Why not have a Heroes & villains costume party? This is one fancy dress theme that just keeps on going, although it can also be called Goodies & Baddies or Saints & sinners, it basically is the same thing.
This is an interesting fancy dress theme as you have the option of looking at film or real life heroes. You could also look at your own personal ‘hero’. Now this may be a famous film star (maybe you always wanted to be Marilyn Monroe?) Or it could even be a teacher from your school days. This is a brilliant costume theme that will give you plenty of scope for a huge variety of costumes.
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.
We seem to have had a bit of a musical fancy dress theme running through our blogs this week, so today we thought we would go a bit more high-brow (well we did say a bit) and celebrate the fact that 170 years ago today the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan was born. The musical half of the Gilbert & Sullivan partnership which enjoyed great success with the various light operettas produced by the D’Oyly Carte Company, he was also a noted musician in his own right: In his later years he created a ballet ‘Victoria and Merrie England’ for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, amongst other works – perhaps someone will ‘revisit’ it for the Queen’s jubilee this year.
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
Why is dressing up in a fancy dress costume still so popular? I think one of the reasons is that nowadays, we really do not ‘dress up’ for much, with everything being ‘smart casual’. Fancy dress gives us all a chance to step outside of our day to day lives, and become someone, or something else.
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
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.
Vampire costumes are still one of the most popular costumes, all helped by the ongoing release of another vampire film. Due out on general release today in the UK is the movie ‘Dark Shadows’. This is another Tim Burton film, which stars Johnny Depp, alongside Michelle Pfeiffer (who last worked with Tim Burton as Catwoman in ‘Batman Returns’ back in 1992) and Eva Green (possibly best known as Vesper from the Bond film ‘Casino Royale’). Actually billed as a comedy/fantasy film about vampires, and set in the early 1970s (with an appropriate soundtrack), it is difficult to know how this will be perceived by the general public, although it can probably best be described as a sort of updated Addams Family with attitude.
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.
Yesterday we were talking about the musical Shrek costume ideas, which turned our mind to other hit musicals, where we are regularly asked for costumes. The sing-along-a type shows are still doing the rounds, with versions of Hairspray, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease, Sound of Music, all possibly playing at a theatre near you (depending of course where you live). Alongside these are various tribute nights, where participants are encouraged to dress up in the style of the appropriate stars. Abba is by far the most heavily requested type of costume for these type of events, but Blues Brothers, Elvis and Madonna can also be hot favourites. Here at Props & Frocks we have all sorts of pop stars and celebrity costumes available, from many different eras and we look forward to helping you out with your chosen idol.
It was on this day in 1663 that arguably the first London theatre, now known as the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened. A result of the Restoration of Charles II, it was only one of two buildings in London, licensed by the King to perform ‘talk drama’ as opposed to musical entertainment (possibly because Charles’ ‘significant other’, Nell Gwynn, was an actress, amongst her other talents). Despite the odd mishap (loss in the Fire of London) and closure (during plague), the venue has survived through four reincarnations and is currently playing host to the highly popular stage musical version of Shrek.
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.
Christmas Fancy Dress in May, seriously, we are not joking!
So, we are just over a third of the way through the year and thoughts turn to Christmas Costumes! Well at least those of Irving Berlin did 70 years ago, as he wrote and registered the song ‘White Christmas’ about now in 1942. The song is said to have sold the greatest number of copies ‘of all time’ (as opposed to Elton John’s ‘Candle in the Wind’ which sold the greatest number of copies ‘since UK & US charts started’). It is a perennial favourite, although it initially did not perform too well – possibly because it was released as part of an album of Bing Crosby songs in July of that year, but as Christmas grew nearer, the song caught on and acquired its now legendary status. Oddly enough, Christmas in the summer is not that rare an occurrence as here at Props & Frocks we are frequently being asked for Santa outfits and other festive wear. Usually this is when someone has the idea of a novel twist for an Australian theme to go with a British summer-time barbeque. Sometimes the weather also plays its part!
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.
that just keeps on going, although it can also be called Goodies & Baddies or Saints & sinners, it basically is the same thing.
