Houma native realizes her dream at Mermaid’s Masquerade

Bertha Walker
January 14, 2008
James Akins
January 16, 2008
Bertha Walker
January 14, 2008
James Akins
January 16, 2008

Houma native Bernadette Dugas has designed costumes for theater and films her entire adult life.

Several years ago, she had collected a plethora of costumes. “My mother said, ‘If you don’t find somewhere to store them, then I will – right in the trash,'” Dugas said.


The costume seamstress could not let her hard work and passion be tossed away. She decided to open a costume shop, where individuals could rent and buy her creations as well as the works of others.


“I have always wanted to design costumes because it’s fun and it allows me to be creative,” she said. “It’s what I love to do. It’s the pre-party period that gets me the most. The people are so excited to come in to try on their costumes and I get to share in that excitement.”

For years, Dugas said people discouraged her from her dream, saying that Houma residents wouldn’t support a costume shop. She believed them for a while, until about 13 years ago, when she finally opened Mermaid’s Masquerade Costumes in downtown Houma.


At first, the costume shop resided in a little house directly in front of her present Main Street shop. “Within a year, the shop had outgrown the space I had in the little house,” Dugas said.


In the roomier replacement shop, Dugas has found a niche outfitting customers for Christmas, Halloween, Mardi Gras and Easter.

Many of the costume shop’s competitors open seasonally only, but the Houma shop stays open year-round.


And after Hurricane Katrina shut down many New Orleans costume shops, Dugas saw her customer base climb.


Today, Mermaid’s Masquerade carries an array of costumes, 2,000 of which are the Houma woman’s personal design. The possibilities for maskers are virtually endless, she said.

“Anyone can come in and be anything they want be; they can be Zena the Warrior Princess or one of the Beatles,” Dugas said.


The shop’s highest volume of business comes during Halloween. The Mardi Gras season runs a close second.

Throughout the year, local high school students come in for homecoming and dress-up days, Dugas said. And local college students look to Mermaid’s Masquerade for costumes for fraternity and masquerade parties.

This Mardi Gras season, Dugas said her hot ticket item is goalie masks. Float riders paint and wear them during the parade.

“Many float riders have pre-ordered their costuming materials,” she said.

This year, Dugas expanded her Mardi Gras accessories to include jeweled tiaras, men’s crowns, scepters and feathered boas.

When asked about expanding to include beads and trinkets, she said, “I’ve thought about it a lot but I would need the space to put all the beads and fun throws because the krewe captains buy those items in bulk.

“I am still thinking about it, in fact,” Dugas continued. “We will see what the future holds for me.”

Toward the end of January, Mermaid’s Masquerade is branching out. Dugas’ son, Dustin Schuetter, is opening Rebel Vintage, a clothing store with authentic items from the 1960s through the 1980s. The target client base is teens, Schuetter noted.

“I want to give [customers] the tools that they need to be trendy and make their own style,” he said.

Schuetter, a professional actor in Los Angeles, spent three years in California studying his craft. He said many of the teens dress in vintage clothing on the West Coast.

“It’s like bringing a little West Coast flavor to the South,” he said.

Bernadette Dugas, owner of Mermaid’s Masquerade Costumes, said her favorite section of the costume shop is the wig sections because putting on a wig allows people to be who ever they want to be. Dugas has been in business for more than 10 years in downtown Houma. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN