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"If it hasn't been in a play, I probably don't have it," Mayers says. <br />Mayers even alters and rents out wedding dresses from the collection. She <br />Lut <br />Imthat she does rent out the costumes for Halloween purposes as well, <br />only if visitors come with at least three specific ideas in mind first. No <br />aimless browsing allowed. With 76,000 costumes to choose from, a <br />Halloween shopper would become far too overwhelmed. <br />Mayers says she averages about four appointments per day. Her usual <br />business comes from regional theaters, local universities, church <br />production directors, the Center for History, the South Bend Civic Center <br />and South Bend school children. Visitors also come from as far as Hartford, <br />Mich. and Fort Wayne, Ind. The collection has made quite a name for <br />itself. <br />But it is not all fun and dress up <br />games for Mayers. Because the clothes <br />Me so delicate and dated, 7 equire <br />nstant repairs. She says she has a <br />rack of seven years worth of mending <br />to do in order to fix tears, beading, <br />relining and more. <br />Mayers is also quite handy at <br />repurposing her costumes. For <br />instance, if someone comes in wanting several 1920s flapper dresses worthy <br />of the musical "Chicago," Mayers may not have enough in stock. <br />But not to worry. She simply takes a few drop -waist dresses from the 196os, <br />adds pleats and beads to create a 1920s look. <br />Because the costumes are constantly changing, it is very difficult to manage <br />rae inventory of the collection. "It's going to take probably five years to <br />rcode everything. And even then it's still ongoing, it's never done," she <br />says. <br />3 of 6 1/28/2015 3:40 PM <br />