Facebook groupBKE Costume Rental News Archive
2010
9 June 2010: Costume repairs, new costumes and new human masks
Various costumes have been and are being repaired. Some are unfortunately taking longer than anticipated. Various fairly realistic human masks have been ordered which are mainly intended to enhance costumes and give a different look. They would have to be fitted first and are available on request. Amongst the new costumes is a Joker costume, Princess Leia, Batgirl from the Gotham Nights series and a Batman costume for children.
11 May 2010: Flooding problems
The recent rains have caused some flooding related damages. Several costumes are being washed again as a result of getting wet.
26 April 2010: Twelve long awaited costumes will finally arrive
The twelve (originally thirteen) long awaited costumes will finally arrive tomorrow. I have no idea why they were held up so long, but I suspect customs and that strike that I heard about by customs officials.
19 March 2010: Thirteen new costumes ordered
A total of thirteen new costumes have been ordered. This includes some children sizes and small costumes for women. The list of costumes includes: Caribbean Buccaneer, Queen of the Pirates, Thing, Spider-Man 3, Devil Costume, Marie Antoinette, Madame Marquess, Viking Valkyrie, Spider-Man, Elvis Black Leather, Ancient Beauty, Pirate's Wench, Super Hero. Most of these costumes are for women and many are some are children sizes.
10 March 2010: Mexican costumes have finally arrived
Traditional Mexican costumes have finally arrived. They are quite scalable to cater for different sizes. Photos are still needed. The Mexican costumes can be found in the Western costumes section.
2 March 2010: Two costumes removed from website
Due to various reasons, two costumes had to be removed from the website.
25 February 2010: New superhero, bunny and werewolf costumes
Two new Venom costumes, two bunny costumes, one werewolf costume and a schoolgirl costume have been added to the collection, as well an inflatable Hulk costume that is still being tested for consideration to be listed on the website.
16 February 2010: Mouse and Mexican costumes setback
There have been several setbacks with getting the mouse and Mexican costumes made. Plans are being made to still get the costumes made.
19 January 2010: New mexican and mouse costumes
One male and one female traditional Mexican costume is being made and a black mouse with dress costume is being planned due to popular demand.
6 January 2010: Premises change
Much needed change on the premises have been done due to the big problem of running out of space. All costumes have been shifted into the Wendy house at the back. A computer still needs to be set up for the booking system.
6 January 2010: New white bunnies
Two new white bunny suits have been added to the collection. They are mostly idea for small people around 1.5m height. The suits fit to 1.8m, but then the bottom of the legs show and the back opens easily.
2009
9 December 2009: Annual trip to Namibia to visit family
The annual trip to Namibia is starting on Sunday, December 2009 with return date being 4 January 2010. Final costume bookings will be accepted until midnight on Friday, 11 December 2009. Any existing bookings during this time period will be handled by the people living in the main house. Emails with details will be sent out the Friday or Saturday. Saturday is also server installation at main work which means costume collections should be done really early in the morning.
9 December 2009: Repaired costumes are back
Several costumes that have been away for repairs are finally back and are available for renting.
16 September 2009: Website changes
Due to various changes and preparation for new sections, the website is in the process of being restructured. For a while this caused the search not to work, which has now been repaired. Upcoming sections are a masks only list as well as costume suggestions for couples to help with making decisions.
5 September 2009: New lion costume arrived
The new lion costume has finally arrived and its looks really great.
31 August 2009: Disney buys Marvel
Disney has bought Marvel for 4 billion USD, which means that any Marvel character could be considered a Disney character.
2 September 2009: Lion costume
A new adult sized lion costume is expected soon due to the many requests for one.
23 August 2009: Devil and angel costumes
One devil and one angel costume have arrived. Currently they are located in the Other Costumes section, but might get a section of their own.
18 August 2009: Price adjustments
Selected costumes are getting new adjusted prices, especially those that are rather expensive to maintain. This is mainly due to too many damages received recently on various costumes. Maintenance is quite expensive and time consuming.
18 August 2009: New dinosaur suit finally arrived
The long anticipated new dinosaur suit has finally arrived. This one requires a second person to help with putting it on. The hands are a little bit small, so it does not fit big people. The suit itself has some internal padding for the body shape. Unfortunatley it gets rather hot as well.
