Vampire costumes are still one of the most popular costumes, all helped by the ongoing release of another vampire film. Due out on general release today in the UK is the movie ‘Dark Shadows’. This is another Tim Burton film, which stars Johnny Depp, alongside Michelle Pfeiffer (who last worked with Tim Burton as Catwoman in ‘Batman Returns’ back in 1992) and Eva Green (possibly best known as Vesper from the Bond film ‘Casino Royale’). Actually billed as a comedy/fantasy film about vampires, and set in the early 1970s (with an appropriate soundtrack), it is difficult to know how this will be perceived by the general public, although it can probably best be described as a sort of updated Addams Family with attitude.
At Props & Frocks we are often asked for various Johnny Depp costumes from his varied stable of characters, and the Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman is also a popular choice (even if there is a new version in the offing in the latest Batman movie). Looking at the trailers, the costumes from this film are not likely to be particular trendsetters, but we may be pleasantly surprised. For those of you who are going to see it, we would love to hear your views on the film and the stars performances.
It was upon this day in 1895 that Frenchman Louis Lumiere patented the ‘Cinematographe’, a machine which combined the functions of a motion picture camera, processor and projector and which was referenced in the recent Oscar-winning film ‘Hugo’. Fuelled by the Oscars, there is currently something of an enthusiasm for the early days of the cinema (and this will probably show itself with a few more ‘silent-style’ copy-cat movies). Some genius may even have the idea of doing a 3D silent, but even that was tried in the early days, with varying results, the first successful 3D feature film being regarded as ‘The House of Wax’ in 1953.
For what it’s worth, although we thought the Hugo film made good use of the current 3D technology, many others just seem to be using the ‘innovation’ for an excuse to charge more at the cinema. That said, there are circumstances where 3D wins over ‘flatscreen’: We’re very proud of our refurbished website and keen to help our internet customers, but there’s nothing to beat a visit to our premises here in Battlesbridge for a truly memorable 3D presentation.
Whilst we are on the subject of film themed costumes and with the BAFTAs now only two days away, we thought we should take a look at one of the notable trends in films over the past decade. This has been the increased number of animation films. Here at PNF we find this a particularly popular genre, when it comes to costume requests. From Toy Story characters such as Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bo Peep, Mr Potato Head (and latterly Mrs Potato Head) through to Shrek and Princess Fiona, and on to The Incredibles, there have been a marked increase in the number of costumes available for this particular movie genre. Although these are all licensed costumes and products, there are some costumes which we stock where requests can also be traced to films. Our fun penguin costume is great for Happy Feet, whilst the animal mask range is useful for characters from the films Madagascar. In this week’s BAFTAs awards there are three animation films up for consideration:- The Adventures of Tintin (we sell orange hairspray or wigs), Arthur Christmas (might be a bit early in the year at present) and Rango (we have plenty of cowboy costumes but at present we don’t think anyone is doing a chameleon costume – but you never know).
Yesterday, we were talking about some of the films which can engender costume requests, and we mentioned a couple from last year’s award ceremonies. This got us thinking about other films that came out in 2011, which directly resulted in requests for costumes. Unlike other years, 2011 was not a great year for generating additional costume and accessory requests, for characters people had seen in the movies. The Green Hornet came out in January, but was not particularly mentioned when it came to the Heroes and Villains parties that occur throughout the year. We did see a small outbreak of adult Red Riding Hood requests in Spring of 2011, but that might not have been related to the film at all, as World Book Day and National Book Days and Weeks often initiate requests for this character.
As our requests for film costumes for a film themed fancy dress party remains constant, we are always looking at the new films to see what is going to be available.
Many of the large budget films will have associated costumes that have been licensed. Apart from licensed costumes costing quite a lot more than a standard generic costume, the main problem is that the film normally comes out way before the new costumes are available. It is quite usual for us to get quite a few requests for the ‘new’ film on the block, but actually by the time the costumes arrives for us to sell / hire, the requests have dried up and people have moved on to something new.
It is quite unusual now for a new film to have the lasting impact of say Superman has had through the years. So at Props & Frocks, we have to make sure that we think long and hard over which new costume ranges to get in, will it be a major success, or a damp squib? The joys of running a fancy dress shop and online business!
Films remain as one of our most popular fancy dress themes throughout the year. This is such a vast theme that many of our customers are now splitting a film fancy dress theme down even further into a particular genre.
