Fancy Dress Ideas

Daniel Craig will be returning to our big screens as Britain’s most charismatic action hero, James Bond, for the fourth time running! On October 26th cinemas across the country will be full to rafters as people flock to see Spectre. Since 1962 people have been kept on the edge of their seats by thrilling action, amazing gadgets and a sprinkling of gorgeous women. Sean Connery was the first in a long line of hunky actors to play the daring super spy and women wanted him, men wanted to be him. Roger Moore held the 007 title for the most movies with a total of 7 under his belt, let’s see if Mr. Craig can rival him! Spectre will be the 24th James Bond movie to be released, which is a real testament to the staying power of such a strong and cunning character. We can’t wait to see what will be next for Mr Bond! Continue reading →

It’s time to GO WILD! Camp Bestival is returning for the 8th year running and with head liners like Professor Green and Clean Bandit, you know it will be one to look forward to this July! What Is Camp Bestival? Camp Bestival is the sister festival to Bestival held annually on the Isle of Wight. From the first event in 2008 it has won multiple awards including Best New Festival in its first year and Best Family Festival four times since! What more excuse could you need to treat the whole family? Set in the idyllic grounds of Lulworth Castle on Dorset’s famous Jurassic coast, you couldn't pick a better spot for a relaxed family festival experience. As always, there will be plenty to see and do for all ages including an enormous kid’s area where they can enjoy arts and crafts, circus workshops and go-carts! Continue reading →

Grease The Musical is coming to Bournemouth Pavilion from the 21st to the 25th July. Get your tight trousers and flick combs at the ready for this smash hit show! BBLOC presents the action packed journey of young lovers Danny and Sandy along with the cool T-Birds and Sassy Pink Ladies and everyone at Rydell High. You’ll be jiving in your seats to the unforgettably catchy songs like “Summer Nights”, “You’re The One That I Want” and of course, “Greased Lightning” It’s a rock and roll party filled with 1950’s pop culture that you absolutely cannot miss! Ticket prices start at £17.20 so treat the whole family to a show they’ll never forget. Continue reading →

Prepare for a whole week of family fun and excitement with Swanage carnival and regatta! From Saturday 25th July to Saturday 1st August there will be non-stop entertainment that everyone can enjoy so come on down! A Little History The event dates back all the way to the mid 1800’s when it was a sailing regatta, after many years a...

It’s time for America to wave their flags high and sing out their national anthem as Independence Day is near! On Saturday 4th July the USA will be alive with celebration of their most famous national holiday! Why The 4th July? The 4th July is a holiday known all across the world and is a celebration of American independence. In 1776 the second continental congress met in secret to vote on the resolution of independence to separate them from the rule of Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was written up by Thomas Jefferson with the help of other members of the comity and signed on 4th July that year. Continue reading →

Totton goes around the world! This year’s Totton and Eling carnival is going to be a very colourful display with participants representing countries and cultures from all across the globe! Each year Totton Carnival Committee along with local volunteers put on a spectacular show for their community and this year will certainly be no different. On Saturday 20th June the people of Totton and Eling will be treated to a fantastic array of parade floats all dressed up in an “Around the World” theme. Expect some very extravagant costumes for this one! What To Expect at Totton? The parade will kick off at 4pm from Calmore industrial estate, heading down Salisbury Road and then into the Eling recreation grounds. As always the SO16 Troopers and Nerdageddon team will be joining the fun, we can’t wait to see if they will tie in the parade theme! Waiting at the end of the parade will be a variety of stalls selling food and other interesting nick nacks. Better still there will be a fun fair full of exciting rides that all the family can enjoy, it will be open from 2pm on the day so you can even go for a quick spin before the parade starts! Continue reading →

