Tours

Welcome to the Tours Department of your Costume College weekend.  Taking a Tour with us is a great way to get to know other attendees! If you don’t know a soul when you arrive, you will by the end of the tour.

Signing up for Tours:  Tours are treated just like the workshop classes so check your scheduling and preferences very carefully, and sign up quickly!!!  (Like all workshop classes, tours are not transferable, and you cannot sell your spot.)  Only Costume College registered students can sign up for tours.

Tours, like workshops, are an additional fee, which includes transportation, snacks and water onboard the bus.  Please contact the Tours chair for more information about specific tours, timing, etc.

All tours gather in the lobby of the hotel, and depart at a specific time.  Tour return times vary due to LA traffic.

Minors: All minors regardless of age must be accompanied on the tour by a parent or guardian.  Both minor and parent/guardian must purchase tickets to the tour.

Tour Registration opens May 5, 2023.

FIDM Museum’s Clothing Archives Tour Thursday, July 27, 2023 at 9:00am

Join us behind the scenes of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum’s clothing and accessories archives with Director and Curator Kevin Jones. Share his boundless enthusiasm for the collecting, displaying, and research of costumes and their history.

Wonderful things are stored away here, some never seen, some part of famous past or future exhibitions. You will see things up close, not behind museum barriers and learn how exhibitions are curated, garments are researched, and other trade secrets.

Kevin will share some of his favorite pieces of fashion history. Participants will be able to handle the same teaching garments that FIDM students use to see how things are made. Additionally, for the very first time, we will be able to request a few specific items to be pulled from the archives just for our viewing. After you have registered you will receive instructions on how to request an item. With luck, one of your requests will be pulled for us to view!

If time allows, we can shop at the Scholarship Store where manufacturers donate new clothing, fabric, trims, and accessories benefitting FIDM students.

The tour will meet at the ground floor escalators on Thursday, July 29, 2023 at 9:00am. The tour will take about four hours (depending on traffic!). Water will be provided on the bus. Cost is $40. Tour Registration opens May 3, 2023. 

Downtown Los Angeles Fabric District Tour Monday, July 31, 2023 at 9:00am

Once again, Costume College will be offering a tour of the Fabric District in Downtown Los Angeles. Whether you are looking for natural fiber fabrics to create historical garments or fabrics to realize your fantasy dreams, you will find what you need there. There is hardly a fabric, trim, or tool you can imagine that you can’t find with a little guidance and a native guidebook.

An air-conditioned bus will transport you from and back to the hotel on Monday, July 31. The bus leaves the hotel promptly at 9:00 AM and will leave downtown to return to the hotel promptly at 4:00 PM. Traffic being what it is in Los Angeles, punctuality is important. Travel in Los Angeles is not so much about distance as it is time of day.

As we will be traveling buses, there will be plenty of room for all of your purchases (or your luggage if you are planning to head straight to the airport on your own from downtown.) The buses park all day in a centrally located place so that you can store your purchases while you continue shopping or if you would just like a comfortable place to sit down and take a break. Light snacks and water are provided on the bus.

Prior to the tour, you will receive your copy of the CGW Native Guide Book listing the names, addresses and variety of items sold in most of the larger stores. The book will also contain the names and addresses of some of the local eateries.

The fee for this all-day shopping extravaganza is $40.00. Registration for this Tour opens May 3, 2023.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Natalie Meyer at [email protected].