Men often cringe at this theme but our information page will give you lots of Moulin Rouge costume ideas including:

• Top Hat & Tails
• Victorian Costumes
• Burlesque costumes
• Maharahja
• Indian Princess
• Elephant Costume
• China Doll
• Dominatrix
• French Maid
• Harlequin
• Pearly queen
• Schoolgirl
• Spanish Flamenco
• Showgirls – from the 2001 film
• Eyemasks – masked balls were a regular feature of the actual Moulin rouge
• Ringmaster style costume
• Saloon Girls – these are often very suitable for a burlesque style costume

A couple of days ago we were mentioning Australian actress Cate Blanchett and by coincidence we have cause to mention her compatriot Nicole Kidman today, as it’s the anniversary of the US premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Moulin Rouge’ in 2001, which featured both Miss Kidman and Ewan McGregor in all singing/dancing roles. For some reason it took until September for the film to open here in the UK but in the meantime, thanks to the efforts of a rather raunchy pop video from the diverse diva talents of Christine Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Pink and Mya, there was plenty of pre-publicity. Many cite this movie as the point at which enthusiasm for the burlesque costume look really took off, although there have been plenty of other films since (notably 2010’s ‘Burlesque’) which have inspired demand for the short and sexy look. Some may say that this is a trend that discriminates in favour of the ‘bright young things’ yet experience shows that the look, has in fact proved popular with all ages – it is just a matter of attitude!

Conspiracy theories surround many historical events, see our list below of just some of them. Maybe you could be the person it is about, or dress up as someone involved in the incident…

• Marilyn Monroe
• Michael Jackson – look at Michael Jackson Costumes
• JF Kennedy
• Skull & Bones – Yale
• 9/11 -
• Roswell UFO – why not dress up as an alien?
• Global Warming is a Fraud
• Princess Diana
• Apollo Moon Landings
• Pearl Harbour
• The Masons
• Osama Bin Laden
• Illuminati
• Titanic
• Bilderberg Group
• Martin Luther King
• JFK
• Paul Mcartney’s Death
• Jewish World Domination
• Shergar
• Mickey & Minnie Mouse – read on for more details!

We were noting that it was on this day in 1928 that a famous film couple first appeared on screen together. The film was an animation called ‘Plane Crazy’ and the couple were Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Minnie Mouse is a popular costume request – Mickey perhaps less so (possibly too busy being the icon of the Disney Empire) but the burning question arose ‘Did Mickey and Minnie actually ever marry?’ (You can tell that sometimes here at Props & Frocks time can hang heavy whilst doing the more routine tasks). The official answer, for no less than Walt Disney himself was that ‘Mickey and Minnie were married in private life but on screen she’s his leading lady’ yet on another occasion he said “There is no marriage in the land of make-believe, Mickey and Minnie must live happily ever after”. This seems a little odd given that in most fairy tales, especially those from Disney, the marriage is said to be the start of the Happy Ever After. Real conspiracy theorists point to the fact that there is a piece of music from the 1930s called ‘The Wedding of Mister Mickey Mouse’ (apparently it’s a foxtrot, and it was sanctioned by Disney) and more recently, some will remember the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band’s seminal tune from the Gorilla album ‘Mickey’s Son and Daughter’. And you thought Mickey and Minnie were just cartoons!

Here are some of our Villain costume ideas:

• Voldermort – Harry Potter
• Darth Vader
• Darth Maul, both from Star Wars
• Cruella de Vil – 101 Dalmations
• Dr. Hannibal Lector
• Wicked Queen – Snow White
• Al Pacino
• Wicked Witch of The West – Wizard of Oz
• The Joker – Batman
• Freddy Krueger - A Nightmare On Elm Street
• Jason – Friday 13th
• Scream
• Jigsaw – Saw movies
• Dr. No – James Bond
• Captain Hook
• Wicked Queen
• Queen of Hearts
• Snow Queen
• Norman Bates (psycho)
• Dr. Hannibal Lector
• Alex DeLarge – A Clockwork Orange
• Terminator
• Maleficent
• Devils
• Bad Fairies / Angels
• Vampires – Count Dracula
• Werewolves
• Witches
• The Riddler
• Sweeney Todd
• Dr. No
• Sheriff of Nottingham
• Leatherface
• Scar – The Lion King
• Commodus – Gladiator
• Black Knight – Monty Python
• Captain Barbossa – Pirates of The Carribean
• Frankenstein
• Catwoman
• Chucky – Child’s Play
• Dr. Evil
• Penguin – Batman
• The Shark – Jaws
• Martains – The War of The Worlds
• Goldfinger
• Brutus – Popeye

Or Real Life villains, including:

• Convicts
• Gangsters
• Jack The Ripper
• Terrorists
• Adolf Hitler
• Gothic
  Osama Bin Laden
• Various Politicians – depends on who you support
• Bonnie & Clyde