Arrrr! It’s that time of year again land lubbers! The Pirates of Poole are taking over the Quay for Harry Paye Day! The Pirates of Poole are a local community group striving to keep the maritime history of Poole alive and they also hold events to raise money for local charities and causes. In 2006 they began an event to celebrate Poole’s most famous and notorious pirate of all and thus Harry Paye Day was born! The day was such a success that it became an annual celebration. Who Was Harry Paye? Harry Paye certainly made a name for himself in the 15th Century, so much so that you still hear the tales to this day. Both Paye and his ship, the Mary , appear in the Kings records as being a transport to Spain, but the Spaniards marked him as a thief. He is said to have stolen the gold cross from the Church of Finisterre... We wouldn’t put it past him! Paye became notorious for burning the Spanish city of Gijion, home of his lover Countess Isabel. All of his terrible escapades drove the Spanish to seek revenge on the dreaded Arripaye! In 1405 passing Spanish and French Galleys discovered that Poole was the home of their nemesis and unleashed a deadly fighting force upon the town. When Harry Paye got wind of destruction to his home and that his brother fell in the horrific battle, he took action! He gathered a fleet of ships and captured French and Spanish cargo vessels, seizing copious amounts of booty, including rather of lot of high quality wine. Paye took the cargo back to Poole and shared it with the town’s people in hope that it would ease the suffering that he bought to them. According to the stories they feasted and drank for days after. Continue reading →

Check out our brand new video! If you need fancy dress, Hollywood is the place to come! If you need balloons, we've got you covered! Just about anything you could need for a party all under one roof, why go anywhere else? Visit Hollywood Hollywood really does have omething for everyone so why not pop in and see us now...

It’s time for the biggest end of year blowout on the South coast! We bring you SUBU Summer Ball 2015 and it is set to be HUGE! You've gathered your friends; you've got your tickets now all you need to do is get your costumes! Summer Ball! Having fun in fancy dress is what Summer Ball is all about so make sure you get yourself ready as soon as possible. There is no set theme for Summer Ball fancy dress so you can literally be whoever and whatever you choose! The possibilities are endless and there is no limit on how creative you can be. As you can imagine, we've seen some really great Summer Ball costumes over the years and are proud to say that we've contributed to a lot of what you see while you’re partying it up! We thought it was only fair to give you some ideas and pointers to help you choose your fancy dress for this year’s SUBU bash. Continue reading →

The days are getting longer and warmer and once again it's time to get ready for the legendary Bournemouth Summer Ball! What Is The SUBU Summer Ball? This renowned event has now been running for over 20 years, raising funds for the Bournemouth Student Union and giving students the opportunity for an epic end-of-semester blowout! This year it will be held on Saturday the 6th of June and with the site open for a full on 10 hours, running all the way through Sunday morning. There will be a whole host of entertainment at this year’s ball which will boast a huge music show on multiple stages, with the likes of Sigma, Sunset Sons and Artful Dodger to look forward too! The site will also be alive with colourful tents, plenty of food stalls and the highlight of the night, towering fun fair rides! It’s the perfect combination to make the night truly memorable so bring it on! Continue reading →

May the 4th be with all of you lovely lot on Star Wars Day! What Is Star Wars day? While May the 4th isn’t considered an official holiday it is celebrated worldwide by the adoring fans of the Star Wars films. The date was an obvious choice due to the pun of “May the force be with you”. Not only the 4th, but the 5th of May became part of the celebration with “Revenge of the 5th” a play on words of the Star Wars movie “Revenge of the Sith”. May has always been a month of great significance for die hard Star Wars fans with all 6 of the live actions movies debuting in May, the first on 25th May 1977. It is also George Lucas’ birthday on May 14th so even more reason to celebrate! With the help of the internet fans managed to connect across the globe and unite for something they loved and Star Wars Day took off like an X-34 Landspeeder! Continue reading →

Thursday 23rd April marks the day of England’s Patron Saint, St George, the dragon slayer. It is a day when English people across the globe join together and celebrate their heritage. Although it is no longer a national holiday, the English still celebrate it with pride by wearing a rose, which is our national symbol and hoisting the St George...

It’s every child’s favourite Disney movie; it has won countless awards and has songs so catchy that even parents can’t stop singing them. I am, of course, talking about Disney’s Frozen! We all know and love the adventure of Frozen and I’m sure by now your child could recite the entire movie start to finish. It’s every little girl’s dream...

