fancy dress costume ideas

The 1940s was an elegant and sophisticated era in the world of fashion and hair. Ladies wore beautiful dresses, stockings, hats and jewellery – always looking sweet, feminine and polished. When you look back through photographs and advertisements of the time – you can get a sense of the ladylike grace that this period embraced. Perhaps ladies spent so much time making their hair look gorgeous, because their clothing, stockings and fabrics were rationed and this was the only way to feel stylish and dressed up. Continue reading →

Let’s Rock Southampton! The ultimate 80’s festival is hitting Southampton common this summer! After resounding success with “Let’s Rock the Moor” in Berkshire and “Let’s Rock Bristol”, “Let’s Rock Southampton” is set for its first ever show on 12th July and I’m sure it won’t be the last! This is going to be a family friendly event with plenty for...

The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil has started, England have already played and to be fair didn’t do too badly. Are you planning a world cup final party to celebrate on June 13th? Getting a bunch of your friends together to watch the game can be a lot of fun, but how do you make the party the best it can be? Here are some things that you need to consider when planning the event: What is Your Budget? The first thing to do is determine how much you have to spend on the party itself. It is tempting to overspend when you are getting excited about the event, so setting a budget first will help you to keep things reasonable. Continue reading →

If you have ever taken part in a marathon running event or watched one on television, you have probably seen a number of runners who have opted to complete the race in a fun and playful fancy dress costume rather than traditional running gear – such as in the Race for Life in Southampton for example (which will take place this year on July 6th). Why exactly do people like to run in fancy dress costumes for races? Isn’t running a race difficult enough without the extra weight an annoyance of a costume? Are these runners just attention seekers or is there a good reason why they are doing it? Continue reading →

Festival season will be in full swing soon, so it’s time to start thinking about how you can dress up! The Isle of Wight Festival took place from June 13-15th and the famous Glastonbury Music Festival will be taking place on the 25-29th of June. If you are attending these fun festivals, the experience is so much more entertaining when you can dress up in a fun and interesting outfit. But sometimes dressing up can be more difficult than it sounds. With so many options out there, how do you choose the best fancy dress costume? If you are looking for some inspiration for your festival fancy dress costume this year, here are some fun and playful ideas to keep in mind. Continue reading →

Harry Paye Day Dust off your pirate hats and don your boots me hearties because on the 21st June Poole Quay will be brimming with pirates from far and wide in celebration of Harry Paye Day! Harry Paye day is an annual celebration held in honour of the renowned Poole pirate, made famous by his raids on French and Spanish...

Trooping the Colour 2014 Calling out all patriotic Brits or any proud-to-be British person, trooping the colour is upon us! The Queen's Birthday parade will be held on 14th June 2014 on Horse Guards Parade. This is a special and honoured tradition held every year to honour the current King or Queens' birthday, their Unofficial Birthday, mind you. Trooping the...

Sometimes it can be challenging to come up with a fancy dress idea for a party. There are so many different themes that have really been overdone, so you want to think of something original that will not be tired and boring. However, you don’t want to choose anything that is too difficult or obscure. Your guests should at least be familiar with your fancy dress theme, or they won’t know what to dress as. Stuck for ideas? What about an Avengers Movie Themed Fancy dress party? The Avengers is a very popular film franchise and an important party of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film “The Avengers” came out in 2012 and was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was written and directed by the legendary Joss Whedon and includes an ensemble cast featuring Chris Evens, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner and Cobie Smulders. Continue reading →

June 6 of 2014 marks the 70s anniversary of the Normandy Landings, also known as “D-Day” or “Operation Neptune”. This was the largest seaborne invasion in history and it was the act that began the invasion of Western Europe by the Allied Troups, which was then under German occupation. This invasion led to the Allied victory in the war. Continue reading →

So you are planning a hen party before your big day? Why not get a little bit silly and wear a Fancy Dress costume? Getting dressed up for your hen party can be a lot of fun and will bring you and your girlfriends plenty of laughs. However, you don’t want to get dressed up in the same old boring fancy dress costumes. There have been a million nurses, Playboy bunnies and French maids on hen parties, so why not wear something more creative and interesting? If you are looking for some inspiration, here are some fun fancy dress ideas: Continue reading →

If you are looking for fancy dress costume inspiration for your next party, why not look to the silver screen and be inspired by the newest X-Men film? The excitement is building in the lead up to the release of the “X-Men: Days of Future Past” film, which will be released on May 22nd, 2014. Continue reading →

Looking to host a fancy dress get-together, but don’t want it to be just like every other party? These creative ideas will make your fancy dress theme party even more fun! 1. Nostalgic Television Characters Bring back the memories of your childhood years by dressing like a television character from your youth – it’s a great conversation starter and makes for a memorable party. Continue reading →

May the Fourth just might be the geekiest day of the year, this holiday has developed thanks to a clever play on words. Star Wars Day is an unofficial holiday in May that honours the much-loved space science fiction franchise Star Wars, created by director George Lucas and our team have already been having some fun as you can watch below. Continue reading →

We have an exciting new sale rail at our Castle Lane Store! This fantastic 'Vintage Hire Costumes Sale Rail' is located on our bottom floor at our Castle Lane Branch, on Castle Lane West. This genius new rail is not only a BARGAIN but a brilliant way to get your hands on an authentic/ vintage fancy dress costume! These fabulous and...

Easter is coming up soon – are you ready? This holiday originates from an old Christian festival and it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after he was crucified. It is preceded by Lent, which is a 40 day period of prayer, fasting and penance. Easter occurs every year on the first Sunday after the full moon following...

Fancy dress doesn't have to have a point, that's why its fancy dress! Hold your breath, make a wish, count to  three.. Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination, with Hollywood's candy creator costumes for both men and women. Not yet got the hairstyle to match your new costume? Not to worry, we've got just...

What are you planning on doing for sports relief this year? Climbing a mountain or swimming a voyage? Perhaps you are more of a less ambitious yet creative person! If so then why not dress up silly and compete in a sport to raise some money? Why not take a look at our Funny costume collection? Why not be the...

Celebrate New Years Eve in style this years and stroll into the 2014 with memories that will last a life time. We have a fabulous costume range that even mother monster herself would be jealous of! For the ladies that like to glam it up and show a little more we have a fantastic fever range and this year we...

Hollywood is proud to present the brand new Fever wig collection 2013. Hundreds of styles and colour ways are on offer of these professional quality, high temperature resistant wigs aimed at competing with the top contemporary fashion brands. Manufactured exclusively from 100% PET high temperature resistant fibre, these wigs are heat resistant of temperatures up to 100°C. This gives you...

Be your favourite characters this World Book Day with Hollywood! From Where’s Wally? to Horrid Henry, Tinkerbelle to the Hungry Caterpillar and Harry Potter we have everything your child will need to dress up this March 7th. Be a brave knight or beautiful princess, a fearsome creature or cute animal and everything in between. We even have costumes for the...