It has now been a week since our last day’s filming at Props & Frocks, and the fancy dress shop is getting back to normal. Our fantastic Halloween costume range is now being condensed down into 1 large room and the Christmas costumes & accessories are starting to be displayed.

In our ceaseless search for novelty, we have noted that today in 1619, Elizabeth of Scotland and England (daughter of our James I) became Queen of Bohemia, also known as the Queen of Hearts and Winter Queen. She was one of a long line of consorts holding the post since 874 when a Saint Ludmila was the first. The question arises, where is Bohemia and where does it get its ‘unconventional’ attributes (as in Bo-Ho fashion and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ etc) from?

Actually, it was part of what is now the Czech Republic with its capital at Prague (which was also at about the same time of Elizabeth’s accession ruling city of the Holy Roman Empire) and the ‘unconventional’ tag came about because of the French word ‘bohémien’ meaning gypsy and the belief that all gypsies, with their unconventional ways and clothes, came from Bohemia and Eastern Europe.

So today is the day to do a Dandy Warhol and go bo-ho and gypsy-like – something we’ve had some experience of given our recent near-neighbours here in Essex.

So let’s take a look at various costume ideas you could wear for this theme:

• A member from Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
• Queen of Hearts – another name for the Queen of Bohemia
• Snow Queen – for the Winter Queen – another name for the Queen of Bohemia
• Gypsy costumes
• Hippy costumes
• Characters from Carmen
• Long flowing skirts
• Tye Dye clothing
• Long hair
• Flowers in hair
• Lots of bangles
• Pirate shirts worn with a belt
• Dandy – have no money but give the impression that they do