The Many Hats of District Fray Member Kelly Carnes

We love our members, so we’re highlighting them in a new series: Members Only. Kicking things off is Kelly Carnes, a District Fray member since July 2022. A costume connoisseur, it seemed only appropriate to highlight Carnes for our October fashion issue. To become a member, go to districtfray.com/subscribe.

Kelly Carnes is, in her words, an “extra extrovert.” A communications expert, Carnes has done it all: PR for the Natural History Museum and the Hirshhorn; the Kennedy Center; a bat conservation organization in Texas; a clean meat in San Francisco; work as a horror writer in New York; and even help run a mermaid convention in Virginia. After five years of freelance chaos, Carnes settled back in-house as Planet Word’s deputy director. Carnes continues to wear many hats in her “really robust but healthy side hustle” as founder and CEO for peer-to-peer costume rental company Trove. We talked with Carnes about a few of the hats she wears — and why she chooses to read District Fray above all else.

District Fray: How has the transition been from freelance to in-house?
Kelly Carnes: It was a tough decision. I was working with Planet Word as a communications consultant for a couple of years leading up to the first original opening date, which was originally slated for May 2020, then that October and then to the eventual, permanent opening. I really fell in love with the building, mission, staff and leadership. I wanted to support Planet Word because of what they do: creating a stronger literate population to support a stronger democracy.

That feels worth it.
Doesn’t it? Especially at this moment in time. It was one of the reasons leadership decided to open the museum in October even though the pandemic was still flexing its muscles — it was right before the 2020 election. Our rhetoric is so divided and words are used to break people apart. But really words can be used to build bridges and bring people back together. So, we wanted to raise awareness that words we take for granted every day are actually really powerful tools in creating positive change. That’s why we made this asset available to people during that charged time.

How did you get into costuming?
I wouldn’t say I “got into it” because Halloween is a lifestyle for some of us. I was born this way. Halloween was always my favorite holiday and I was a theatre geek in high school. But I didn’t realize there were outlets for creative expression like that beyond theatre for professional adults. It wasn’t until I started going to the Renaissance festival and meeting friends who introduced me to other avenues for wearing costumes, like cosplay conventions Comic Con or Dragon Con. I realized this world was open for business all the time —  you could dress up and play as a hobby and form of radical creative self-expression at any point. It can serve as a place of escape and nourishment. You can either conceal or reveal yourself with a costume.

Which leads us to why you decided to start Trove.
I built Trove because I saw other people leaning into [costuming] in the same way. It is the world’s first peer-to-peer costume rental platform. So, think of it like Airbnb but for costumes. When you’re not wearing something cool and it’s just gathering dust in your closet you can rent it out and monetize it. And that lowers the barrier of entry to someone else who is costume-curious and wants to try it for a day, an event or performance and then return it.

What’s your favorite costume you’ve worn or curated?
My favorite from my own collection is my Poison Ivy cosplay because that’s the first I dropped real stupid adult money on. It was amazing. That’s when it became professional grade tomfoolery instead of just messing around. I wore it to my first Dragon Con and had so much fun. The thing I’ve seen on Trove that I love the most is a set of druid armor a guy listed. It’s like antlers and moss and it looks like this very earthen druid warrior armor that, if I’m remembering correctly, he made himself. But also, at the most recent Burning Man, I thought if I was going to stomp around the desert in anything the most appropriate cosplay would be the Mandalorian, so I had leather armor for that custom commissioned.

What made you become a District Fray member?
I love having access to every piece of content District Fray publishes. I look forward to getting the glossy magazine in the mail. The photography is so mind-blowing. And I love the subjects District Fray chooses to celebrate. They do a really good job of elevating creatives in D.C. and highlighting the work they’re doing to bolster creativity in our community.

Favorite recent article?
Roller skating. I’ve dabbled in a little roller skating myself. I was also excited to learn more about the roller skating culture — I didn’t know how much of it was pioneered by women and people of color. So, I loved seeing the magazine’s touch on that as well because that history and culture is really rich. Roller skating liberates that inner child in all of us who wants to play, and we get so few opportunities to play. I think that’s one of the reasons I gravitate toward costumes as an adult; it provides an avenue for playfulness which is also coincidentally one of the core values of Planet Word. All of these things align.

Coincidentally, District Fray’s mission is to make fun possible.
Ha! Perfect.

Follow Kelly Carnes on Instagram @kellycarnes. Check out her costuming wares at                            trovecostumes.com and follow them on Instagram @trovecostumes.

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Abi Newhouse

Abi Newhouse is a writer based in Washington, D.C. A recent MFA graduate from George Mason University, her work can be found in The American Scholar, Mud Season Review, and Sediments Literary-Arts Journal, among others.