The story of Rubies Costume Company starts when Rubin Beige, the founder, fought in Belgium in World War II. It was there at the Battle of the Bulge where Rubin was shot and fell from a telephone pole breaking both of his arms. As it would be difficult to continue his career of a furrier he and his wife, Tillie, decided to open a small candy store on Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven, Queens.

Rubin and Tillie began to add novelties such as rubber chickens and wigs, and in 1959 the company changes their name from "Rubies Candy Store" to "Rubies Fun House" reflecting a wider array of  novelty and joke products. With that, the idea came about to begin making higher-end costumes to rent out. By 1967, "Rubies Fun House" announced a costume rental department that consisted of 200 rental costumes.

Business continued to flourish until the tainted-candy scares of the '70s, and as Beige recalls "Halloween literally collapsed overnight". With this scare, parents began to hold parties indoors, which suddenly made costumes the texture of trash bags not good enough. "People started trying to outdo each other," says Marc Beige, who joined the company in 1972 after the elder Rubin Beige died. (Tillie Beige passed away in 1984.) Also that year "Rubies Fun House" took on another name change to our now well known "Rubies Costume Company".

One year later in 1973, Rubies Costume Company begins to mass-produce and wholesale fabric costumes to the Halloween industry. This begins the need to "hang on" as the big boom of the costume industry hits the company at full speed.

In 1979 Rubies Costume Company moves to Richmond Hill, Queens NY. Where Mayor Koch renames the street "Rubies Plaza" in recognition of over 20 years of service to the community. Fast-forwarding to 1990 Rubies now opens its first non-USA operation "Rubies Canada", introducing its now extensive costume selection to a whole new market. This is only the start, as 6 years later in 1996 Rubies opens "Rubies UK" introducing Halloween to Europe. With nothing slowing the growth Rubies opens yet another non-USA location in '97 with "Kubach-Rubie's" in Mainz-Kastel, Germany. Staying on top of this amazing growth Rubies also opens an all new "state-of-the-art" makeup facility in Phoenix, AZ.

By the year 1998 Rubies had now opened the new locations of "Rubie's France", "Rubie's-Italia" and "Rubie's Espana". Which brings Rubie's president Marc P. Beige to win Ernst & Youngs Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 1998.

1999 showing more astonishing growth marks the opening of even more Rubie's Stores with, "Rubie's-Portugal", "Waldi-Rubie's" (France), Peter Dreck Company (Germany), Jofrika-Rubie's (Germany), Seaco (Spain) and Kochniss (Germany). As well as signing the worldwide right to all Warner Brothers properties.

Now in the year 2000 and on, Rubie's continues to lead the world in manufacturing and distributing makeup, costumes and accessories. A growing partnership with Hollywood and the international community are helping the already reknowned Rubie's Costume Company become a household name.

With a history like this, its no wonder why Rubies Costume Company is the leader of the costume industry.