25 July 2009: New light purple dinosaur suit
A new light purple dinosaur suit is expected within the next week. This suit has an internal structure for the body shape, which makes it look the same no matter who wears it provided that person is not too large.
25 June 2009: Costume upgrade update
Amongst the costumes that were upgraded were both Batgirl costumes where the one belt was gone and the other belt had velcro issues. Additional eyemasks have been made as well.
The Supergirl costumes are getting new belts and the boottops are being replaced with better ones.
The purple dinosaur also got improvements for the feet because that was cumbersoe to wear and the head is being fixed for visibility.
20 June 2009: Various costume upgrades
Various costumes are getting new replacement parts or improvements of existing pieces that are having design flaws, weak points or manufacturing flaws.
21 March 2009: Price changes
Due to the many cases of costumes being returned late and another costume loss, the pricing model has been changed:
Renting fee: 100 Rand
Every additional full day: 50 Rand
Deposit: 200 Rand
16 March 2009: Various Zentai suits including Power Rangers
A lot of Zentai (based on dancewear and movie bluescreen effects) suits have been ordered in different sizes. Some are based on superhero characters and others are based on Power Rangers for all those P parties. Costumes for men and women are in this collection in different sizes.
13 March 2009: Indian (Western) costumes have arrived
Two Inidian (Western theme) costumes have arrived, one male and one female. The male shirt is a bit smaller than expected, so it will not fit larger people.
7 March 2009: Shopping cart update
The shopping cart indicator has been added to the website. Until the cart part and the modified booking system is complete, it will not be of much use.
4 March 2009: Body shaping parts
A upper body muscle suit has arrived as well as suit for female body shaping. These are meant for use under costumes for changing the body shape a bit. A waist cincher is available as well. These can be worn by men and women and will be displayed in a new category on the website.
4 March 2009: Website updates
There are currently website updates in progress, which involves a shopping cart based system aimed for those that want to rent two or more costumes. Occasionally some parts of the website might be broken as work is progressing. At the moment, the booking system does not say when the booking was successful. Resubmitting still shows the message that a costume has been booked.
23 February 2009: New superhero costumes have arrived
The five expected superhero costumes have arrived earlier than expected. This included two new Supergirl costumes, one of the is an x-small size and the other one is large. A new Batman Begins costume is in the list as well as a detailed Ironman top.
15 February 2009: New superhero costumes expected
Several new superhero costumes have been ordered and should hopefully arrive within two weeks, depending on how long they are held up at customs. The costumes include: Captain America, the new Iron Man costume (top and mask only, wear your own pants), Batman Begins (large), Supergirl (like the older design but different material and in small and large)
9 January 2009: Website navigation changes
The costumes section has received new navigation changes. It is not 100% finished yet, but already usable. The costumes category menu with the starting letters is now on the left. Currently it floats on the same location, but this might also change.
2008
19 December 2008: Marylin Monroe is finally back
After more or less three weeks, the Marylin Monroe dress and wig has finally been returned.
2 December 2008: On leave from 21 December onwards
I will be on leave out of the country from 21 December onwards. All costumes needed for new year\'s will have to be booked for collection the latest on 20 December 2008 and return date from around 2/3PM and later onwards on 3 January 2008.
25 November 2008: Poobear and gorrilla costumes
Due to popular demand a yellow/orange bear costume with red shirt and white scarf has been added. A gorilla costume is expected the earliest by this coming Friday (28 November 2008).
18 October 2008: New and repaired costumes
The Darth Vader and Clone Trooper costumes are back from repair. Due to popular demand, costumes of Winnie and Tigger are being made.
10 September 2008: New witch dresses and other costumes
Due to popular demand, two long witch dresses with hat and waist clincher will be available soon. Other costumes are in planning due to various requests.
1 September 2008: Previous news correction about Zentai suits
Correction for the previous news item: The Catwoman suit was initially ordered as a black Spider-Man suit with white markings. The ordering system was for a while showing it as Catwoman. Both Zentai suits have now arrived, they are height limited to just above 1.83m as aboslute maximum height.
