Halloween Costumes 2012 - Dead Celebrities

Ok, so I know we are still only in August and Halloween is still a few months away, but it does not harm to be well pre-paired by just starting to think of a few ideas as to what will be the best Halloween costumes for 2010 and this week we are looking into the dead and in particular dead celebrities!

Dead Celebrity Halloween Fancy Dress Party
For something a little out of the ordinary and possibly a little macabre (but hey that is what Halloween is about) dressing up as your favourite dead celebrity is an idea for Halloween 2010. In the past few years there seems there have been a large number of celebrity deaths. Most of the popular celebrities will probably have been eulogized through a costume. An idea would be to base your Halloween party around dead celebrities! Sounds terrible... but that means it is a great idea for Halloween!

Michael Jackson Halloween Costume: Probably as diverse and controversial as the man himself, Michael Jackson Halloween costumes can come in many forms, from those who want to make fun of the King of Pop, to those who want to celebrate him, to those who choose to focus on the controversy surrounding his death. Possibly the most popular Michael Jackson fancy dress costume theme is based around his famous thriller video which makes it easy to use him as Halloween inspiration.

UK Shoppers

Michael Jackson Costumes on Amazon.co.uk


US Shoppers

Michale Jackson Costumes on BuyCostumes.com

Michael Jackson Costumes on Amazon.com


Heath Ledger (The Joker Costume): Even though Heath Ledger died in 2008 and the Batman film: The Dark Knight is old news, the Joker costume is as popular as ever and this trend is set to continue for Halloween 2010. For more, take a look at my guide to The Joker Costume.

Elvis Costume: Probably the most famous of all dead celebrities, and there literally hundreds, if not thousands of Elvis costumes available. A great idea for anyone who likes to do their thing on the dance floor! For more take a look at my article on Elvis Costumes.

Marilyn Monroe Costume: If Elvis is the most famous, then a Marilyn costume is not far behind and definitely one of the most popular dead celebrity women's costumes. For more take a look at my article on Marilyn Monroe Costumes.

Gary Coleman: Is probably best known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986) and for his small stature as an adult. Unfortunately I have been unable to find any Gary Coleman costumes for sale, so this may be an idea for someone who is prepared to make and design their own.

Farrah Fawcett: The former fashion model and Charlie’s Angel will be popular among ladies looking to use Hollywood’s obituary list for costume ideas.

Other dead celebrity costume ideas:

• Alexander McQueen
• John Forsythe - Played Blake Carrington on the 1980s soap opera Dynasty 
• Infomercial pitchman Billy Mays
• Political columnist Robert Novak
• Television personality Ed McMahon
• Ronnie James Dio -  American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio

Tinkerbell Costumes for World Book Day

About Tinkerbell
Tinkerbell comes from the Peter Pan book written by J.M. Barrie. In the story, In the stories, Tinkerbell is generally kind to Peter Pan, but she also has a slightly wicked side to her and can be a mean and vindictive fairy. In some ways Tinkerbell has almost a split personality, this is said to be because of Tinkerbell's small size which prevents her from holding more than one feeling at a time.

World Book Day costume ideas: Tinkerbell Costume
I think that a Tinkerbell makes an excellent fancy dress idea, especially as a costume idea for world book day for girls. The story of Peter pan is well known. Most children only know about Peter Pan and Tinkerbell because of the Disney film, but if by dressing up, you can also get them interested in the book, then so much the better.

Tinkerbell Costumes
Of all the fairy costumes, Tinkerbell costumes are the most popular, most Tinkerbell costumes for children are green in colour and she has wings and often a wand as well. Most Tinkerbell costumes will come with the fairy wings, but as with the way many fancy dress costumes are sold these days, you may find that you will have to buy the wand separately.

