Beverly Costumes
Chicago's Village in the City

Customers from all over the world have ventured into this quaint Chicago neighborhood. Historic homes next to vintage record shops make you think of a bygone era. Here is where Chris "Mrs Dee" Dreznes set up shop, and to think it all started with a search for an album by the Four Seasons in 1967.

 

Christine "Mrs. Dee" Dreznes who also created Beverly Records, a mother lode of music for vintage record collectors from as far away as Europe, China and Japan. Her stacks of wax and platters that matter numbered in the hundreds of thousands and filled her South Side shop, her home and "the warehouse."

 

"The record store was her passion," explained her son Michael Dreznes. "She would be there all day, and she loved it. She made a lot of friends and grew the business." "Mrs. Dee" and her husband, John, bought the original shop at 117th and Western in 1967, when it was primarily a candy and card store, despite its name, their son said. It carried only a small selection of popular albums and top 10 45-rpm records. "A woman came in and said she was looking for a Four Seasons album," he said. "My mom didn't have it but said what became the classic family line: 'We have it in the warehouse.' That meant, 'We don't know where the hell it is, but we'll find it for you.' "She went home to my sister Jackie's record collection and found the album. The customer came back and happily bought it. My mom thought, 'There's something to this.' " Expanded into costumes After that, the used-record business multiplied rapidly. Family members scoured Salvation Army and Goodwill shops, flea markets and garage sales. They bought out other record shops and started taking requests and "want lists" from collectors. People from other states would make the pilgrimage to the shop while in Chicago, he said. Then in the early 1970s, the business expanded into costumes. A record shop customer complained that there wasn't a good costume shop on the South Side. So Mrs. Dreznes told her she had just the "Fairy Godmother" costume for her "in the warehouse." Mrs. Dreznes bought an old prom dress at a thrift store and a tiara and a wand at Woolworth's, her son said. She put them together and -- presto -- she was in the rental costume business, which became the Beverly Costume Shop at 11628 S. Western.

Today Beverly Costtumes, stull run by the Dreznes Family, stocks the highest quality and most authentic costumes all at a reasonable price. "

"Beverly Costumes, doing business the old fashioned way, friendly!"