19 August 2008: Zentai suits
Two Zentai suits have been ordered. One is a red/blue Spider-Man suit and one is a grey/black Catwoman suit. Both sutis are one piece only including attached gloves and feet, but no attached soles. The sizes will be up to a height of 1.85m. Due to popularity, plans are being made to get two Supergirl and Batgirl variants. They will hopefully make maintenance easier. Zentai suits have practical use for dancing and movies. More information at: Zentai, Wikipedia
30 July 2008: Dinosaur suit has arrived
A lot of enquiries were made about a dinosaur suit. This suit has now finally arrived. Its renting price is a bit higher than the other costumes due to the value of the suit.
28 July 2008: Chicken and nun costumes
During my trip I got a chicken costume and a nun costume. There have been several requests for chicken and animals in general. The nun costume comes in one size only.
28 July 2008: Back from trip
Returned from a one week trip outside of South Africa due to a family funeral reason. I hope not too many people got upset due to this.
14 July 2008: Short vacation
Due to personal reasons, I will go on vacation for about one week starting on 18 July 2008 early morning and returning on 26 July 2008 at around 2PM. Another contact person will be available during that time period at various hours but not all of the time. Please make arrangements well ahead of time.
1 July 2008: Dinosaur suit due to popular demand
Due to the popular demand, a huggable adult sized dinosaur suit for children events is in production.
3 June 2008: Modified booking system
Due to recent incidents with two costumes being returned really late and wrong information entered in the costume booking process, the booking system has been made stricter and will most likey get a South African ID number validator if needed.
20 May 2008: New Tinkerbelle dresses
Three new light green Tinkerbelle dresses are now available in sizes 6, 10 and 14. They still have to be added to the catalogue.
19 March 2008: More Easter Bunny suits
Due to popular demand, more Easter Bunny suits are going to be added. The next two are expected the earliest this coming Thursday, possibly only Easter Friday.
6 March 2008: New Easter Bunny suits have arrived
Two new Easter bunny suits have arrived, as well as a Marylin Monroe dress and an Evil Queen (Disney character) costume. Wigs for Elvis and Marylin Monroe still have to be ordered.
3 March 2008: Bunny suits arriving this Saturday
Two full bunny suits, one Marylin Monroe dress and one Evil Queen costume (Disney character from Snow White) are arriving the latest this coming Saturday, 8 March 2008.
7 February 2008: Bunny suits and Marylin Monroe
Two bunny suits, a Marylin Monroe dress (wig coming soon) and the evil queen from Disney\'s Snow White have been ordered. The bunny suits are hard to get this time of the year. The Marylin Monroe dress is due to popular demand, a wig and possibly a realistic mask will be ordered as well to complete the look.
2 February 2008: Search upgraded again
The long overdue search for a type has been added to the costume search. This will now also allow Star Wars masks to be shifted into the Star Wars section, the same applies to wigs. Please note, that most of the wigs are not yet listed. Once a proepr photo is available, then they will be listed.
31 January 2008: Search system upgrade
The costume search system has received and upgrade to make sure that costumes are listed for searches related to them.
10 January 2007: New costumes added
Several new costumes have been added to the website. One batch is only going to arrive this coming Saturday in the later morning, so they will not be marked as available until then. The Chinese clothes just need photos, but they are now also listed.
4 January 2008: Chinese clothing
Three Chinese dresses and two shirts have been added to the collection. Please note that the hips of the dresses are not wide and that the Chinese size are a bit smaller.
2007
14 December 2007: New costumes ordered
Five new costumes were ordered which were requested or searched for: Padme and Anakin (Star Wars characters), Elvis, Cleopatra and Spidergirl (a larger teenager size). The costumes are expected to arrive in January 2007.
17 October 2007: New catwoman costumes
On Monday, 22 October 2007, a larger and a smaller version of the full suit Catwoman costume which is normally available in one size only. When these costumes arrive, that will also include the batman costume which is currently being repaired.
27 September 2007: New costumes are available
A padded black Spider-Man costume, Tweetie, two times two different black ghost with while smiley face variants and a mummy costume are available. The faces of the ghost costumes glow in the dark.
21 September 2007: Several costumes ordered
The following costumes have been ordered and should be available before the end of October 2007: Two different types black ghost with white face (two each, for couples), black padded Spider-Man costumes with additional gloves to to popular demand, a yellow bird as seen in some cartoons and a mummy costume.
7 August 2007: 40 days requests
The 40 days requests are becoming a lot lately. Many of the popular costumes have been booked already. In some cases there is not even time between bookings to still wash them, especially the padded costumes since they take so long to dry.
