THE NEWS
It's 2010 and we are still waiting for a glimmer of sunshine, here at Antoinette's capacious wardrobe. With Valentine's Day, the Venice Carnival and the Winter Olympics passing, we are getting ready for a bumper 2010. OK, well not bumper, just less recessionary than last year. You never know when you need a costume and when your cousin is going to spring on you that her 30th birthday is actually "Pimps and Ho's" or when you find your tux is tight on your post Pancake Tuesday Girth!
On this page you can discover why we are who we are, and where we are.
"Whereabouts are you?", customers ask from their cars, stuck in traffic. It's always difficult to say, exactly. Strictly speaking we are in Sydenham because of our postcode, but we are more or less equidistant between Sydenham and Forest Hill stations, and only slightly further from the Sydenham Hill station (which is in Dulwich, don't ask), over the exhausting eponymous hill. As a rule, if you are on the South Circular, in Forest Hill or Dulwich, you are nearly here, and if you are descending Sydenham Road (inexplicably referred to by the Council as The High Street!!!), you are probably nowhere near us.
It's almost time to look fondly on memories of the year. Favourite customers are those who enter into the spirit and want to plunge into the world of dressing up.
Dressing men as women and women as men is always entertaining. We can't remember how many times we have used the lines "No, you may have a woman's waist but your man's shoulders will not look right in that halter neck number." Or, "Yes, Modom, you are probably larger in build than Admiral Nelson was."
Here, at Antoinette's, we are big fans of the London pop star Chipmunk, especially after we rented him some 1920's costumes for his "Diamond Rings" video. If you are not "down with the kids", ask your children about him, and also his mates Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder. It's where it's happnin, Man.
There was a spate of hirings for "Famous, but Dead" Fancy Dress parties, this Hallowe'en. Speaking as a dead woman, Antoinette found some people's choices slightly tasteless, and tried to steer them away from the recently deceased, towards noble figures, such as Attila the Hun or Jezebel.
We're always slightly jealous of the fun time our costumes have while we are clearing up the debris on a Saturday night, although Antoinette never agrees to attend parties alongside her costumes, because the evening is a constant anxiety - "Please don't to THAT in my costume!"
New Year is our busiest time, so start thinking what you want to wear. Just before Christmas nothing happens in Fancy Dress, apart from a few Santa Claus outfits (and yes, we do stock a couple of sexy versions!), so once Santa has been provided with his furry thong we are closed for a few days. Please note we are closed for Christmas from Thursday 17th to Monday 28th December, inclusive, and open for the New Year rush throughout Tuesday 29th to Thursday 31st December. Pre-Christmas hirers can make an appointment for Wednesday the 23rd, and I am sure Antoinette will try and shove a mince pie down them in the process.
Antoinette Costume Hire has a bit of a name for our interesting window displays. On this page you will see some examples. Enjoy!
THE HISTORY
Once a little village, the Sydenham/Forest Hill/Crystal Palace neighbourhood was once a sleepy woodland.
Once Crystal Palace and the railways arrived though, everything changed. Large houses were built all around what is now Crystal Palace park, and Forest Hill as a neighbourhood was created. Sydenham had a busy high street, and our terrace, High Street Buildings, was built in the 1890's, as a department store.
Some of the oldest houses in the district are near to us, dating back to the 18thC. Sydenham Wells Park, around the corner from us, is the site of the reason there was originally building here at all, as spring water was discovered there, which, it was believed, had healing properties.
Many famous people have lived in this neighbourhood over the years. Once Antoinette has finished her local history bedtime reading we will be telling you a little about them.
Shopping streets always go through highs and lows, as the economy fluctuates, and sometimes entire districts move, due to convenience and demand. Sydenham's centre moved. As houses were built all down the long hill from the Crystal Palace to Bell Green, and the population density increased lower down the hill, shops were needed in Sydenham Road, and it is to here that Sydenham town centre re-located. The stations, which so often are hubs in themselves, at Forest Hill and Sydenham, became, in the 20thC, the "centres" of each district.
The High Street was no longer the main street of either Sydenham or Forest Hill, and eventually the road became "Kirkdale", from Sydenham station all the way up to the top of Sydenham Hill, a distance of more or less 1 mile. Antoinette Costume Hire and High Street Buildings are about half way along. From Sydenham or Forest Hill stations we are about 10 minutes' walk.
There are some very good businesses near to us. Also in High Street Buildings are Avalon, an antiques shop, "Alhambra", a Spanish fancy goods shop, and a useful pharmacy. We also highly recommend "Behind the Boxes" an Art Deco antiques specialist, a piano retailer, and one of the best restaurants in the area, "That's Amore".
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