Pirates is always a popular fancy dress theme throughout the year, but seems to be even more so during spring & Summer.
As there are so many pirate accessories that you can purchase, it is one of those costumes that can be put together at home quite easily using tatty, cut down trousers and shirts. Maybe because of this, and the economic situation as it is at the moment, but we have found that pirates are even more popular than usual.
Props & Frocks has a whole range of pirate costumes, suitable for all the family, and to suit all budgets.
Some Ladies Pirate Costume Ideas…
Pirate Wench Costume.
Ladies can wear a peasant style dress, or blouse and a long skirt. There are many versions that also have a lace up bodice and bandana. Although there are sexy, short versions on the market, there are also longer styles available.
Elizabeth Swann
A character from Pirates of The Caribbean and governed by the Disney licensing laws.
Elizabeth’s costume changes many times throughout the three films. She wears georgian dresses, long, off white shift dress and full shirt, long waistcoat and pantaloons when she is pretending to be a male crewman.
Pirate Crew
These costumes tend to be similar to the men with a striped top, pantaloons or skirt, sash tied at the waist and a bandana or hat. This costume should be easy to put together.
Just take some old jeans (other trousers or skirts will also be suitable) and cut them down, the more ragged the better. Use an old shirt, it doesn’t matter if you do not have a striped top, and again cut it down. Use a belt arouond your waist – you can purchase pirate belts, or use an old one. This is your basic costume, use whatever accessories you decide on to create y our own unique outfit.
Mary Read
Mary Read was born in 1685 in England and was only 1 of 2 known women pirates. Ladies on board ship were considered to be unlucky and Mary had to dress as a man. Ladies will need to use a small mens costume, or alternatively, look for a Prince Charming | Principal Boy style of costume, which will suffice for this character.
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny is probably the most famous female pirate. She was a ruthless plunderer, raider, and menace to the sea faring vessels in the Caribbean Sea. She is commonly referred to as “Toothless Annie”. Although she dressed and fought as a man, she was soon discovered and instead of bowing down to the pressure from the crew, she killed all who opposed her. Not a lady to have a row with! To get the ‘toothless’ look, use tooth wax. This covers your chosen teeth with a black putty and gives the impression of teeth missing. This character should dress manly, see Mary Read.
And here are some male pirate costume ideas…
Captain Hook From Peter Pan. There have been a few interpretations of the villain Captain Hook. The character has starred in Disney’s cartoon version of Peter Pan and in many films, including the film ‘Hook’ where he was played by Dustin Hoffman.
Typically a long frock coat is worn with pantaloons and a frilly shirt. He wears long, black boots and a large hat. A long, curly wig, moustache and a hook finish off the costume.
Pirate Captain costumes are available to purchase.
Captain Jack Sparrow From Pirates Of The Caribbean. This is a Disney production and therefore has strict licensing laws attached to it. A costume, unless licensed cannot be called Captain Jack Sparrow and you will probably see similar looking costumes called Pirate Captain etc.
Typically a long, distressed frock coat or waistcoat is worn with a full shirt. Trousers are tucked into boots and he wears a bandana or a 3 pointed hat. Dark eyes and a gotee type beard finish off the costume.
Therer are lots of pirate accessories that have the ‘Sparrow’ look, so you should be able to create this character’s costume quite easily.
Pirate Crew In most pirate films, the crew will play a part. They are normally dressed in stripped tops, cut away trousers, sashes tied around the waist and a bandana. They can be men or women – see the costume description in the ladies section.
Blackbeard Blackbeard’s real name was Edward Teach. He was a ruthless pirate who was named after his long, black beard.
You will need a Captain Hook style of costume, most people tend to chose black, but it is not necessary. It is obviously very important to wear a large black beard and an agressive snarl.
Long John Silver
From Treasure Island. Ruthless pirate looking for treasure hidden by his old crew mate Billy Bones. Apart from the normal pirate attire, a peg leg is also required.