UK Shoppers
Tinkerbell Costumes on Amazon.co.uk

US Shoppers
Tinkerbell Costumes on Amazon.com

Related Posts:
Fairy Costume Ideas
Peter Pan Costumes
World Book Day 2009

Battle of the Movie Costumes

Pink Panther vs. Street Fighter vs. Wolverine vs. Star Trek

In the next few months there are a few films due to be released that make perfect fancy dress costume themes:

• The Pink Panther 2 (Feb 13th)
• Friday the 13th (Feb 13th)
• Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (Feb 27th)
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1st)
• Star Trek (May 8th)

So if you are going to or planning a costume party in the next few months and would like to dress in a topical costume, that has a film theme, which one should you choose?



Most Popular Film Search on Google
According to Google Insights for Search, over the past 30 days, slightly more people are searching for Street Fighter than Star Trek. If you combine the searches for Wolverine and X-men, it shows that this film is pretty popular in as far as web searches, with the Pink Panther lagging a little behind.

I am not sure if the amount of people searching for the films on the web will have any bearing on the box office, or how popular the respective fancy dress costumes will ultimately be, but if you want to wear a popular film costume now, I'd go for either the Star Trek Costume, Street Fighter Costume or the Wolverine Costume. But if you are after pure comic value perhaps either the Pink Panther Costume or Inspector Jacques Clouseau costumes would be the way to go.

Children's Book Week & The World Book Day

It seems as if there is some confusion as a few people have asked me if the Children's Book Week, is the same event as The World Book day. I have done a little research and as far as I can tell they are different events:

Children's Book Week
In 2008 the 77th Children's Book week was held in October which focuses on reading for pleasure amongst children of primary school age and is one of many campaigns aimed at getting children to read organised by the BookTrust. The Booktrust is an independent national charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to engage with books and the written word. As far as I can tell there is no link with fancy dress costumes and Children's Book Week.

World Book Day
World Book Day traditionally took place on 23 April (Shakespeare's birthday and St George's Day). In the UK this date clashed with the Easer Holidays and so to allow schools to take part, this was changed to the first Thursday in March. Many schools organise fancy dress days where the children can dress in a costume representing their favourite book character, so outfits like Harry Potter costumes, Peter Pan costumes, Wizard Of Oz Costumes, Alice in Wonderland Costumes and Snow White Costumes are popular.

For more, check out: World Book Day Costumes & Ideas 2009.

World Book Day: Peter Pan Costumes

As an idea for a world Book Day costume theme, I think that any Peter Pan costume would make an excellent choice. The magical story of Peter Pan, written by J. M. Barrie, tells of a naughty boy who refuses to grow up and his adventures on an island called Neverland is a classic and one that every child should know.

The Peter Pan Costume & Look
What is interesting is the way that most of the Peter Pan costumes all look pretty similar to each other, even though the author never really described Peter's appearance in much detail. It was probably his intention to allow the reader to use their imagination.

Most of the Peter Pan costumes available on the web are green and consist of a fleece like shirt and darker green trousers. Most costumes also come with the hat and feather to complete the look.


Apart form the actual Peter Pan costume, you could also wear a Captain Hook costume, especially if you would rather dress in a pirate costume. Or as a girl, a Tinkerbell costume would also really work.

UK Shoppers
Peter Pan Costumes on Amazon.co.uk Amazon have a good selection of Peter Pan costumes, including Captain Hook and Tinkerbell costumes and so are worth checking out.

Peter Pan at Jokers' Masquerade - joke.co.uk also have an excellent selection of Peter Pan Costumes, as well as Captain Hook & Tinkerbell for both children and adults.

US Shoppers
Peter Pan Costumes on Amazon.com - Like the UK, Amazon.com have all the Peter Pan themed costumes for adults as well as children that you could ever hope for.


Check out this post for more World Book Day Costume Ideas.

World Book Day Costumes 2009

This years World Book Day in the UK and Ireland will be on March 5th 2009. The rest of the world celebrates the day on St.
George’s Day, 23rd April every year. The reason that the UK celebrates it on a
different day is because here there is a large involvement with the
schools and it is placed during the school term.

One of the main aims is to encourage children to read more by making books and reading more fun and by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. There will be a number of events associated with this day and one of them
being Fancy Dress.

