After the manic last minute Book Day costumes yesterday, today we start to look at what other costumes your children may need for school.
Many schools use dressing up in a fancy dress costume as a way of bringing certain eras of history to life for their children. The most common areas are:
Victorians
Tudor
1940s
Egyptians
Vikings / Saxons
Props & Frocks has a wide range of kids school costumes at some really great prices. We do know that budgets are tight, so we have also expanded the range to include costume kits that allow you to put together a costume at home fairly cheaply.
Children’s fancy dress costumes are governed by very strict rules regarding flammability etc. For more information, take a look at our page that explain ‘Childrens Costumes & the Law‘
Christmas & New Year now seem like a distant memory & most of the children are back at school. How long will it be before they start coming home with a note asking them to bring in a costume for a school dress up day?
Well, there is no need to panic as Props & Frocks has a huge range of childrens costumes, including all your kids costume needs for Key Stage 2 & 3 including:
Tudor or Elizabethan is great theme for a fancy dress party, and although it is very popular as a summer wedding theme, we think that it is very suited to this time of the year as some of the costumes can be quite elaborate.
Our range of hire costumes for this theme is very large and provides a brilliant selection. The range to purchase is a little more limited, but we are working on this, watch this space!
We are often asked for Tudor costumes for school dress up days. We stock some great kids Tudor costumes to purchase that are very practical to wear all day at school (or a trip to a local Tudor house) and they are also very cost effective. For those of you who do not want to purchase an entire costume for your child, we do stock Tudor Boy & Girl Costume kits.
The girls Tudor Costume Kits include:
Pinny
Coif Hat
Coin Purse
The boy’s Tudor Costume Kit include:
Hat
Coin Purse
We also stock boys and girls Tudor Waistcoats that can be purchased separately.
Today in 1558, the first Elizabethan era started as Queen Mary I died and was succeeded to the throne by her half-sister Elizabeth, the daughter of the ill-fated Anne Boleyn. She was not actually crowned until January 1559 but there then followed one of the greatest periods in English history. Although Elizabeth’s reign was not the longest (Queen Victoria holds that record – at the moment), it was one of the most productive and well-remembered, helped by the efforts and exploits of other Great Britons such as Drake, Raleigh and Shakespeare (despite the recent controversy over whether he actually wrote the plays which bear his name).
Fast-forward over 450 years and, as we were mentioning earlier this week, our own Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Diamond Jubilee next year. If you are planning an event which involves costumes, accessories and props why not contact us at this early stage, and see how we can help.
Continuing with our school dressing up theme, today, we are looking at some of the historical costumes that your children may be asked to wear.
Although, the following costume list is not exclusive, as some schools will do things a bit differently, this list gives you the costumes that we are most commonly asked for:
Victorian
1940s
Roman / Egyptian
Viking / Saxon
Tudor
We have compiled an information page full of school historical costume ideas and advice for parents who have been asked to send their kids into school in costume. We also supply some costume kits that will help you to put a costume together at home fairly cheaply.
Don’t forget all of our kids costumes are up to the current EN legislation, for more details, checkout this page Kids Costumes & The Law
In America its National Vulture Awareness Day today, for which someone suggested a ‘Carrion’ comedy event, since the birds get such a bad press. However many will also know that today marks the anniversary of the start of the Second World War in 1939. Of course one never celebrates the start of a war, but the ‘spin-off’ is that this time of year sees an increase in demand for our 1940s stock as various commemorative events relating to the War occur. Not all of these are necessarily sombre – many couples who met and wed in the course of, or after the War, choose the 1940s as the theme for their wedding anniversary celebrations.
