A Circus Fancy Dress theme is what we propose today, & although we have already mentioned how Mardi Gras & carnival will be starting in many parts of the world, this wasn’t why we choose this theme today. Intrigued? Read on to find out more…
We were so tied up with Valentines Day yesterday (put it down to tough love) that we forgot to mention the anniversary of the events that inspired the Beatles song ‘Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite’ from the Sergeant Pepper album. Whilst in Sevenoaks, Kent in January 1967, John Lennon visited an antique shop where he picked up a Victorian poster for a circus show, which was held on 14th February 1843 in Rochdale.
Aside from the fact that Lennon had to alter the name of the star featuring horse from Zanthus to Henry, everything that appeared on the poster was put into the song for a highly unusual but distinctive musical creation. With the exception of Nelly the Elephant, oh, and The Man on the Flying Trapeze, it is possibly the best known circus-related pop tune, harking back to an age of spectacle and daring-do as opposed to the current safety-conscious days of daring-don’t. Today would be a good day to work with a circus theme event.
Clowns – we stock a large range of clown accessories including wigs, noses and make up. A lot of people do not like clowns, so why not check out our horror clowns as well.
Knife Thrower – Wear an Indian costume – suitable for both men and women and makes a great couples costume idea. As the men normally throw the knife at the lady, why not use a trick dagger to create a not so well thrown knife?
Horse Tamers – Wear a cowboy / cowgirl costume
Ringmaster – wear a tailcoat, bull whip and top hat to create this outfit
Acrobats – wear a leotard with a cape
Animals – why not go as one of the animals in the circus. We stock a large amount of animal overhead masks such as lions, elephants, tigers, monkeys etc…
Bearded Lady. Ideal if you do not want to do too much, or a real joke for a man to dress up as a woman!
If you want to stretch the boundaries even further why not look to the Cirque de Soliel for more costume inspiration? Characters include:
After an initial break for Romance tomorrow, this week is all about circus and carnival as our fancy dress theme. The point is that this week, in many parts of the world, we see the culmination of weeks of preparation for the climax of carnival celebrations, prior to Mardi Gras a week tomorrow, or rather we don’t see it, as it is not the sort of thing that gets televised. Actually, we do remember one year where the BBC did try to cover the Mardi Gras celebrations, but with limited success – it’s one of things you have to experience, and despite everything, there’s not a lot of fun and frivolity in the UK in February.
So, if you are thinking about a Circus, or Mardi Gras style fancy dress party, keep an eye on this blog all week for some great costume ideas whether you are looking for a masquerade mask, or circus costume
Today, we offer you ‘circus’ as our fancy dress theme as it was on this date in 1768, a Sergeant-Major Philip Astley is credited with having created the Circus. Astley, an equestrian with a talent for trick-riding, discovered it was easier to balance on a horse if it was travelling in a circle so he set up a 62ft diameter ring in the Waterloo area of London and people paid to watch his performance. After experimentation, he found a 42ft ring worked best -this arena-size is still retained by circuses today - and because of the circular nature of the show, the term ‘Circus’ was used for publicity and promotion, although the word had been used in other contexts before. In order to entertain people between routines, he hired a clown and, as his show became more popular, he moved to a purpose built venue and hired acrobats, jugglers and other riders to give some variety. Thus the modern day circus was born. Although the ring size remained the same, the Americans, of course, had to do things bigger and better and at their height, the circuses of Barnum and Bailey and the Ringling Brothers typically used four rings in a ‘big-top’ of 10,000 capacity, travelling between venues in trains one hundred carriages in length.
Of course Circus has moved on, with the emphasis more on human skill and artistry than showing animals doing tricks. So aside from the ‘conventional’ circuses, we now have the more visually spectacular Circe du Soleil and the like. So with Circus as our theme of the day, why not roll up to Props N Frocks, for one of the greatest shows of costumes around.