World Book Day Costumes

The idea of getting kids to dress up in fancy dress costumes, with a book theme, I think is excellent. Dressing up is always good fun. It is hoped that this fun with the costumes will also encourage children read more, to find out more about the character of the costume that they are wearing.

Costume Ideas for World Book Day
So what fancy dress costumes are there that come from a book, or have a book theme, here are a few fancy dress ideas that I can think of. If you can think of any more ideas, please feel free to comment below.

Boys Costume ideas for Book Week:

• Harry Potter Costume
• Robin Hood Costume
• Dennis The Menace Costume
• Wizard Of Oz Costume
• Child Tin Man Costume (Wizard of Oz )
• Child Scarecrow Costume (Wizard of Oz )
• Aladdin Costume
• Peter Pan Costume
• Noddy Costume
• Wombles Costumes
• Paddington Bear Costume
• Puss in Boots Costume
• King of Hearts Costume (Alice in Wonderland)
• Zorro Costume
• Dracula Costume
• Frankenstein Costume
• The Cat in The Hat Costume
• Jungle Book Costumes
• Oliver Twist Costume
• Wind in The Willows Costumes
• Peter Rabbit Costumes
• Costume ideas from the Bible
• Gulliver's Travels
• Dr. Dolittle Costumes
• Pinocchio Costume
• Aladdin Costume
• Winnie The Pooh Costume
• Lord of The Rings Costumes
• Jack & The Beanstalk Costume (Jack & a Giant Costume)
• Pirate Costume
• Young Bond - James Bond Costume
  

Girls Costume ideas for Book Week:

• Alice in Wonderland Costume
• Queen of Hearts Costume (Alice in Wonderland)
• Little Red Riding Hood Costume
• Cinderella Costume
  
• Snow White Costume
• Tinkerbell Costume
• Teen Dorothy Costume (Wizard of Oz)
• Heidi Costume
• Witch Costumes - From many books including Winnie The Witch & Shakespeare!
• The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe costume ideas
• Little Miss Muffet
• Goldilocks & The Three Bears costumes
• Princess & The Pea Costume
• Beatrix Potter Books - Think Rabbit costumes
  

Where to buy World Book Day Costumes
Amazon.co.uk has an excellent range of fancy dress costumes for children:
Children's Costumes on Amazon.co.uk

Cupid Costumes for Valentines Day

With February the 14th fast approaching, I thought what would be the icon for Valentines day that you could also dress up in as a fancy dress costume? Cupid, of course! In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of erotic love as well as beauty and so I think a cupid costume makes an excellent fancy dress idea for Valentines day.

After a little research on the web... hey presto, even though the mythological version of cupid is a boy, there are quite a few cupid costumes for both males and females! The male ones tend to be on the funny or novelty side, where as the women's cupid costumes are mostly sexy outfits.

Sexy Cupid Costume
One of my favourites has to be this sexy cupid outfit, that I think would make such a fun "gift" to give to the man of your life on Valentines day, just imagine the look on his face when you surprise him with this sexy cupid costume pictured

Funny Cupid Costume
If you are going to a fancy dress party around or on Valentines day, you just have to wear is costume. This novelty cupid costume comes with wings, sash, tunic, a bow and arrow and the padded costume. From what I can see on the web, the wig and sandals may also be included as additional accessories.

Where to buy Cupid Costumes for Valentines Day

UK:
Amazon.co.uk have a good selection of Cupid costumes although I could not find many male versions.
Cupid Costumes on Amazon.co.uk



USA:
Amazon.com have a good selection of Cupid costumes although I could not find many male versions.
Cupid Costumes on Amazon.com

Wrestling Costumes

A friend that I work with had what I thought was a great fancy dress idea: Wrestling Costumes. I thought that there would be hundreds of The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan costumes for sale, but doing some research I actually found the range of any sort of wrestling costume to be pretty poor. What wrestling costumes I did manage to fine are below:



Nacho Libre Costume
The Nacho Libre Deluxe Costume is for me probably the best commercially available wrestling costume on the market. The Nacho Libre costume comes from the film of the same name and is about a friar in a Mexican monastery played by Jack Black who secretly dreams of being a Mexican Wrestler or Luchador. The film is loosely based on the true story of Catholic priest Sergio Gutierrez Benitez.


