Applause Costumes and Dancewear is closing at the end of August after 20 years in business. (Photo/Nancy Hanson)

Jinny Trotti (in Superman costume) with mannequins.Nancy Edmonds Hanson 

After 20 years of outfitting everyone from actors, dancers and magicians to trick-or-treaters, Moorhead’s Applause Costumes and Dancewear is taking its last curtain call.

The shop at 788 Second Ave. S. is closing at the end of August. In the meantime, owner Jinny Trotti needs to sell 2,000 rental costumes: Wizards and witches, princesses and pirates, Renaissance ladies and Halloween spooks and more than 30 mascots. And don’t forget that full set of the Seven Dwarves.

Applause has been clothing and accessorizing performers of every ilk ever since Jinny opened its almost magical doors in 2005. Her difficult decision to sell off her merchandise was forced by the need to sell her building. “This place needs work beyond what I can afford,” she says. It has been sold by a local realty firm to a commercial client who, she believes, plans to gut and repair it, then again use it for retail.

Too, the trend toward online purchasing has diminished her market. “COVID did a number on us,” she concedes, “and we never were able to really recover.”

The shop, modest on the outside, is crammed with a near-magical mystery trip of the imagination. Those costumes alone demand hours of discovery. In sizes from toddler to 3X and 4X, they offer a potential treasure chest of opportunity to theatre groups. She has acres of fabric, too – glittery, silky and furry – along with countless costume and vintage patterns in every size.

There’s more, including gear for every style of dance. There are wigs, theatrical makeup and so-called “makeup appliances” including latex scars, wounds and bullet holes. Or how about unicorn horns and antlers?

Over the years, Applause has outfitted all the performing arts – theatre, dance, gymnastics, cheerleaders, skaters, clowns, magicians and jugglers. It has also enticed trick-or-treaters with imaginative looks. She adds, “We also have tombstones, skulls, body parts ….”

She has the bones of the business for sale, too, including office furniture and supplies, clothing racks and shelving and all the rest …as well as five lifelike mannequins.

Hours have been extended for the closing sale. Applause will be open at least through the end of August from 1 to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, and from noon to 4 Sundays. For more information, call Jinny at (218) 287-3421 or message her on the Applause Costumes and Dancewear page on Facebook.