Josette’s a fun-time operation since 1972
By JIMMIE BELL
BILOXI
For 38 years, Josette’s has fulfilled the costuming needs of thousands of Coast residents. And the Carnival season is an especially busy time of year.
Owner Josette Locklar, who embodies the company’s spirit and success, has helped turn the Mississippi Coast into a serious fun-time rival of its famous neighbor, New Orleans.
Josette’s orders for Carnival costumes and throws now reach two years in advance, and success seems to follow the company’s every move.
Locklar’s son, Jacob Locklar, said the staff of 12 operates year-round to accommodate seasonal and theatrical costuming needs. He said Mardi Gras and Halloween are the busiest seasons.
Said Jacob Locklar: “Our customers know exactly what they want, and our crew of designers, seamstresses and buyers conduct the entire operation under one roof” — a 25,000-square-foot factory at 902 Howard Ave., in the heart of Biloxi’s Vieux Marche.
The origin
Locklar began her business career with an antique shop in Pascagoula in 1972. But her direction changed when a customer asked to rent Mardi Gras beads that Locklar had for sale. The request led Locklar to tap into a new market of Mardi Gras rentals and to expand the business. If beads were so popular, why not costumes and decorations?
Over the years, the firm’s services have expanded even further to include tailoring men’s dress suits and gowns fit for royalty — as in Carnival royalty.
The demand for such a well-rounded menu has multiplied yearly, and today — though Locklar confines her own contribution primarily to costume design — her ideas are heralded and ordered annually from New Orleans to Mobile. Even the world famous carnival extravaganza held in Rio de Janeiro does not open each year without the trade name, “Josette’s.”
One of the company’s proudest accolades was its selection by the National Costume Association of Indiana for the coveted Grand International Costume Award.
Josette’s is now nearing its 40th anniversary with the Locklar family at the helm, which also includes her husband, Tex.
Josette’s has always kept pace with the fun. That’s because the Locklar family tends to “enjoy every aspect of our operation,” Jacob Locklar said, “from ordering beads and materials to dazzling décor for parade floats.”