Sports Relief Costumes

Posted on March 19, 2012 by admin

According to the BBC, fancy dress is optional for this Sunday’s run a mile for Sport Relief. But, here at Props and Frocks, fancy dress plays an extremely important role in our business (after all it’s the reason why we are here). Not only do we offer a superb range of costumes and accessories, both for hire and sale, but we also cater for all ages, sizes and shapes. Over the next few days we are going to take a look at the types of costumes and accessories in which you might like to run your mile, starting with the practicalities of the two-person animal as depicted in the adverts (sorry, “promotion” – we forgot for a moment which TV channel we were talking about).

Whenever you are dressing up for charity, do think practically, a full mascot type costume may look fantastic, but have you ever tried running in one! We are often asked to assist in charity dress up days, and if you are local, we are often able to help by donating one costume in return for some leaflets being handed out for us. However, it does depend on what the costume will be used for. We are reluctant to hire costumes for hairdressers, due to the chance that the costumes could be ruined by hair dye and in this case purchasing a costume may be more practical.

Wearing a fancy dress costume is proven to raise more money, so dressing up is great.

We have a number of animal costumes at our shop, some of which are made for one person, whilst others are built for two. The two-person animal might seem a great idea, but in terms of practicality, it can be a bit of a nightmare. Take the horse for example. First of all there is the problem of who gets to be the back end. Unlike the two-humped camel (where at least you can actually stand up in the humps) in a two-person horse, cow or similar creature, one person will need to be bending their back and keeping pace with the other, whilst not being able to see where they are going. Refreshments might also not be that practical and if it is a hot day, the materials they are made of (many are based on fur fabric) could be rather warm. A mile may not seem like a particularly arduous task, but if you are the back end of a horse for that mile, you will certainly know it. The other point to bear in mind is how the animal is constructed. Not all pantomime animals tear apart in the middle as shown on the TV. In fact, the majority will be an all-in-one body, with separate trousers for each participant. At Props and Frocks we don’t like to get in the way of a good idea, so if you have considered all the down-sides discussed above and still want to go ahead and book an animal fancy dress costume, be it four-legged or two-legged, we have a number of options for you to choose from.

Animal Costumes

Posted on April 18, 2011 by admin

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With Easter coming at the end of this week, we thought it would be apt to have an animal themed fancy dress party. Animal costumes, notably chicks, bunnies and possibly March Hares if you are having an Alice tea-party may be much on your mind.

Given that today in 1881 the Natural History Museum opened in South Kensington, London, now would be a good time to take an overview of animal outfits. At the top level are the ‘big-head’ mascot costumes. These larger-than-life characters certainly make an impression at any event but there are several issues relating to their use. Firstly, whilst they look great, most of them are hot and heavy to wear, so we do not recommend their use at parties or events where space is at a premium. Even at an outdoor event there is a need to be cautious: Not only is the wearer’s vision restricted (so having a ‘minder’ is a good plan) but even outside, the wearer will get hot and may need to have rest-breaks at a location where they can ‘break character’ out of sight of the public. (Even the ‘professionals’ with their air conditioned suits and electronic aids, follow these basic rules!). Next are the costumes with overhead masks. These retain the look of the animal being portrayed but, not being so padded and rigid as mascots, are easier to wear. There have been more of these coming on the market recently and Props n Frocks has an excellent range available. There are still problems with a limited field of vision in most cases, and simple things like eating, drinking and speaking so you can be heard are still difficult – again taking the head off in public is a no-no! Next level down is the suit and balaclava approach which leaves the face free. This can be good for interaction with your ‘public’. The animal look is portrayed with face-paint or make-up according to enthusiasm and/or ability (although some animals such as horses provide a challenge!) Even if you are not too confident on this aspect, we at Props n Frocks can help with advice and materials and there are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube and the internet. At the simplest level, for children and those who do not want to play with face-paint, animals can be portrayed with appropriate fur tabards, ears, tails etc., and the animal look can be enhanced with the widening range of animal ‘face-bobs’ available. Some of these even come equipped with appropriate sound-effects!

Take a look at our range of animal costumes.

Props n Frocks also manufactures Mascot style costumes, so if you need one for your work , charity or business, contact us and we can give you some more details.

Animal Fancy Dress Theme

Posted on September 21, 2010 by admin

Penguin Costume

We thought we would choose an animal themed costume party today as September 26^th is the anniversary of the birth of Hugh Lofting, the creator of Doctor Doolittle. Although there has since been a ‘hijacking’ of the concept by the Americans, the original Doctor Doolittle, lived in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh and, through his ability to talk to animals, undertook a wide-ranging and exciting number of adventures around the world. The original Dr Doolittle film starred Rex Harrison as our hero and featured the Pushmi-pullyu, a llama-like creature with a head at both ends! From the costuming point of view, the outfit had the advantage of neither person having to be the ‘back-end’, but it did require a little co-ordination as to which direction to go in! Given that this date in 1986 also saw the premiere of the ‘Crocodile Dundee’ film, we thought we’d suggest an ‘Imaginary Menagerie’ theme, where you can create your own animal concepts. to help with this theme, we do stock animal tails, noses and ears that you can use as a base for your animal concepts.

If this theme is too limiting why not expand it out to include all animals? Props n Frocks has a huge range of animal costumes and animal face masks. You could even call it a Noah’s Ark party where couples have to arrive in two’s.

10th June 2010

Posted on June 5, 2010 by admin

A day for fantastical creatures.
June 10th sees the anniversary of the birth in 1928 of Maurice Sendak, illustrator and author of the children’s book ‘Where The Wild Things Are’, which was recently made into a movie by Spike Jonze. On June 10th 1794 in Paris, where the wild things were was the Jardin des Plantes, a botanical museum which became one of the world’s first public zoos. Needless to say we have a wild and wonderful selection of animals (animal costumes and animal masks) with which you can hit the party circuit.

9th June 2010

Posted on June 5, 2010 by admin

A day for the creatives and inventors.
On June 9th 1781, George Stephenson was born. He, along with his son Robert, invented a method of harnessing steam-power to create the first commercial locomotive and develop the use of steam for other industrial machinery. On the same day in 1915 Les Paul was born. It was he who created the first solid body electric guitar and was instrumental (so to speak) in pioneering the multi-track recording techniques, which were the basis of rock and pop in the 1950s and 1960s.

Meanwhile on June 9th 1934 we see the birthday of Walt Disney’s arguably second most famous creation, Donald Fauntleroy Duck, who makes his first film appearance in a Disney short called ‘The Wise Little Hen’. Like many famous personalities, his birthdate is subject to dispute, as in a later film in which Donald had a greater starring role. ‘The Three Caballeros’, his birthday is stated as being on a Friday 13th in March. Even cartoon celebrities can be creative with the truth!

An inventors themed fancy dress party may be pushing it a bit, although keeping with the electric guitar link, this could be expanded out to Rock stars. You could also expand the Donald Duck connection to include all disney characters, or use an animal theme. At Props n Frocks we stock a great range of animal costumes and masks, rock star costumes, as well as your typical disney style characters.