Novelty Hair Goods Company

The Novelty Hair Goods Company was located at 1138 Broadway, near Kaighn Avenue. The business was founded by Samuel Bellitz, and later run by his sons Henry and Jacob Naden Bellitz. The shop was a supplier of wigs and hairpieces for the Philadelphia Mummers Parade for many decades. The company was also located at one time on Empire Avenue.

The Mummers Parade’s Comic Division yesterday voted to ban male marchers from wearing female costumes, including wigs, next January 1.

The decision affects the “wench brigades,” which traditionally featured men dressed as women. The change came after years of criticism from women’s groups.

The ban is expected to hurt the Novelty Hair Goods store in Camden, which has supplied parade wigs for 50 years. Owner Henry Bellitz said the ban will cost him about $10,000 in business.

“All my life, these wigs were for the Mummers,” Bellitz said. “Now they’re telling me I can’t sell them anymore? This is wrong.”

For 60 years, the Novelty Hair Goods store in Camden has been outfitting Philadelphia Mummers with their elaborate wigs.

But times are changing for the tiny shop at 1138 Broadway, near Kaighn Avenue. After the 2004 parade, owner Henry Bellitz plans to retire and close the store for good.

“I’m 75 years old. It’s time,” said Bellitz, who took over the shop from his father, Samuel Bellitz, in the 1950s.

The store sells wigs, hairpieces and accessories, but its bread and butter has always been the Mummers. Bellitz estimates 95 percent of his annual business comes from Mummers in the weeks leading up to New Year’s Day.

Last year, the Comic Division voted to ban men from wearing female costumes, including wigs, during the parade. That cut into Bellitz’s business significantly.

“That hurt us,” he said. “The wenches were a big part of our business.”

Bellitz said he has no plans to sell the business. “There’s really nothing to sell,” he said. “It’s just me and my knowledge of the business.”