long with a bazillion jewelers and tschotchke shops and overpriced shoe stores, Venice has a fair number of costume shops. Not sure why, but they’re rolling with it. It’s an interesting layer to Venice, because you can’t walk a block or two without running into a mannequin dressed like a cast member from the Eyes Wide Shut orgy. Which is terrifying. Occasionally, there will be a real person wearing a costume, and he will entice you to take a picture with him, and then he will milk you for money, and this will work. You know why? Because people wearing masks and cloaks might eat your brains. You HAVE to do what they say. It took a while for me to notice that, in addition to cheap tourist slop, the costumiers actually have elegant, intricate pieces: diamond masks as sparkly and intricate as a tiara, fully elaborated 18th century dresses. My only question is: Who buys these? As in all things, I suspect the RenFesters.