Sumo Wrestling Costumes
I also managed to find a few Sumo wrestling costumes like the one below, which is pretty cool:


Where to buy fancy dress wrestling costumes:

I managed to find these costumes on:
Amazon
BuyCostumes.com

Other than that, I suppose as a guy you could always get yourself a tight little Speedo costume, cape and a mask and make your own Wrestling costume!! :-)

As for female wrestling costumes, I am afraid that I could not find any:

Sexy Womans Wrestling Costume
Here is a Fancy Dress idea for any Costume manufacturers out there: why not create some sexy wrestling divas costumes like the one pictured below as I am sure that they could become popular. Imagine a wrestling couples costume combination, what a tag team that would make - awesome!

Sexy Pink Pirate Costumes

If I asked you to think of pirates, and pirate costumes... the colours that would probably spring to mind tend to be black, gold and burgundy.

Now what if I said I had found a fantastic pink and blue pirate fancy dress costume! It is fantastic and for me has to be one of the best pirate Halloween costumes I have ever seen. (The fact that the model also happens to be stunning has nothing to do with it!)

So If you are after a pirate outfit to get noticed in, or you are off to a pirate themed fancy dress party then may I highly recommend this costume!


Where to Buy Pink Pirate Costumes

UK Shoppers:
Pink Pirate Costume on Amazon.co.uk


USA Shoppers:
Pink Pirate Costume on Amazon.com

Street Fighter Costumes

With the Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li due film for release on 27th February 2009, I though it would be a good opportunity, not only to take a look at what fancy dress Street Fighter costumes are available, but perhaps also to go over the history of Street Fighter.

Street Fighter Halloween Costumes & Outfits

Akuma Costume
My favourite Streetfighter costume is the Akuma Costume, that comes with the gi pants, gi shirt, rope belt, fighting gloves and prayer bead necklace. Unfortunately to complete the look you will also have to buy Akuma wig which is sold separately. The adult mens Akuma Costume comes in small, medium and large sizes and is made of 100% polyester. I could only find adult sizes and am not sure if there are anychildrens Street Fighter costumes available anywhere?

Chun Li Costume
For the girls there is the sexy Chun Li Costume that includes silky blue cut off dress, white waist belt, white hair accessories and black spike wrist bracelets and is available only in Adult Sizes Small, Medium, and Large. This is an officially licensed Street Fighter costume as are all the other costumes in this range.

Street Fighter Ken Costume
The officially licensed Ken costume includes pants, shirt, belt, and gloves, but like the Akuma costume, the wig not included. The costume comes in small, medium and large aduld males sizes.

Street Fighter Ryu Costume
The officially licensed Ryu street fighter costume includes matching white pants and ripped vest with black belt and red head band and is available in Adult Sizes Small, Medium, and Large. The good thing with this costume is that you should not have to buy a wig.


Street Fighter as Group or Couples Costumes
I think that if you are going to a fancy dress party as part of a group or couple, the Street Fighter costumes are perfect and something you should definitely consider.

Where to Buy The Street Fighter Costumes

Street Fighter Halloween Costumes for Sale in the US

Street Fighter Costumes on Amazon.com


Amazon.com have a whole range of Street Fighter Halloween outfits for sale with most of the main characters including the Ken, Ryu, Akuma and Chun-Li costumes and as with most things on Amazon they are selling them at pretty much the lowest price that you can get them.
Street Fighter Costumes on Amazon.com

Street Fighter Fancy Dress Costumes for Sale in the UK
At first I found it pretty difficult to find any Street Fighter costumes her in the UK, Amazon.co.uk only seem to have Street Fighter Action figures. Jokers' Masquerade Halloween & Fancy Dress Costumes do have costumes for the main characters from Streetfighter, including the Ken, Ryu, Akuma and Chun-Li costumes, so I would try them first.