5 August 2007: Repairs
A series of repairs on various costumes is being done. As a result, several costumes are currently marked for repairs and are not available for booking. Those already booked for 11 August should and most likely will be available from roughly the afternoon onwards.
4 August 2007: Big costume party at the annual German carnival
As every year, the main event of the German carnival in Stellenbosch is a big costume party with live band. The event starts after 20:00 until after midnight. The prize draw for best costume is around midnight. The event is taking place in the Van Der Stel Sportsclub in Stellenbosch near Eikestad Mall, opposite the police station.
Website: http://matieka.bkernst.net/
Venue: Van Der Stel sportsclub in Stellenbosch
1 August 2007: Price changes
From 1 August 2007, the renting fees of costumes will get a 20 Rand increase to 100 Rand. The returnable costume deposit will change to 150 Rand. This is mainly due to maintenance expenses and too many people not looking after the costumes while they rent them. This will also help towards getting the costumes requested by many.
17 June 2007: Spider-Man at Cape Town Book Fair
Spider-man makes an appearance at 12.00 on Sunday 17 June (Readers Den, Stand G16, Exhibition Floor ). Spider-man will hand out a selection of all ages comics - kids only ! Photo opportunities with Spider-man are welcome. More information: Cape Town Book Fair
Website: http://www.readersden.co.za/sub/other/events.htm
Venue: Readers Den stand at CTICC
19 May 2007: New costumes
Shrek, Fiona and The Flash costumes have arrived. A new Batman mask, belt and gloves also came with that.
5 May 2007: Free Comic Book Day 2007 Report
The annual Free Comic Book Day event happened. With three costumed superhero characters present. Read the official report on the Readers Den website: Free Comic Book Day report.
5 May 2007: Free Comic Book Day
The annual Free Comic Book Day will be happening. As in the previous years, costumed characters can be seen at the Readers Den during the time of the event.
27 April 2007: Competition at Kehls
On Saturday the 27th of April three characters could be seen at the competition held at Kehls Upholstery Suppliers in Voortrekker Road, Maitland.
6 April 2007: New superhero costumes ordered
Three superhero costumes have been ordered: A different variant of Wonder Woman with a short skirt, Captain America with additional shield and boot covers, Wolverine
5 January 2007: New wigs
Various wigs are available, most of them are black.
2006
11 December 2006: New Incredibles costumes
Incredibles costumes for an adult couple as available as well as a child version.
New medieval and Batgirl costumes for the ladies
A new medieval dress has arrived for ladies. It caters a bit for different sizes. The expected Batgirl costume has also arrived.
New bear, cat, medieval and Batgirl costume(s) expected near or before end of July 2006
Several new costumes are being made and or have been ordered. To prevent double-booking, another Batgirl costume has been ordered. Several other costumes, in particular the much requested medieval, are being made locally in Cape Town.
New booking system
A new costume booking system has been implemented. Currently it is still being set up and tested. The booking system should be available soon. This first version will only allow the booking of one costume at a time.
Two new superhero costumes have arrived
Another Superman costume and Space Ghost have arrived.
The emperor cometh!
An Emperor Palpatine costume with additional hands, Jedi Robe and another Emperor Palpatine mask have been ordered.
21 April 2006: Three superhero costumes have arrived
The three expected superhero costumes have arrived on Saturday. The new Wonder Woman is a small size, while Wolverine and Captain America are a medium size. An additional shield and boot covers have been added for Captain America to complete the look.
Brown and white bunny suits have arrived
One light brown and one white bunny suit have arrived just in time for Easter.
Free Comic Book Day 2006 on 6 May 2006
Free Comic Book Day 2006 coming up this Saturday. See at least three costumes worn at at the event!
New superhero costumes have arrived
The following costumes have arrived: Storm, Supergirl 2005 edition small size and deluxe Hulk (padded muscles). An oversized Hulk mask is also available.
New costumes arriving on 1 April 2006
This coming Saturday, new costumes will be picked up that have arrived. Two bunny suits and superhero costumes are expected.
Free Comic Book Day 2006 discount available
Renting fees cut less than half for costumes rented out for Free Comic Book Day 2006 comstume contest. Book soon!
Details about Free Comic Book Day 2006 added
New details about Free Comic Book Day 2006 available from Readers Den, including spot prizes for those that dress up for the event.
