Many things come to mind when thinking about Hollywood costume, but few think about the venerable Western Costume Company, founded in 1912 when fledgling studios were start-ups in Hollywood.
The company was started by Louis L. Burns. Burns had collected Native American clothing, jewelry, weapons and props for renting through a trading store and then started Western Costume Company to supply Western films made in the new film industry. Cowboy star William S. Hart was a regular customer, as was Cecil B. DeMille. Years later director John Ford became an investor. The first Western Costume location was in a small space in downtown Los Angeles at 7th and Figueroa. By 1924 a ten-story building was needed when Western was supplying D.W Griffith with all his costumes. It had 154 employees. It was located on Broadway in downtown LA. A Hollywood branch was also opened on Sunset Boulevard near Western.
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