About Street Fighter

The original Street Fighter computer game began in 1987 when you would fight as martial arts expert Ryu. Ryu would then compete in a series of fights against the other Street Fighter characters in a martial arts tournament. Street Fighter could also be a two player game as a second player could take control of Ryu's rival, Ken.

The first streetfighter game was pretty basic and you could only use 3 types of punches and kicks as well as three special attacks: the fight fire, Hurricane Kick and Dragon Punch. Street Fighter is still available on the most modern game consoles available today, including the new Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360.

What I find incredible is that over the years there have been eighty characters involved in Street Fighter series including the original game, Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter 3, Street Fighter 4 and Street Fighter EX. Some of the most popular and well known characters areRyu, Ken, Chun-Li, Edmond Honda, Blanka, Guile, Zangief and dhalsim. I have only managed to finf four of the 80 characters costumes for sale!

Street Fighter Films

The first Street Fighter film was released in 1994, directed by Steven E. de Souza that included Jean Claude Van Damme as the main character, Guile. It must be said that the film was probably not considered a success as they changed alot of the story line form the game and thus lost much of their core audience of the computer game fans.

The new film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is due for relaease on February 27th 2009 and stars Kristin Kreuk as Chun-Li. The hope is that this film will win over the fans of the Street fighter computer games by sticking closer to the "story lines" of the games.

Official Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Trailer

Up-Helly-Aa & Fancy Dress Costumes

Up-Helly-Aa Fire Festival
I must confess that I did not know about the Up-Helly-Aa festival and only found it when looking for fancy dress events in 2009. For those of you who don't know about it the main Up-Helly-Aa festival is held on the island of Shetland in the town of Lerwick every year on the last Tuesday of January to mark the end of the yule season. There are other similar fire festivals held on Shetland, mostly during the middle of winter, but the Lerwick one is the largest.

The Up Helly Aa festival consists of a procession of up to a thousand guizers wearing mostly Viking costumes who march through the town. As well as these official "vikings" the many visitors dressed in all sorts of costumes also join the march (I have seen a chicken costume and even a buzz lightyear costume on a You Tube video.) The main main guizer of the festival is known as the "Jarl" which is a very prestigious position and can only be achieved by being part of a committee for at least 15 years. This committee then elects the "Jarl" with only one being selected every year.

This procession then ends with everyone then throwing their lighted torches onto a replica of a Viking ship, to form the huge bonfire. The party is then said to continue on well into the early hours of the morning, so much so that even in 1824 a visiting Methodist missionary said that "the whole town was in an uproar: from twelve o clock last night until late this night blowing of horns, beating of drums, tinkling of old tin kettles, firing of guns, shouting, bawling, fiddling, fifeing, drinking, fighting. This was the state of the town all the night - the street was as thronged with people as any fair I ever saw in England."

Fancy Dress ideas for Up Helly Aa fire festival
even though I mentioned earlier that in some of the photographs and videos that you can find on Up-Helly-Aa, there are people dressing up in all sorts of fancy dress and Halloween type costumes, I think it would be fun to stick a little with the tradition of this island that sits almost exactly at the centre of a triangle, with Norway, Faroe and Scotland and thus has a very strong Viking connection.

Viking Costumes
After a quick search I found loads Viking costumes, from the pretty realistic deluxe versions to the cheaper funny costumes. Ladies, the good news is that there are also plenty of female Viking costumes, with the sexy Helga Viking Costume being my particular favourite.

Thor Costume
A Thor costume would also make a great costume for Up-Helly-Aa, even though Thor was the god of thunder, there must be lightening with thunder and where there is lightening, there is often fire, so the perfect costume for a Viking fire festival!

Obelix and Asterix Costumes
Another idea that I feel could be quite fun is to dress up in some of the most famous Vikings of all: Obelix and Asterix and the good news is that there are both commercial Obelix costumes and Asterix costumes available!

For more information on Up-Helly-Aa:
The official Website of the Lerwick Up-Helly-Aa Committee
Up-Helly-Aa Page on Visit Shetland

Pink Panther Costumes & Inspector Jacques Clouseau Fancy Dress

The Pink Panther 2 film is due for release in February and I thought that it may be fun to see what fancy dress Pink Panther costumes there are available and where you can find them.

