Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR’s Saturday morning newsletter, The Weekender. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here. 

Halloween is officially three weeks away, but for Cambridge-based Boston Costume, the busy season isn’t just about the spookiest night of the year.

“When school starts back up, that’s when everyone kind of says, ‘OK, summer’s over. Time to get back to work.’ And then out of that, events start popping up,” Eric Propp, rental supervisor at Boston Costume, said. “It doesn’t even have to be Halloween-related.”

September usually brings renaissance fairs, themed weddings and Oktoberfest celebrations, Propp said. And this year, the company is coming off a buzzier-than-usual summer with America’s 250th, after renting out colonial costumes to Massachusetts cities, towns and pro athletes. (Yes, they were the ones behind the Bruins’ stylish arrival in Tampa back in February, according to Propp.)

Still, being a year-round costume store can be “tricky,” Propp added. And around Halloween, people have options — they can thrift their costumes, pull from their closets, or buy from retailers like Spirit Halloween and Amazon. Propp and I talked about how Boston Costume has pivoted in recent years to keep up.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Field Guide to Boston: Discover — and rediscover — your Boston.

Hanna Ali: How does the store prepare for Halloween each year? 

Eric Propp:  “Many years ago, we would do a lot of package costumes, so then it was definitely trying to pick up on trends or anticipate what would be big. And even then, it was always tough because I feel like every year there’s something that happens mid-October kind of culturally … then all of a sudden everyone wants to be that thing.  So then the industry —as much as it tries — it can’t adapt quick enough. Maybe there’s some place in China, some cosplay website that can bang out something quick, but most everyone will miss that last-minute, hot item.

“ We 1791611335 try to corner a different market, carrying more accessories and things for more DIY. We have a DIY costume section, and we really rely on the Garment District, which is just right in the same building on the second floor. So, people can kind of put together a lot of different things without us even trying to guess what’s gonna be hot.”

HA: What’s it been like having to compete with Spirit Halloween popping all up over the place?

EP: “ For years, we were always competing with them, and then even other places. And that again is another reason where we’ve just decided to pivot and just be a different type of place with a different flavor. If they pop up somewhere kind of close, it’s not that we don’t pay attention to it, but we don’t have to worry.”

HA: Is there a particular local edge you’re able to provide that a big-box retailers can’t? 

EP: “That’s where the rental department really shines. People at the last minute come in and say, ‘Oh, my Amazon’s not gonna arrive in time. Here I am.’ They paid them, it didn’t work; or they bought something and it was flimsy and they hated it. We do have pop culture items. We have ‘Star Wars.’ But we’ll have a Darth Vader that’s got more armor pieces. Stormtroopers that are deluxe. Iron Man and Master Chief. Things like that where the quality is much better.

“If they were to have to go buy these items, a whole package would be more like $1,000. Whereas for us you spend $100, $110, maybe $125, and you can get head to toe covered in a look that’s specific and unique.  And then, you return it. You don’t have to worry about what you’re gonna do with it.

“[We’re also a ] two-in-one store. You can find a real vintage piece, a real ’60s or ’70s dress, get a wig, get stage makeup or get a rental. If you don’t know what to do for Halloween, just walk in with an open mind, and find that unique piece that really kind of pops to you, and then build something around it.”

Orc costumes by Eric Propp. (Courtesy Eric Propp)

HA: What’s your favorite among those elaborate rental costumes?

EP: “I had made these three giant Orc monster costumes for a play for Northeastern about five or six years ago, and luckily I was able to bring them with me and put them into rentals over here, so they’re just kind of these very deluxe funny items. They have big, crazy armor and muscles.”

HA: Do you have any predictions for what might be the most popular Halloween costumes this year? 

EP: “A lot of people are going colonial, so I think the 250th is still kind of hitting a little bit for Halloween.  We’re definitely getting a lot of requests for couples doing kind of colonial Revolutionary War era. And then as far as pop culture things, ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘Spider-Man’ were big movies. ‘Obsession,’ potentially — horror movies can always do well, and if you kind of look like the characters then you can pull it off for really cheap.”

HA: What are some costumes that have wowed you in the past?

EP: “[Last year] when the East Wing got demolished, I was like, ‘OK, who’s showing up as the half-demolished White House?’ And sure enough someone made this giant architectural piece with bulldozers, so I thought that was clever. I am definitely waiting for people to be the reflecting pool … or the phantom of the Kennedy Center.”

P.S. — This Halloween, we want to see some Boston-themed costumes! If you, a friend, family member or pet have previously used our great city as inspiration for a Halloween costume, submit your photos here Oct. 20 and they could be included in a round up later this month.