Whilst we are in the mid-20th century era, a quick reminder that it’s only a couple of weeks to the Goodwood Vintage Revival event where 40s/50s/60s fashions are very much the order of the day. If you haven’t already done so, check ticket availability (they go as fast as the cars, but not necessarily with so much style) and then, if you are lucky enough to be able to go, give us a bell here at Props n Frocks
Our fancy dress theme today is Tudor or Medieval. It really should be Stuart England as on this date in 1669, the noted diarist Samuel Pepys actually ceased writing this most valuable record of life in seventeenth century times, citing his failing eyesight as the reason. Aside from the major events witnessed – he watched the Fire of London and took the precaution of burying a valuable cheese in his back garden– we gain valuable insights into the trivia of his everyday life, and, in some cases the traditions of the day. For instance, in his diary entry for Valentines Day 1667, Pepys records how one Will Mercer had drawn his wife’s name to be his valentine whilst he, aside from also being his wife’s valentine, has been picked by the daughter of a Mrs Pierce to be her valentine. (This picking of pairing of valentines dates back to Roman times). The costumes for Stuart England, are not so prolific as perhaps the Tudors or Medieval periods, but from time to time we do get requests, particularly with regard to the school curriculum, for these types of outfits.
As Stuart costumes are probably more suited to a costumer (this is someone who re-produced historically accurate costume), in the world of fancy dress often the eras of Medieval, Tudor & Stuart all begin to merge as one.
This type of costume theme is common for weddings, especially if they are being held in an historic building such as a castle and can add to the atmosphere of the day. Large banners and huge candles will also add to the overall effect. We’ve had customers hire in knights for a jousting competition and jesters to keep the guests amused. It all comes down to your budget in the end and how far you actually want to go.
If you are okay with your guests arriving in a mixture of medieval, Tudor & Stuart costumes, then that is fine, if however, you require the costume code to be strict, you may want to read some costume advice on each historical period – just scroll down until you find the era you are interested in.
Yesterday may have been World Book Day and dressing up in a book character costume but during March, we find that several schools may dress-up on different days, with Fridays proving popular, so as not to disrupt the school curriculum too much. Take a look here if you still need some book character ideas for children.
There are other reasons why we get requests for children’s costumes during the Spring months. Various schools have history days, which can involve Roman, Medieval, Tudor, Victorian and even World War II costumes. Props n Frocks stocks all the historical costumes that your children will need for school. Take a look at our range of childrens curriculum costumes and watch this space as the range grows every month.
By the way, in two week’s time, this year we also have the bi-annual Comic Relief event, where everyone is asked to “Do something funny for money”. You know where to come!
Your children will dress up in fancy dress costumes for various reasons including:
School Historical Days – Props n Frocks stocks all the costumes you could want (Tudor, Victorian, 1940′s Evacuees, Vikings, Roman & Egyptian). We will be looking at kids Historical costumes in more detail in the near future.If you’d like to see our range check our information page full of School Historical costume ideas
School Book Week (World Book day is in Early March every year), Props n Frocks stocks so many childrens book characters including Snow White, Captain Hook, Zorro & Wizard of Oz costumes. For a full list take a look at our page full of costume ideas for book characters
Fancy Dress Parties – this may be a friend’s birthday party, or maybe they are going out with you to a ‘grown up’ party. Again, we stock a huge range of childrens outfits suitable for boys and girls.
Did you know that childrens costumes are governed by legislation? This means you can be sure that your child is wearing an outfit that has reached certain safety standards. Due to this, sometimes, we are unable to always provide exactly what you are looking for and you may need to adapt a more generic costume so that it is more suitable.
If you would like to know more about kids fancy dress outfits and the law that governs them, read our information page that explains all about childrens costumes & the current law.
Because Props n Frocks has been established since 1998, and, has a retail / hire fancy dress shop, we understand that children do come in all shapes and sizes. As we know our products, and see children trying them on every day, we can offer you professional advice. Our helpful customer Care Team will also measure any outfit for you, so you can be sure that you have ordered the correct size.
Dressing up helps your child to develop, schools understand this fact and that is why your children are asked to wear a costume for various things during the school year. Props n Frocks is happy to work with schools by offering discount voucher codes to all parents so that they can purchase a costume at even better prices. Ask your child’s teacher to contact us to arrange a discount code for your school.
your children may need for school.
