Yesterday, we looked to the future, today we are heading back to the past, with a Wild West costume theme. The reason being, that the actress and Vaudeville performer Mae West was born this day, way back in 1893.
Now for this theme you would naturally assume that we would be looking at costumes for cowboys, cowgirls, native Americans, saloon girls, etc.. However, those of you who are old enough to remember her will know that Mae West was famous for her catchphrases and double entendres, so naturally today’s theme has a double meaning. The Wild Westwe are thinking of is Mae West herself who courted controversy throughout her lifetime and was even sent to prison in the 1920s on grounds of immorality. During the 1930s her success on the screen in films such as I’m No Angel, She Done Him Wrong and Klondike Annie set her up as an icon of the time. However she became frustrated with the restrictions placed on her by the studios, so one of her last films of that era was My Little Chickadee with W C Fields. Fifty years later this femme fatale, who was well known for her fabulous OTT costumes and accessories, found a new lease of life as the “queen of camp”. So, whether you are going for a traditional wild west costume or the more outrageous over the top drag queen image, to paraphrase Mae West ‘Why don’t you come up and see us sometime’.
We stock a great range of western costumes for all the family. The most common costume ideas for this partytheme are:
Saloon girl – we stock saloon girl | burlesque style costumes – don’t forget your feather boas, fishnet tights, and gloves, of course we stock all these saloon girl accessories as well
Cowboys – we stock costumes and all the accessories you will need to complete your outfits including cowboy hats and sheriff badges. Ladies cowgirl costumes are also available
Indians – Indian costumes for men and women to suit all budgets and all the accessories you could think of
Outlaw – add a long duster coat over a standard cowboy costume
Mexican Bandit – Ponchos, sombreros,bullet belts and of course, Mexican moustaches are all in stock
Horse – very important for your cowboy friend
Southern Belle – try one of our beautiful Victorian gowns if you want to be a lady!
Our fancy dress theme for your consideration today is western Fancy dress, however, as today we celebrate the works of two writers, both of whom have had screen success with adaptations of their books you could also choose books as your costume theme,the choice is up to you…
The first author, Charles Dickens, probably needs no introduction, as several of his books, which tell of life in Victorian England, have been turned into films, TV serials and even musicals, notably Oliver Twist. Naturally at Props n Frocks we have some fantastic Victorian costumes, for both young and old. The Victorian era can be one of our more popular costume themes, particularly when it crops up in the school curriculum, where we can offer period costumes for either rich or poor children. We designed a brilliant range of kids Victorian costumes
Incidentally the reason for the celebration is that Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812. Next year, will be the 200th anniversary of his birth, so we are expecting several commemorative bicentennial events to crop up during 2012 (which will also see the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics in London).
The other author born on February 7th, but this time in 1867, is Laura Ingalls Wilder. This might be an unknown name to many, but those of a certain age may remember a TV show entitled ‘Little House on the Prairie’, which was based upon her books and was preceded by a made-for-TV movie. It also featured in Jackanory, the BBC’s ‘story-time’ programme during the 1960s. Set in the American Mid-West of the 19th Century a Wild West/Western Theme could be a popular choice. We stock a large range of Western costumes and a huge range of western accessories including Indian weapons and cowboy guns.
We thought we would offer a Western fancy dress theme today as the anniversary (1881) of the legendary Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone Arizona was on October 26th (yes, we know we have missed the date!) The McLaury’s and the Clantons fought with an improvised posse including members of the Earp family and Doc Holliday. Many were injured, others died but the event has been ‘celebrated’ in several films, showing continued fascination with this aspect of American History. Needless to say, the Wild West theme (and offshoots such as Country and Western and Line Dancing) continues to be popular all year round so mosey on down and see us here at Props n Frocks. Western is a very popular fancy dress theme and there are many great costumes on the market available to purchase, including this mens cowboy costume and this ladies Indian Squaw Costume. However, this is one theme (Pirates is another) where there are so many western accessories available to purchase that you should be able to put together a costume at home relatively cheaply.
At the opposite end of the action spectrum, on this date in 1984 the groundbreaking sci-fi film ‘The Terminator’ was premiered in America. Admittedly we cannot think of too many themes one can build around the war between cyborgs and humans, but chances are, whatever your event, if you visit us at Props n Frocks, you’ll be back!
being, that the actress and Vaudeville performer Mae West was born this day, way back in 1893.