About the Pink Panther
If anyone has ever watched any of the previous pink panther films, you will know that a "pink panther" as an animal does not feature anywhere in the films other than in the credits. The Pink Panther is actually the name of a diamond which is being tracked down by the bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau, who in the original 1962 film is played by Peter Sellers. Because of the popularity of the cartoon Pink Panther character in the opening credits, a series of short animated films was produced and that is how we have come to know the Pink Panther and is what the costumes look like.

The new pink Panther film has an impressive cast featuring Steve Martin, Jean Reno, John Cleese and Andy Garcia and we can only hope that the film is as good as the cast.

The Pink Panther Trailer

Inspector Jacques Clouseau Costume & Pink Panther Fancy Dress Costumes
There is the obvious choice of wearing a Pink Panther Costume, which are available in both children and adult versions. Another fancy dress idea would be to dress up in a Inspector Clouseau costume.
I also think that as a couples costume combination you could consider dressing him in a Pink panther or Inspector Clouseau costume and her in a diamond costume.

Where to buy your Pink Panther Outfit:
The USA
Amazon.com have a good selection of Pink Panther costumes and Inspector Clouseau costumes available.

Pink Panther Costume on Amazon.com

You could also try Buycostumes.com although as of today they do not have any in stock.

The UK
Amazon.co.uk also have a good selection of Pink Panther costumes at great prices, also try Jokers' Masquerade fancy dress

Pink Panther Costume on Amazon.co.uk

Fancy Dress Films in 2009

My last post on events before April 2009 where dressing up in fancy dress is not only acceptable, but encouraged: Fancy Dress & Halloween Costumes 2009 got me thinking into what other fancy dress ideas for the coming year are there? Films are always great for fancy dress themes, so here are the films that I could find that will be showing at a big screen near you that can also be used at a fancy dress party:

Films Due For Release in 2009
Another great fancy dress idea is to dress up in blockbuster film of the moment, here are a few films that also have great potential for fancy dress in 2009:

The Pink Panther 2 (February 2009)
With an all star cast that includes Steve Martin, Jean Reno, John Cleese and Andy Garcia, there is hope that this return of the Pink Panther could be really good. What is always strange is that there is no actual Pink Panther in the film, it is in fact a diamond! Still there are plenty of really Pink Panther costumes available that I think make a fun fancy dress costume.

Shoppers in the USA:
Pink Panther Costume on Amazon.com


Shoppers in the UK:
Pink Panther Costume on Amazon.co.uk



Star Trek: May
A new Star Trek film id due for release in May this year, to be followed by a TV series. Winona Ryder will play Spock's mum, Amanda Grayson. Simon Pegg plays Scotty, and Zachary Quinto from TV’s Heroes plays a young Spock. With the new star Treck film, you can expect tricky time travel shenanigans, freak transporter accidents and a clever, ubiquitous and ultimately slightly annoying viral marketing campaign. There are plenty of Star Trek costumes out there already and I expect, the closer we get to the release of the film, the more we are going to see.

Shoppers in the USA:
Star Trek Costumes on Amazon.com


X-Men Origins: Wolverine: May
Superhero costumes are always popular and the release of a new superhero film always makes that particular superhero costume sell like hotcakes. This year instead of Batman costumes, will we see everyone wearing a Wolverine costume? The new film follows the early years of Logan, the indestructible mutant who will one day be X-Man Wolverine. Cameos from future X-Men and the chance to see how Logan acquired his deadly claws and curious hairdo suerly make it worth seeing alone!