The Australian celebrity Elle McPherson, born today in 1963, is possibly best known for being a fashion model nicknamed ‘The Body’. She has, however, taken the precaution of also developing a successful business career, designing fashions for other people to wear. Diversity is everything, and whilst there are risks in getting too many fingers in too many pies, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on developing trends. For example we are currently wondering whether the new Aardman animations film ‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists’, released this week, is going to generate a revival of enthusiasm for all things piratical, like Pirates of the Caribbean did a few years ago, and whether we should look to spicing up our relevant stock. Coincidentally, the new film involves the vocal talents of many British stars, including Hugh Grant. He is well-known now, but back in 1993. pre-‘Four Weddings’ and less famous, who was it who appeared in his film ‘Sirens’ and, having added some exotic frisson acting as a ‘playful’ model, also appeared on the posters to help promote the film? Elle McPherson!
Pirates, is today’s fancy dress theme as today, in 1655, the English seized Jamaica from the Spanish – part of the ongoing tussle for the riches and trade routes of the Caribbean played out between both these two sea-powers. In addition, of course, this was also the time of privateers and pirates, which brings us to note that next week sees the return of Captain Jack Sparrow and co. in the fourth of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, subtitled ‘On Stranger Tides’. Although certain characters like Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan have jumped ship, things threaten to be lively with the addition of Blackbeard (Ian Mc Shane) and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz) involved in the action. The film-makers claim that this episode will be more like the original, which, despite being based on a Disneyland theme-ride, single-handedly revitalised the Pirate genre – and the addition of Miss Cruz to the ensemble can only help raise the profile of the female buccaneer look in the coming months and gives loads of opportunity to dress up in a sexy ladies pirate outfit
Pirates is always a popular fancy dress theme & at Props n Frocks, we have plenty of pirate costumes for all the family. If you do not want to actually purchase a complete costume, why not take a look at our huge range of pirate accessories, ideal for helping you put your own costume together at home?
We offer you a choice of 2 fancy dress themes today, Pirates or the 1960s. Take a look at these 60s blogs that will give you loads of 60s costume ideas
For those of you who enjoyed the film ‘The Boat that Rocked’ or remember the days of pirate radio, it was on this day in 1964 that the pirate station Radio Caroline first began broadcasting at midday. Also on the 28th March (but this time in 1910) the first successful seaplane took off from Martinique in France. So today you could head back to the sixties and check out our funky mini-dresses or hippy fancy dress outfits and accessories. Alternatively you might choose to have a pirate party or just a celebration of ‘life on the ocean wave’. Pirates is a popular theme all year round and we have plenty of pirate accessories & costumes for you to choose from. In fact, we have all sorts of costumes and accessories to help with any type of event.
We offer you the choice of 2 fancy dress themes today. A few days ago we remarked on the fact that there was over half a century’s difference between our two featured actors of the day. Today we go one better with Leonard Nimoy, Mr Spock in Star Trek also celebrating his 80th birthday (just four days ago it was William Shatner’s 80th) & Keira Knightly who will be only 26. The latter first came to the public’s attention in the film Bend it Like Beckham, and is now particularly known for her role as Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, playing opposite Johnny Depp & Orlando Bloom. So, do you want to go for a space or pirates theme? The choice is yours.
If you choose a space theme, do not be surprised if you get a selection of science fiction costumes attend your party as well. If you do not want the odd Batman & Robin descending on your party, be very specific on your party invitation.
If you decide to go for a Pirates theme, you have a huge selection of pirate costumes and accessories to choose from. One of the reasons why a Pirate theme is always popular is that there are so many pirate accessories available to purchase, it is very easy to make your own costume at home without breaking the bank.
Today we celebrate with a Pirates Themed fancy dress party due to the work of author Robert Louis Stevenson who died this
Ladies Sexy Pirate Outfit
day in 1894. Stevenson is probably best known for his pirate tale ‘Treasure Island’ (so a good excuse to dust off the pirate gear there), but he also created the characters of Dr Jekyll and his alter ego Mr Hyde, which may put you in two minds about the pirate party idea. Anyway, if you did not seize the opportunity to celebrate the Scots on November 30th, you have a second chance now, as many of Stevenson’s novels were set in Scotland. Stevenson himself ended his days on a Samoan island on the other side of the world, where he had made his home and was well received and respected.
Props n Frocks has a huge range of pirate costumes and a fantastic range of pirate accessories to help you to complete any outfit. Pirates is always a good fancy dress theme, as it is possible to put your own costume together at home with only 1 or two accessories to finsih your required look.
