visit the Wardrobe, have a look at the collection, discuss how the Wardrobe works and your requirements and decide if you would like to make an appointment to find a costume during our standard opening hours.

Private Hire

What do we mean by Private Hire?

Private hire is generally costumes that are hired by individuals for fancy dress, for example; Goodwood, themed weddings, parties, events and school dress-up days. We specifically hire theatrical costume so we are fantastic for finding unique outfits and creating good quality fancy dress just that little bit out of the ordinary.

The Wardrobe is effectively a giant fancy dress box.

During your appointment our knowledgeable, creative and experienced staff will work with you to create the costumes you are looking for from the thousands of individual items in the collection. Book an appointment to dive in and see how your ideas translate into a creative costume.

• Find out more about Surrey Arts Wardrobe and our staff

How to get the most out of your appointment

We often find people who bring ideas, image references and a creative approach get the best results. The experience of putting together a bespoke costume can take longer than expected so please take this into consideration when you are booking an appointment slot. Please note that appointment times include time not only to find the costume and try it on, but also to complete the paperwork and payment. If you would like advice on this please refer to the appointments section at the top of this page or contact us.

A minimum spend of £25.00 applies unless you are a member or a friend of the Surrey Arts Wardrobe. You will be given an opportunity to terminate your appointment early without incurring this fee. However if you decide to stay for the full appointment you will be liable for the minimum spend of £25.00 even if you do not hire anything. If you are unsure if you want to book an appointment you may want to take advantage of our open sessions that run on the first Saturday of every month.

What to bring with you?

There are no absolute requirements for what you should bring with you. However, we suggest that you consider the following;

• What sort of costume you want; ideas and image references make finding the perfect costume easier.
• When do you need it; take away with you on the day or reserve to collect at a later date
• How will you pay for your hire and deposit. See our prices and payment page
• Membership or Friends Card. Your membership or friends benefits will not be given without your card. Costumes can be hired without being a member or friend however a minimum spend and deposits will apply. Surrey Arts Wardrobe membership page.
• Measurements. If you are getting costumes for friends or family who cannot make the appointment please bring either basic measurements for example; Chest, waist, height in centimetres or inches, or items of clothing that fit them.

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Hiring for Productions

What do we mean by a Production?

For us a production can be anything from amateur dramatics, school productions, theatre, to film, TV and other groups, projects and events. We specialise in theatrical costume hire so we are fantastic for sourcing costumes for your whole cast, young and old.

Our collection is particularly strong in original 20th century daywear and we also have a wide range of reproduction garments for period shows. These are complimented by our fabulous and extensive selection of accessories. During your appointment you can search the collection and pull costumes out on your own or our knowledgeable, creative and experienced staff will work with you and help to pull together the design scheme you are looking for from the thousands of individual items in the collection.

A minimum spend of £25.00 applies unless you are a member or a friend of the Surrey Arts Wardrobe. You will be given an opportunity to terminate your appointment early without incurring this fee. However, if you decide to stay for the full appointment you will be liable for The minimum spend of £25.00 even if you do not hire anything. If you are unsure if you want to book an appointment you may want to take advantage of our open sessions that run on the first Saturday of every month. Our membership scheme has been specially designed to make hiring from us easier for groups and large productions. Follow this link to have a look at more information about our membership scheme.

Come prepared

Measurements, reference images and a breakdown of the costumes you are looking for will help you find what you are looking for. The best results are achieved by those well prepared and who use their time with us efficiently.

Booking an appointment

Regular customers often find it beneficial to book a short research appointment 6 to 8 weeks prior to the production to see the collection. This is then followed up a couple of weeks later by a longer appointment to source and reserve the garments required. The experience of putting together the costume for a show can take longer than expected so please take this into consideration when you are booking an appointment slot. If you are not a member please discuss booking a research appointment with Wardrobe staff as a busy times we may not have the capacity or we may request that you come along to one of our open sessions on the first Saturday of the month. Please allow enough time to select costumes, measure if appropriate and allow us time to complete the required paperwork and arrange payment. If you would like advice on this please refer to the appointments section at the top of this page or contact us.

What to bring with you

There are no absolute requirements for what you should bring with you. However, we suggest that you consider the following:

• What sort of costume you want; ideas and image references make finding the perfect costume easier.
• When do you need it; take away with you on the day or reserve to collect at a later date. Costumes can be reserved no longer than 6 weeks prior to a production.
• How will you pay for your hire and deposit. See our prices and payment page
• Membership or Friends Card. We need to see the card before we can provide benefits. Costumes can be hired without being a member or a friend however there are certain benefits. If you are interested please see our Surrey Arts Wardrobe members and friends scheme page for more information.
• Cash or Card. Please note that deposits will be required and are taken by card.
• Measurements. Please bring appropriate measurements for the costumes you are looking for. Modern standard sizes (eg size 12) are of limited use when finding costumes from the collection.

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Hiring Props

The wardrobe has a limited range of props, mainly hand held costume props.

• If you are looking for larger props you might what to contact Propit

Our props are priced per item and are subject to terms and conditions. The collection of props is less cohesive than our costume collection. This is a result of the way in which the collection has grown organically. Props were acquired for youth theatre productions and items have been donated by members of the public.

For a price list of props please refer to our prices and payment page to download the pricelist.

Link to other Surrey Arts Wardrobe pages

Home page
Prices and payment
Membership
Opening times
How to find us