Roman Fancy Dress Theme

Posted on April 28, 2011 by admin

In a month full of holidays and special events, today we stand on the threshold of a long weekend of celebrations, starting with the Royal Wedding tomorrow and after the traditional first day of summer on Mayday, the Bank Holiday on Monday. Most people probably do not need to find excuses to celebrate over the next few days, but when did that ever stop us? As it happens, with Mayday in mind, it seems that the Roman Empire was well ahead of the game as on their calendar, today was the first day of the festival of Floralia which honoured Flora, the goddess of flowers and plants. (Her Greek equivalent was Chloris). The event was marked with several days of drinking, dancing and floral celebrations representing the renewal of the Cycle of Life, with Romans wearing colourful clothes rather than their usual plain attire. Sound familiar?

So, what was good for the Romans is good enough for us as well, so let’s start with weekend with a Roman themed fancy dress party. Props n Frocks has a great range of Roman costumes and Roman accessories for all the family – just add some colourful flowers!

Props n Frocks Fancy Dress is shut on both Bank Holidays this weekend, but we are open on Saturday & Sunday if you want to pop in and pick up a last minute costume.

Toga Costume Party

Posted on March 25, 2011 by admin

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Get the heating turned up for your Toga fancy dress party. It may be the end of March, but there is still a nip in the air!

Friday 25^th of March and it’s Independence Day in Greece, celebrating their break from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, so this is a good excuse for a Greek toga party and a celebration of Greek culture.

At Props n Frocks, we have a large selection of Roman costumes for all the family. Children study Roman history at school, and are quite often encouraged to dress up in a Roman costume. So if you do need a kids Roman costume, just ask Props n Frocks – THE fancy dress experts.

Alternatively in 421, at Noon, apparently Venice, the well-known water-logged city, was born, so a chance for a masked ball, perhaps.

Having said that, March 25^th is an interesting date for several other reasons; Firstly, in the days before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, this was the start of the new year, so that 1751 started on March 25^th and the following year 1752 started on January 1^st. Furthermore, this is the date of the Annunciation (also known as Lady Day) which is, of course, nine months from Christmas. An extra dimension to this fact is that in Swedish, Vårfrudagen (Our Lady’s Day) sounds very similar to Våffeldagen ‘Waffles Day’ and so today is actually Waffle Day in Sweden. Just a pity appropriate costumes are wafflley difficult to find!

Toga Fancy Dress

Posted on March 15, 2011 by admin

Today we suggest a Toga fancy dress party, but March can be cold so make sure your heating is turned up high otherwise your guests will refuse to remove their coats!

Beware the Ides of March, unless of course it’s your birthday today, in which case Happy Birthday! All months have Ides, but March is really the only one you tend to hear about, as it was on this day in 44BC that Julius Caesar was assassinated. The term Ides actually comes from the Roman calendar and refers to the middle of each month. Thus March, May, July and October are on the 15^th, whilst the rest of the year is on the 13^th.

So, if it’s not too cold for you, why not think about a Toga party? It’s a simple enough idea, although making them out of white cotton sheets is becoming increasingly difficult, (fitted or coloured sheets just don’t have the same effect). That’s why you need to come to us. Not only do we have Togas, but other Greek and Roman costumes, including Senators and Gladiators. Why not take a look at our range of adult Roman| Egyptian Costumes. We also have a fine selection of children’s Roman| Egyptian costumes for those Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian dress-up days at school.