Shoppers in the USA:
Wolverine Costumes on Amazon.com



Shoppers in the UK:
Wolverine Costumes on Amazon.co.uk


Terminator Salvation: June

Yes!, the much anticipated ‘future war’ part of the Terminator series, which was previously only hinted at in the first three movies will hog the storyline of this killer robot film. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said he was too busy running California to play the main part of the iconic cyborg killing machine, which will be taken by Roland Kickinger. A Terminator costume makes an excellent idea for a fancy dress outfit, lets hope they bring out a few new ones this year. For more info check out the Official site & Trailer

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: June

Let's hope that this year with the new film, that somebody out there creates some Transformers costumes. Thissequel to last year’s film is said to offer even more action, more laughs, and more shape-shifting robots.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: July

Harry Potter fans are eagerly awaiting the sixth film in the hugely popular series of films adapted from JK Rowling’s incredible books. Harry Potter costumes have always been popular and I predict that they will get even more popular this year.. sometime around July!

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra: August

G.I Joe is big name in the US, just think of Action Man and you will get the idea, this film could be interesting and if they don't develop an official G.I Joe Costume, it should be pretty easy to create an army or action man costume.

Nottingham: November

Robin Hood costumes are great and I think in some ways are timeless. The release of this new film where Russell Crowe will play the role of Robin Hood.

Fancy Dress & Halloween Costumes 2009

January is a pretty quiet time in the fancy dress costume world, everyone has had their fill with Halloween costume parties in October, Christmas themed parties in December and the big bash at the end of the year, New Years where any sort of costume goes. So whilst it is still quiet I though it would be interesting to see what lies ahead in the fancy dress world for the first few months of 2009 and what excuses I could find that we have for dressing up!

Major Events with a fancy dress theme in the first few months of 2009

Valentines Day Costumes: Saturday 14th February 2009
The traditional gifts of roses, a card and chocolate for valentines day is so..... well I will leave you to fill in what you like there! As a unique valentines gift idea why not get a sexy fancy dress costume for your partner or even better and as a surprise, dress up in a sexy fancy dress costume for your partner for Valentines day? Thee are plenty of very cool sexy fancy dress costume out there at the moment for both males and females. Quick ideas for valentines gifts of sexy costumes include my favourite sexy cop costumes, a playboy bunny costume, a sexy nurse costume or how about a flight attendant costume? Make valentines day 2009 a day really to remember!

Shoppers in the USA:
Sexy Costumes on Amazon.com

Shoppers in the UK:
Sexy Costumes on Amazon.co.uk



World Book Day Costumes: Thursday 5th March 2009
This event is aimed at children, where on this day they dress up in a fancy dress costume, usually in a theme taken from a book. The event was created by UNESCO as a way of promoting and developing reading throughout the world, World Book day is now entering its 2nd decade in the United Kingdom and gets more and more popular each year. So a few world book day childrens costume ideas could include a Dennis the Menace Costume, The Cat In The Hat Costume or even Peter Pan & Tinkerbell Costumes. I think the most popular costume in 2008 for World Book Day were unsurprisingly the Kids Harry Potter costumes. For more information, see the World Book Day Costume post I created last year.

Shoppers in the USA:
Children's Costumes on Amazon.com

Shoppers in the UK:
Children's Costumes on Amazon.co.uk


Saint Patricks Day Costumes: Tuesday 17th March 2009
St. Patrick's Day is generally held on the 17th March but is occasionally moved to avoid it coinciding with Palm Sunday, as happened in 2008. The St. Patricks Festival 2009 in Dublin will run from Thursday 12th – Tuesday 17th March 2009. The parade will be held on Tuesday 17th March 2009. This is an excellent time for some great stereotypically Irish fancy dress costumes with everybody dressing up in green and gold Leprechaun costumes. There are some great Irish themed fancy dress costumes out there and I feel this is one of the funniest fancy dress parties of the year, so don't miss it!

Shoppers in the USA:
Irish Costumes on Amazon.com

Shoppers in the UK:
Irish Costumes on Amazon.co.uk


Easter Costumes: Sunday 12th April 2009
Every year we see more and more people dressing up over Easter and i say why not. The kids really enjoy dressing up in an Easter bunny costume or how about for older "children": why not a sexy Easter bunny costume to surprise your partner on Easter morning, that is sure to bring a smile to his face! If you are going out over Easter a set of bunny ears is always fun.

So there you have it, plenty great reasons and a few ideas to dress up in 2009!