We mentioned a few weeks ago about the various movies due out this year that relate to fairy tales. Here at p&f we often get requests for costumes for movie characters, some of which may be related to films currently in the cinema, whilst others want retrospective film characters and screen idols. In recent years, one of the rising trends we have noticed has been the number of people who want to go as specific characters from specific films, rather than the Hollywood Idols themselves. As every movie-goer knows there are some genres of films which particularly appeal. Certain genres may have suitable licensed costumes to be purchased or hired, where characters are instantly recognisable from the costumes they wear, such as comic book characters, Batman, The Green Hornet, Hulk, Spiderman, etc., or characters from animated films such as Toy Story, Shrek and The Incredibles. Some people may be looking at improvising the character. At p&f we endeavour to try and keep up with all potential trends, both new and retro but as the movies theme is so vast, there can be times when people choose a particular character that may be quite specialist. This is where it can be helpful if customers can actually produce a picture or drawing (preferably in colour) of the specific character, so we can find the costumes and accessories from our vast selection.
Possible variations of the traditional Film Fancy Dress theme:
Animated Films – these would include Toy Story (we stock popular Toy Story Costumes), Shrek, Transformers, Snow white, Beauty & the Beast
Cult Films – take a look at these Cult Film Costume Ideas including The Pink Panther, The Rocky Horror Picture Show & Clockwork Orange
Horror Films – we have such a huge choice for horror film costume ideas including Scram, Friday The 13th and Saw
Comedies – Think of the choice you would have from the choice of Carry on Films and Monty Python
Oscar Winners – including Avatar, star Trek, The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, Happy Feet, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest & King Kong
Multi Films – including Harry Potter, superman, The Lord Of The Rings, Twilight
Today we offer Cult Horror as today’s fancy dress theme as today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Charles Addams. The name may sound familiar to some, but not to others. If we were to mention he was the creator of the Addams’ Family would that make things clearer? The Addams’ started as a series of macabre cartoons in the New Yorker magazine but came to wider attention in the 1960s when they got their own TV series (and the family members finally all got names). Co-incidentally a rival TV company came up with ‘The Munsters’, based on a similar horror-family concept, almost simultaneously and there was some rivalry between the two shows. In the event, although the Munsters were the first to make it to the movie-screen (and in colour), the Addams’ have lasted the distance and are possibly the better remembered. Like a lot of popular programmes of yesteryear, there have been attempts to modernise the franchise, and even expand the ‘official costumes’ , we stock the entire range of Addams Family costumes including ‘sexy’ versions of Morticia and her daughter Wednesday, but in our opinion, the originals are still the best. Today’s the day to celebrate the original cool ghouls!
To broaden this out from just being an Addams’ family fancy dress theme, which, we think, would have been rather limiting, we have today’s theme of Cult Horror, this also brings the following cult horror costumes into the mix:
This week we hope to inspire you with some creative choices for costumes for New Year’s Eve. One of our most popular fancy dress themes for the New Year is Movies. Why not take a look back at some of our previous blogs on this Movie theme, to get some inspiration on the characters you could be? Take a look here for some great Movie costume ideas.
You might choose to be a silver-screen idol such as Humphrey Bogart (who was born on December 25th 1899); a comedy legend such as Charlie Chaplin (who died on Christmas Day 1977); or what about the sultry temptress Marlene Dietrich? Her birthday is celebrated today, as she was born December 27th in 1901. Our fabulous range of female tailcoats would certainly help create that particular look, as she was famous for dressing in men’s Top Hat n Tails – something very daring for a female to do back in the late 1920s/early 1930s.
One of the most popular pairings for the Movies theme is Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. Not everyone can carry off the black fringed wig, which is an essential part of the Cleo look, but this couple can certainly make a statement.
Fancy something a bit more modern? Then here are a few suggestions from our selection of Movie Characters. If what you want is not on the list, don’t panic, we have many others to choose from.
Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella or one of the other Disney Princesses.
Captain Jack Sparrow or other characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
Woody, Buzz or Mr Potato Head from Toy Story.
Characters from Alice in Wonderland.
Other animated characters such as Shrek and Princess Fiona
Perhaps you fancy something more daring, such as one of the characters from the Rocky Horror Picture Show – we stock the full range of Rocky Horror Costumes at Props n Frocks. You might choose a costume that requires some make-up. Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice are two such characters. Not only do we stock the costume, wig and make-up for both these costume suggestions, but if make-up is too much effort, for Beetlejuice we can also offer you the mask option (which is even on special offer at the moment). Masks can certainly help create a fantastic impression, but may be a little impractical when it comes to eating and drinking. Finding somewhere to store the mask when doing this can be a good move.
release of another vampire film. Due out on general release today in the UK is the movie ‘Dark Shadows’. This is another Tim Burton film, which stars Johnny Depp, alongside Michelle Pfeiffer (who last worked with Tim Burton as Catwoman in ‘Batman Returns’ back in 1992) and Eva Green (possibly best known as Vesper from the Bond film ‘Casino Royale’). Actually billed as a comedy/fantasy film about vampires, and set in the early 1970s (with an appropriate soundtrack), it is difficult to know how this will be perceived by the general public, although it can probably best be described as a sort of updated Addams Family with attitude.
