Astronaut costume -’that’s 1 small step for man, a giant leap for mankind’
Walk in holding a magnifying glass ‘look before you leap’
Dress up as a bride – you never know who you’l lmeet at the party!
Okay, we know some of these are really bad, but do you have any other ideas? Go on, we’d love to hear from you.
We would like to say Happy Birthday to everyone celebrating their birthday TODAY. You share your birthday with some illustrious names such as actor Joss Ackland (b. North Kensington – 1928) and Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (b. Pesaro, Italy – 1792).
At p&f we always think it’s tough for those who were born on February 29th. What do they do about birthdays? Only have them once every four years? (well that’s one way to keep young) or perhaps celebrate on February 28th or March 1st? The ultimate unfortunates must have been anyone born the day after Leap Year in 1712 because in that year, and that year only, Sweden declared a February 30th in order to regulate its calendar. A single birthday – talk about a once in a lifetime event! For the more ‘normal’ leap year babies, we understand there are some who celebrate birthdays on either of the alternate dates and some who have a two-day celebration! For those of you who have not got a reason to celebrate today, what are you going to do with this extra day? Of course for the ladies there is the tradition that on Leap Year, they are allowed to pop the marriage proposal, so if that’s your plan, good luck and best wishes!
Don’t forget to tune in tonight BBC2 at 8pm to see your favourite fancy dress shop on the television…
The image shows us at Colchester University on a stall set up to try and sell off some of our excess stock. did it work, or was it a complete disaster? You’ll have to tune in the find out more.
Please let us know what you think by joining in the conversation on our Facebook, or Twitter pages, or join in on this blog post…
Remember, we have not seen this episode at all so have no idea as to what to expect!
We have talked before about how black cats can be a popular fancy dress choice for Halloween. They are also extremely useful when it comes to school book days, as they crop up in a number of stories, although black is not necessarily an obligatory colour. As there are so many cat accessories on the market to purchase, it is a costume that is very easy to put together at home.
One of the most popular storybook characters that we have been asked to costume in recent years has been The Cat in the Hat. This was a series of books by the author Dr Seuss. There is a licensed costume available and the tall red and white striped hat is synonymous with the character. However, one of the things about storybooks is that the words themselves will often define how the character should look, although any illustrations tend to be more strictly adhered to. The whole point with World Book Day is about reading the story, so If you had never read The Cat in the Hat you might not know he is normally black and white and you could be forgiven for putting your own take on the character and just literally dressing up in a cat costume or accessories wearing a hat (although he also has a bowtie!)
Cat sets (including ears and tails), plus eyemasks and face-bops are available for those who want to give the impression of a cat, without going too over-the-top on the costuming front. For those who want to go a bit further we have a range of costumes for cats and other creatures for both child and adult.
Some Cat Book Character Ideas:
The Cat In The Hat
Puss In Boots (Figaro) – wear a cat costume with long boots
Meg & Mog
The Owl & The Pussycat
Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland – although technically very hard to do!
Crookshanks – Hermione Granger’s cat in Harry Potter
Salem – talking cat from Selena The Teenage Witch – originally a comic book character
We’ve all been waiting with baited breath, but tomorrow you will see Props & Frocks on The Fixer with Alex Polizzi.
Tune in BBC2 at 8pm to watch the Props & Frocks crew be put through their paces. We have not seen the episode yet either, so we will be watching for the first time at the same time as you.
Want to know what is going on in this image, you’ll have to tune in tomorrow to find out!
For more ‘behind the scenes’ pictures check out our Fixer pictures
Last week we mentioned the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen in connection with a Fairy Tales fancy dress theme. As World Book Day is this Thursday we thought we might look at these in more detail.
There are some children who find it ‘cool’ to dress as fairy tale characters, whilst others are of an age where it is just not the done thing. With a total of four Snow White films due out this year (one only two weeks away and two going straight to video) we are anticipating that 2012 will not see just the kids wanting to dress up in Fairy Tale Costumes. So, for today we thought we would give you a run-down of our most Popular Fairy Tale requests. We have included both male and female counterparts where appropriate.
Beauty & the Beast
Cinderella, Prince Charming, Ugly Sisters and Wicked Stepmother
Goldilocks & the Three Bears
Puss in Boots, Princess, King, Marquis
Red Riding Hood & Granny/Wolf
Snow White & the Seven Dwarves – Wicked Queen, Prince Charming, Woodcutter
Shrek & Princess Fiona – a more modern take on the classic fairytale!
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Alice, Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Queen of Hearts
Dick Whittington & his cat
Hansel & Gretel
The Little Mermaid, Sea King, Prince & Sea witch
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion & Scarecrow – take a look at all of our Wizard of Oz costumes
Our range of Fairytale costumes is growing monthly, and we have some exciting new costumes that are going to make our fairytale costumes fantastic, so watch this space!
Sunday can quite often be a busy day for us here at P&F fancy dress and with World Book Day just a few days away, this weekend is all about the kids. We are open until 4pm today, and from 12 noon ’till 8pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday all week.
Our children’s section in the fancy dress shop is all set up and is full of Book Character costume ideas for parents and children, so, if you are local to our base in Essex, why not pop in & let us help you? But, it is still not too late to order online and have your items delivered to your home, or place of work.
We also know that kids come in all shapes & sizes, so do not forget that we will happily measure any item for you to make sure it will fit. Just have your child’s measurements handy when you contact us by phone or email.
We know that budgets are tight for many households, so aside from our standard hire and sale outfits (which we think are reasonably priced anyway) we also offer a range of accessories to help you create the right impression.
Although many primary schools do participate in World Book Day, we know that there are some who choose not disturb the curriculum on World Book Day itself, but instead will have children dressing-up on other dates. A classic example (particularly for very young children) is the anniversary of the birth of fairy tale author, Hans Christian Andersen’s on April 2nd. However, in 2012 this falls during the school holidays, so the chances are that dressing-up may be delayed instead to National Book Day, which is on Shakespeare’s birthday (and St George’s Day) on Monday April 23rd. Props & Frocks stocks Childrens Book character costumes all year round, so whenever you need to source a great priced kids costume, think Props & Frocks – THE fancy dress experts!
We just had to have a Pop Stars Fancy Dress Theme today as this’ll be the day in 1957 when Buddy Holly and the Crickets record ‘That’ll Be the Day’. Also in today’s pop calendar we have the Beatles releasing their first single ‘Please Please Me’ in the United States in 1963. Furthermore it was on this date six years later that the Fab Four began work on the Abbey Road album, so we are detecting a bit of a music theme coming on.
The music/pop idol-based party has evolved in recent years, largely aided and abetted by the vast range of TV talent shows. We have also noticed an increased enthusiasm for distinctive costuming amongst the newer pop talents: Lady Gaga undoubtedly still leads the field on innovative outfits, and we are sure she still has a good many tricks up her highly fashioned sleeve. When it comes to trying to recreate looks at ground zero here at planet PropsandFrocks we have to look at practicality and potential popularity. Early Gaga is still popular, of course, and there are several suitable outfits and accessories on the market, but recently others such as Katy Perry and Jessie J have been attracting the attention of wannabes. The problem is nailing the definitive distinctive look as these girls are developing a disturbing habit of going through multiple costume changes in their videos and some of the more interesting looks are getting lost in ‘blink and you miss it moments’!
theme.