The first human heart transplant was done today, December 3rd 1967, the first human heart transplant was performed by Dr Christian Barnard in South Africa. Now a fairly routine operation, it was, at the time, a groundbreaking medical procedure which, of course, has since saved and prolonged many lives. We thought about an ‘Affairs of the Heart’ theme, but St. Valentine has rather cornered that market for February. But this may give you some inspiration for a costume party (or maybe it won’t, but we thought we’d include it anyway)
Today, we offer a Pop Stars Fancy dress theme for your next costume party.
Madonna Style Fancy Dress Outfit
22nd November is the Feast Day of St. Cecilia, Patron Saint of Music, Musicians and Poets so it should be fairly obvious that this date is a good time to organise an event on a musical theme. Pop Stars is the most obvious, but we have a very inventive clientele and hence there are a range of possibilities. For instance, if you happen to have an ice-rink handy, it was on November 22nd 1928 that Maurice Ravel premiered his classical ‘Bolero’. You may recall that it was to this tune that Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean performed their Olympic Award-winning ice-dance routine in Sarajevo in 1984. (Others, who were reading our blog for November 20th, will remember that the music also formed a back-drop to Bo Derek’s break-through movie ‘10’).
Props n Frocks does stock pop stars fancy dress costumes and our range includes costumes for Madonna, Amy Whinehouse, Michael Jackson, Beatles, Abba and Freddy Mercury. However, many pop star outfits just rely on an accessory or two to create the look and Props n Frocks has 1000s of fancy dress accessories and wigs for you to choose from. Customers who are based in Essex may wish to visit our retail/hire fancy dress shop where they can also hire from our extensive range of fancy dress costumes
If a music event doesn’t rock your boat, you can always have a Pirates theme, as on November 22nd 1718 Edward Teach – otherwise known as Blackbeard the Pirate – was defeated & killed off North Carolina. Alternatively, you can combine the two and just have a musical pirates evening, how about ‘the Pirates of Penzance! Props n Frocks stocks a large range of pirate costumes and a fantastic selection of pirate accessories to help you to complete your pirate outfits.
You might have noticed recent press coverage about world record attempts involving fancy dress costumes – 5th August saw the ‘Greatest number of pirates in one place’ at Hastings. Props n Frocks stocks a huge range of pirate costumes and accessories if you think about trying to break this particular record. Earlier in the year we had ‘The greatest number of Star Trek characters in costume’ at the Millennium Bridge, London. There was also ‘The greatest number of people doing the Time Warp (from the Rock Horror Show)’ at Brighton. Of course, we also stock all the Rocky Horror Costumes. Check out our Rocky Horror page that will give you all the information you will need if you are brave enough to attend! All this effort at massed costuming is, of course, aimed at getting into the Guinness Book of Records.
On September 2nd, we celebrate two individuals of relevance to this topic. On this day in 1994, Roy Castle died. In his foreshortened career he helped many to great deeds – he was a popular all-round entertainer, an inspiration to many and host of the TV show ‘Record Breakers’, in which he attempted and broke several records himself – notably for tap-dancing. Rather longer ago, in 530BC the Athenian herald and Greek hero Pheidippides was born. It was he who ‘invented’ the marathon run, Firstly he ran 150 miles over two days to get help from the Spartans, when the Persians invaded at Marathon. Then, after the battle was won, he ran to Athens (about 25 miles) to announce the victory, then collapsed and died. These days the marathon is a less arduous affair, even when people insist on doing the event in costume to benefit a worthy cause. Perhaps we’ll see a renewed interest in this novel sport-form because of the new Weetabix advert which involves Mascot fun-runners beating the athletes to the finish line, but in the meantime you could browse the relevant Guinness World Records site http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Records-set-at-Flora-London-Marathon/blog/257326/7691.html which has a section on fancy dress records for the 2009 Flora marathon – ‘Fastest dressed as a vegetable’, Fastest dressed as a cartoon character’ and so on.
Summer.
be unlucky and Mary had to dress as a man. Ladies will need to use a small mens costume, or alternatively, look for a Prince Charming | Principal Boy style of costume, which will suffice for this character.