Well it’s George Lucas’ birthday today, but as we did ‘Star Wars’ ten days ago instead we celebrate the anniversary of ‘the other’ famous Australian actress – Cate Blanchett.  Possibly best known for her portrayal of Galadriel, the fairy queen in ‘Lord of the Rings’ (she reprises the role in Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’, part one of which is due for release in December 2012). Cate Blanchett has also portrayed a number of wartime heroines, has played Elizabeth the First of England twice, was the ‘baddie’ in the last Indiana Jones film and even turned up uncredited in Simon Pegg’s ‘Hot Fuzz’ film. She has also recently been seen on theWest Endstage. At a time when there are many other actresses constantly in the public eye, Miss Blanchett has built a good portfolio of strong but ‘unshowy’ roles, yet some of the parts she has played, can be potentially popular when it comes to something different for a Movies or Heroes & Villains party.

Gilbert & Sullivan costuming tends to be a bit of a niche market, especially as there are specialist firms who offer integrated packages of costumes for G&S and other musical-based productions ‘off-the-peg’. That said, the themes covered by the G & S works cover a number of bases from countries such as Japan (‘The Mikado’) and Italy (‘The Gondoliers’) to Nautical choices such as ‘Pirates of Penzance’ and ‘HMS Pinafore’, the characters offer opportunities for some colourful costuming.

Some Gilbert & Sullivan Costume Ideas:

• Victorian Gentleman, one blond, one dark, both moustached
• The Mikado – Japanese Costume
• Pirates of Penzance – Pirate Costumes
• HMS Pinafore – Victorian Costumes & Sailor outfits
• Iolanthe – Fairy costumes
• The Gondoliers
• The Yeoman of The Guard – why not dress up as a beefeater?
• The sorcerer
• Princess Ida
•  Trial by Jury

Main reason fancy dress works:

• Creates a great atmosphere straight away
• Allows guests to circulate away from their own small group – great for work networking, engagements & weddings.
• Everyone laughs all night long
• Cheaper than going out and purchasing an entire new outfit
• Great Pictures, great memories

We are now asked for fancy dress costumes, or accessories for all manner of things including:

• Dressing up days at school for children, teachers and parent helpers
• Stag Nights
• Hen Nights – look at our large range of hen night novelties
• Engagements
• Weddings – Medieval / Tudor remaining the top wedding themes
• Wedding Proposals
• Work Networking/ Team Building

Dressing up in a fancy dress costume is definitely more popular than it ever has been Today, ‘just up the road’ (well, Cambridge actually) we have CamCon, one of the new fan conventions generated by the rising trend of enthusiasm for ‘cosplay’. This is ‘dressing-up’ but with reference to the Japanese comic-book styles of manga and anime and the wider field of video and on-line gaming. As we were saying recently in connection with some ‘Assassin’s Creed’ costumes we had seen, here at Props & Frocks we have enough fun dealing with the complexities of day-to-day mainstream costuming without getting too involved in these more specialist areas. However, as CamCon and other such events demonstrate, there is a loyal and dedicated fan-base in this growth area. Because of the increasing amount of ‘cross-over’, chances are we may find ourselves becoming more involved as people look to seek out costumes of suitable quality, to match their requirements.

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.

When it comes to costumes, Shrek is rapidly becoming one of our main costume themes, given that it has links with so many fairy tale characters (many of which are Disney costume characters).

Here are just some of the popular choices of characters for this particular costume theme.

• Shrek
• Princess Fiona
• Donkey
• Puss in Boots
• Gingerbread Man
• Snow White
• Three Little Pigs
• Pinocchio
• Three Blind Mice
• Peter Pan
• Monsieur Hood (AKA Robin Hood)
• Big Bad Wold
• Doris The Ugly Step Sister
• Cinderella
• Sleeping Beauty
• Merlin – look at our wizard costumes & accessories
• Fairy Godmother
• Rumplestiltskin
• Prince Charming
• Jack & Jill
• Rapunzel
• Captain Hook
• Humpty Dumpty
• Evil Queen
• Witches – we have a huge range of witch costumes & accessories
• Sir Lancelot
• The Black Knight
• The Pied Piper

This is also the time of year when Christmas Calenders, cards etc. are being planned and photographed, and also when Santa grottos start being designed. Please let us know if we can help you with your festive plans in any way.

Our Christmas costumes include:

• Angels
• Santa Costumes
• Reindeer
• Christmas Puddings
• Christmas Trees
• Sexy Miss Christmas Outfits
• Mother Christmas
• Snowmen costumes
• Elf costumes for all the family

Here at Props & Frocks we are taking a well-earned day off (has anyone ever turned down a holiday, even the Bank-style version, on the grounds that they really have not put in sufficient effort recently?). That’s the theory, but in practice we will be continuing to formulate our strategy for making the Props & Frocks experience even more interesting – we have big plans and are hoping to be unveiling some of them soon.

We are back open tomorrow (as usual 12 noon ’till 8pm for shop customers, but you can order online today, and everyday 24 hours a day.