Some circus costume suggestions:
Clowns – we stock a large range of clown accessories including wigs, noses and make up. A lot of people do not like clowns, so why not check out our horror clowns as well.
Knife Thrower – Wear an Indian costume – suitable for both men and women and makes a great couples costume idea. As the men normally throw the knife at the lady, why not use a trick dagger to create a not so well thrown knife?
Horse Tamers – Wear a cowboy / cowgirl costume
Ringmaster – wear a tailcoat, bull whip and top hat to create this outfit
Acrobats – wear a leotard with a cape
animals – why not go as one of the animals in the circus. We stock a large amount of animal overhead masks such as lions, elephants, tigers, monkeys etc…
Today, December 18th, it’s a choice between Clowns and Classical Ballet as your fancy dress theme. In 1779 on this date the so-called Father of Clowns, Joseph Grimaldi was born. Although clowning had existed beforehand, with roots in Italian Commedia del ‘arte and the
Clown Accessories
Harlequinade, it was Grimaldi who is credited with creating the principles of modern clowning and he was famed for his work with pantomimes such as Mother Goose.
However Clowns are not to everyone’s taste (in fact some find them downright scary) and so we can console ourselves with the fact the in 1892 today saw the premiere of another seasonal favourite – The Nutcracker Ballet. Although most people know some of the tunes (they usually turn up in TV commercials at this time of the year) the story is less well known. It involves presents under a Christmas tree coming to life on the stroke of midnight, a battle between a group of gingerbread soldiers (led by the Nutcracker toy and assisted by toy soldiers and dolls) and a gang of mice led by The Mouse King, with Clara, the heroine, saving the Nutcracker from a nasty end by distracting the King at a crucial moment. She is rewarded by the Nutcracker turning into a handsome prince and taking her off to celebrate in the Land of Sweets. Admittedly a bit of a challenge on the costuming front, but well worth exploring if you’re looking for a seasonal theme with a difference.
If you want to make these themes a bit easier why not broaden Clowns out to include ‘Big Top’, and The Nutcracker to include all Ballets.
Ideas for ‘Big Top’ or Circus – some wise spark is bound to arrive wearing the largest top ever (it is a ‘big top’ after all!)
Clowns – We stock a large range of clown accessories including red noses, wigs, make up , shoes. Don’t forget to look at some of our horror clowns as well in our Halloween range.
Ringmaster – wear a tailcoat, top hat and a bull whip – we, of course, stock them all.
How about going as an animal? We stock a large range of animal masks
What about ideas for costume inspiration for the Ballet? Well, there are many ballet productions, why not wear a traditional costume? We do also stock tutus and adult tights (yes, even mens tights!) if you wanted to produce a comical ballet look.
Swan Lake – difficult to costume, nothing readily available to purchase for this
Peter & the wolf – peasant costumes
Cinderella – all the traditional costumes could be worn
Romeo & Juliet - wear one of the traditional costumes
starting in many parts of the world, this wasn’t why we choose this theme today. Intrigued? Read on to find out more…
Major Philip Astley is credited with having created the Circus. Astley, an equestrian with a talent for trick-riding, discovered it was easier to balance on a horse if it was travelling in a circle so he set up a 62ft diameter ring in the Waterloo area of London and people paid to watch his performance. After experimentation, he found a 42ft ring worked best -this arena-size is still retained by circuses today - and because of the circular nature of the show, the term ‘Circus’ was used for publicity and promotion, although the word had been used in other contexts before. In order to entertain people between routines, he hired a clown and, as his show became more popular, he moved to a purpose built venue and hired acrobats, jugglers and other riders to give some variety. Thus the modern day circus was born. Although the ring size remained the same, the Americans, of course, had to do things bigger and better and at their height, the circuses of Barnum and Bailey and the Ringling Brothers typically used four rings in a ‘big-top’ of 10,000 capacity, travelling between venues in trains one hundred carriages in length.
