Store Displays Costumes

Transitions thrift store in Boston will help you look your best for the annual Adams House Fete or wherever your ghoulish glee leads.

A special Halloween section will feature the store's "wildest stuff," according to Wayne P. Viens, its manager.

Looking for a unique costume? Rifle through Transitions's 500 polyester suits, circa 1973. These stellar fashion finds sell for just five dollars. Or try on 20 Eva Gabor wigs.

"Not that people are going to necessarily wear that for Halloween," Viens says.

The store, which opened six months ago on Harrison Avenue as part of the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter, sells inexpensive used clothing and housewares. Its revenue is used for equipment and rehabilitation programs at the shelter.

"Our mission is to raise money for the Pine Street Inn," Viens said. "I feel good if a mother can come in here with four or five kids and spend a third of what she would spend at the stores."

Transitions opened last April with a celebrity fashion show and raffle. Prizes included T-shirts autographed by Whoopi Goldberg and Jay Leno and a baseball from Geena Davis.

Since its opening, Transitions has become an oft-frequented spot and the store's staff even sound an old bicycle horn to celebrate the arrival of the store's regulars, Viens said.

Viens says that the store's out-of-the-way location allows its staff to become better acquainted with its customers. The bike horn, music and conversation are all part of the plan to ensure that people have fun at Transitions.

"We get a lot of families," says Viens. "That's my biggest thing."

Viens says some customers take advantage of "dollar-a-pound" clothing sales on Fridays and Saturdays.

He says customers from Haiti, Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic purchase supplies at the sales to send their families overseas.

"We're helping some people who are close to being homeless," he says.

The section for Halloween garb offers the chance for creativity, says Viens. But he says he has seen people displaying varied fashion sense all year round in Harvard Square.