Website: http://www.readersden.co.za/sub/other/fcbd2006.htm
New superhero costumes have arrived
Three new superhero costumes have arrived today: Captain America, Batgirl (2005 edition) and Supergirl (2005 edition).
Price adjustments!
Due to damages and cost recovery of some costumes, the renting price and the deposit have both been increased by ten Rand (ZAR). In the long-term, this will also help funding for new costumes a bit faster to comply easier with popular requests.
New superhero costumes ordered
Three new superhero costumes have been ordered: Captain America, Batgirl (2005 edition) and Supergirl (2005 edition). Batgirl has been a popular request and the design of the two superheroin costumes should also take care of some size problems...
2005
Pig mask
Due to requests for animals and "P" parties a pig mask has been purchased and for couples there is now also a pirate costume.
Darth Vader costume
A deluxe Darth Vader costume has arrived.
Superman 2 and a small Catwoman costume are here
Due to popular demand and age, a second medium sized Superman costume has been added to the collection, as well as a small Catwoman costume.
Website re-design
The entire website has received a minor interface update.
New photos
Seven out of eight Star Wars characters were rented for a year-end function.
Four new superhero costumes have arrived
New superhero costumes have arrived today: Invisible Woamn, Iron Man, Mr Incredible and a muscle chest version of Batman from the animated series.
Four new superhero costumes ordered
New superhero costumes have been ordered: Invisible Woman, Iron Man, Mr Incredible and a muscle chest version of Batman from the animated series.
Monte Vista satellite photo added
Due to inaccuracies of maps, a satellite photo of Monte Vista from 2001 has been added to the footer of every page.
New costumes have arrived!
Supergirl and Wonder Woman costumes have arrived. The same day, Supergirl has been rented out already.
New female superhero costumes ordered
Supergirl and Wonder Woman costumes have been ordered and should be arriving at the end of May 2005 or shortly after.
New clown suit
A clown suit has been added to the collection.
Free Comic Day 2005 Results
The Free Comic Book Day 2005 at the Readers Den was a great success. Pictures are available in the gallery section, a report is listed on ICV2.com
Website: http://www.readersden.co.za/sub/other/fcbd2005.htm
Free Comic Day 2005
Three superheroes (Batman, Superman and Spider-Man) and possibly a ninja or a Star Wars character can be seen at the Free comic Book Day 2005 at the Readers Den in Claremont.
Website: http://www.readersden.co.za/sub/other/fcbd2005.htm
Masks and new costume coming soon
Darth Maul and Darth Vader masks have been ordered, a new Batman costume will also arrive with those.
Next set of photos added to the costumes page
Clone Trooper and Chewbacca photos have been added to the costumes page.
First set of photos have been added to the costumes page
To show how some of the costumes really look like, various photos have been taken and added to the costumes page. The Jedi Knight costume has now also been added to the collection.
New costume photos taken for gallery
To show how some of the costumes really look like, various photos have been taken, they should be available soon.
New Yoda mask arrived
During Halloween 2004 the Yoda mask was lost, a new mask for the costume arrived on Tuesday, 22 February 2005.
New costumes have arrived
The following costumes have been added to the current range: Clone Trooper (Star Wars), Jango Fett (Star Wars), Spiderman, Catwoman (2004 movie) and Queen Amidala (Star Wars).
2004
New costumes planned
The following costumes are planned to be added to the current range: Clone Trooper (Star Wars), Jango Fett (Star Wars), Spiderman, Catwoman (2004 movie).
Closing times update
Revised closing times: 16 December 2004 until 2 January 2005, they might get extended by one full week into January.
New arabian costumes
Male and female costumes have arrived for an arabian nights theme.
Closing times update
Revised closing times: 16 December 2004 until 7 January 2005.
Closing times in December/January
The business will be closed from 18 December 2004 until and including 2 January 2005 due to vacation reasons.
Halloween Requests: Costumes are becoming rare
If you want costumes come early, the requests are piling up.
Map: Goodwood map added
To make it easier to find the place, the Goodwood map from Brabys/Ananzi has been added.
Products: Gorilla suit
Plans to get a Gorilla suit made have been started, since ordering one from overseas is currently too expensive and not a good option.
21 October 2004: Products: Two arabian nights costumes coming soon!
In about two weeks from today one male and one female adult size arabian costume should arrive to be added to the existing collection.
