We thought we’d recommend a 40s fancy dress theme today as t’s a big night for the British Movie Industry as we see the British Academy Film & TV Awards being held, sponsored by Orange.  With fourteen nominations, arguably the most popular film to dominate this year’s award ceremony will be ‘The King’s Speech’.  Although this film is set mainly in the 1930s, it does lead up to the start of the Second World War.

Here at Props n Frocks we know that 1940s is always a popular costume  theme. Although people were encouraged to ‘Make Do and Mend’ during this period, we do not expect you to do the same, particularly if you are thinking of taking a militaristic approach to dressing up.  Military outfits can be difficult to obtain and may often fit only particular sizes, but we endeavour as always to offer a range of these to accommodate all comers.  If the uniform is not for you we also have a selection of day dresses, spiv suits and evening wear. Anyone who is local to our fancy dress shop in Essex will be able to choose from our huge range of 40s costumes that are available to hire, but please bring proof of your address with you.

In our for sale range, we stock a great American GI costume for ladies and men, these have really been popular. We have also recently added a Home Guard costume to our range of 40 costumes. All of these costumes come in a good range of sizes, so you should be able to order the size you need. Gangster costumes also double up as a Spiv costume – ideal for the WWII era – just add some ladies nylon stockings and chocolate. Take a look at our 40s costumes

If 1940s isn’t quite your thing, the other film expected to get an award or two is ‘Black Swan’. Obviously a movie about ballet also has limited costume appeal (especially for men), but as a psycho-drama, Natalie Portman probably wins it on pointes. The Oscars in two weeks time (Feb 27^th) will be the ultimate test.