Weymouth BID has joined forces with the Weymouth Garrison and Nothe Fort to give us a weekend of pirate fun for all the family! Now in its 3rd year the Weymouth Pirate Festival is set to be the biggest and best yet, so make sure you’re there! The event is organised by the Dorset Buccaneers and raises much needed funds to restore Weymouth’s Town Hall, which has seen plenty of Pirate skirmishes in its time. From the 3rd to the 6th April there will be a whole host of family friendly pirate activities to get stuck into and if that wasn’t enough to excite you, it’s free! The local businesses and most of the town’s people will be dressed to the nines in pirate fancy dress too, so don’t be shy and get involved! Pirate Antics Live music entertainment over the weekend will be provided by the world renowned Celtic pirate band The Dolmen who will play their first show on the Friday night at The Golden Lion and then host The Pirate’s Keep evening at The Wyke Smugglers on the Saturday. Sunday will see The Boot play host to The Captain’s Beard who will also be around and about the town over the weekend providing shanties as they go. Continue reading →

Spring is starting to emerge and chocolate eggs and bunnies fill the supermarket shelves, this can only mean it is Easter time! Most people nowadays see Easter as a time to eat lots of chocolaty treats and look at cute pictures of fluffy baby animals, but we can do that any time! Easter is more of a spiritual event than we give it credit for these days. What Is Easter About? Easter is traditionally a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after he was put to death on a crucifix. He was thought to be the son of God by the Christian religion and as such, this was a miracle to behold. Churches and schools across the country hold ceremonies to remember all that Jesus did for them in dying for their sins. In the leading up to Easter Christian also celebrate Holy week in which they celebrate the last weeks of Jesus’ life before re-birth and tell the stories from the Bible about his last supper and his betrayal from Judas. Long before Jesus’ time some European countries worshiped the Goddess of Spring, whose name was Eostre. Their belief was that the sun died in the winter and was born again in spring time and that this was the goddesses doing. Some believe that is was after her that Easter was named. Continue reading →

If you’ve visited Hollywood Fancy Dress on Castle Lane recently, you will have seen that we’re selling off some of our hire costumes and accessories to make way for shiny new ones! This of course means huge discounts on some really high quality pieces, who can say no? Well now it’s Hollywood ‘Just For Fun’s turn as all of the ex-rental is moving to our Southampton branch. If you’re looking for something unique and hard wearing for your next fancy dress party, then pop in to see the Southampton team, who will be able to kit you out for bargain prices! What Is Up For Grabs? Now I know what you’re thinking, if we’re getting rid of it, it can’t be any good! But you’d be wrong! We were simply full to the brim with great costumes and needed to make way for some exciting new ones. There is also seasonal hire up for grabs such as Halloween and Christmas costumes if you’re thinking ahead. There is a huge selection of authentic Army and Navy uniforms available for those of you who like to look distinguished in your fancy dress costumes. There are also plenty of tailored jackets and suits to choose from, ideal for murder mysteries and James Bond themed parties. Continue reading →

Nerds of the south coast unite! This year will see the second in what we hope will be a very long line of conventions. On Saturday 28th March the Empire Hall in Totton will play host to Southampton Comic Con 2! With the first year’s cartoon and comic con being such a success, how could you refuse another? What’s It All About? In 2012 Dave Penny and Wayne Streak met at Def Con 1, a Star Wars themed convention that is now held annually in Southampton. They shared a love for conventions and joined forces between Def Con, the SO16 Troopers and Nerdagedddon.net and became Nerdageddon.co.uk. In 2014 they hosted Southampton’s first ever comic con which was a roaring success. Not only are the conventions great fun for all of the family, but they also help local charities such as Clic Sargent which is a charity that helps provide accommodation for families of children fighting cancer so that they can always be nearby. They also donate to the Piam Brown unit in Southampton General hospital which is a paediatric oncology and haematology centre. Continue reading →

We all feel that ache in our legs at the end of a long night out. Too much dancing, too much walking and maybe a little too much drinking... Don’t you just wish you had someone there to take away the burden? Now you can, just say “Carry Me!” Here at Hollywood we have the most hilarious new range of...

Top of the morning to you all! We hope you’ll be joining us to raise a pint of Guinness to St Patrick on Tuesday 17th March. Who is St Patrick? St Patrick is one of Ireland’s patron saints, best known for having converted thousands of Irish Pagans over to Christianity. It is believed that at the age of 16 he...

Sunday 15th March is Mother's Day so show your mum just how much you really care about her! She’s the woman that gave you life and nurtured you from a baby to the person you are now. It’s time to give something back, a day to say thank you for all her hard work and make her feel special. What...