Star Trek Costumes

With the new Star Trek film id due for release on the 8th of May, to be followed by a TV series, I thought now would be a good time to take a look at what Star Trek Costumes are available as well as delve a little into what the film is going to be about.

Star Trek Film
The film will chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members. There is a new cast of fresh faced actors including Hot Fuzz's Simon Pegg taking up the role of Enterprise engineer Scotty, the revamped outer space odyssey is already generating huge buzz among film fans. Star Trek, directed by JJ Abrams (Cloverfield and Lost), is certified 12A and runs for 127 minutes.

The New Star Trek Costume from the Movie
The only place that I so far have found that sell the new Star Trek uniform is BuyCostumes.com in the USA - They can however ship to the UK and they say you will receive your order within 2 to 4 days which is really good. The have the full range of mens Star Trek uniforms - just no female ones yet! (click on the banner below to take you to their shop)





Other Star Trek Costumes
As for the other uniforms, Amazon.com have pretty much the entire range, including all colours of the Next Generation Uniforms for the retro look, Star Trek Voyager costumes as well as the Deep Space Nine Costumes including a Deep Space Nine Commander Sisko costume and a Dr. Bashir Star Trek Costume.

Star Trek Costumes on Amazon.com

If you are looking for more information on then check out this comprehensive guide to the Star Trek Costume and Uniforms

Battle of the Movie Costumes 2

Back in February, I wrote an article called Battle of the Movie Costumes, where we took a look at the popularity of films about to be released, using Google Insights and is based on the amount of people searching on the web for each film. I thought that with a few of the films having been released and a few about to be released, it would be interesting to compare them again and see if there have been any changes. In this way if you want to wear a fancy dress costume that has a current movie theme, you will know which is the most popular.

Films recently released that you can find fancy dress costumes for:

• The Pink Panther 2 (Feb 13th)
• Friday the 13th (Feb 13th)
• Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (Feb 27th)

And then a few about to be released:

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1st)
• Star Trek (May 8th)

Google Insights - The Most Popular films of 2009
Once again I used Google Insights to compare the search terms from February until today:



What is interesting is back in February, Street Fighter and Star Trek were neck and neck as to which was the most popular, with Street Fighter just edging it.

Street Fighter
Now we can see that there was a huge spike in the number of searches for Street Fighter, just before and then just as it was released on February the 27th and even though it was released over 2 months ago it is still more popular than the Pink Panther ever was - So a Street fighter costume is definitely cool.

Wolverine & the X-Men
This film is due for release tomorrow (May 1st) and whilst there was a spike in interest in early April and the number of searches continues to increase the closer we get to the release, it is never going to match Street Fighter. So a Wolverine Costume is still cool, just not Super Cool.

Star Trek
Next in line, just behind the Wolverine is Star Trek, it still has a few days before it's release and whist it is popular, It again is never going to reach the heights of Street Fighter. Check out the Star Trek Costumes on Amazon.com

Marvel Comics Superhero Costumes

They're fast, strong and have groovy superpowers... superheroes you just have to love them and some of the very best have to be Marvel Superheroes. There is a huge range of fully licensed Marvel heroes fancy dress costumes available. With characters like The Hulk, Spiderman, Captain America and Iron Man.

Incredible Hulk Costumes
The Incredible hulk costumes are based on the story of Bruce Banner who gets caught in a gamma bomb blast, absorbing massive amounts of radiation making him transform into the Hulk every time he gets angry.

Iron Man Costumes
There are also officially licensed Marvel Iron Man Costumes available. This superhero costume is made up of a one-piece fancy dress jumpsuit, realistic looking foam padded chest, abdomen, deltoid, bicep and triceps muscles. The Iron Man is usually found as part of the Avengers and possesses powered armor that gives him superhuman strength and durability, flight, and an array of weapons.

Pimp my Iron Man Costume

Other Superhero Costumes
Then there are the old favorites of Batman, Robin and Catwoman who tend to have a love/hate relationship. Catwoman spent her early years helping out Batman fighting crime, but returns to her life of crime and becomes a true Batman villain. The Catwoman fancy dress costumes have evolved over the years, in fact Catwoman wore no costume or disguise at all in her first appearance. The current Catwoman costume on has a much more hi-tech look and includes a mask, jumpsuit, belt and boot tops. Unlike the Catwoman costume, Batman costumes have, apart from some details, remained consistent over the years.

Did you know that the image of a bat on the Batman fancy dress costume is there to frighten criminals... woo scary stuff!

UK Shoppers:
Superhero Costumes on Amazon.co.uk

US Shoppers:
Superhero Costumes on Amazon.com

X-men Origins Wolverine Costume

With the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine film due to be released on the 1st of May, it makes for an excellent opportunity, if you are going to a fancy dress party, to dress up in a Wolverine Costume.

The Wolverine Costume
What is interesting is that the costume for the Wolverine has changed over the years and sometimes more often than a contestant on "America's Next Top Model". So what costume should you wear if you want to be the Wolverine?

I think the most iconic look, and the costume that most people think of, when they think of Logan (Wolverine), is the blue and gold costume. It is also the the Halloween costume that is most often sold by fancy dress companies. This Wolverine costume has a long history as it made it's first appearance way back in 1975, in the Marvel Comic Book Giant-Size X-Men #1. Logan was to wear this costume again for a long period during the 1990's and that is why I think this is the costume that most people think of, when they think of the Wolverine.

Other costumes over the years have included a brown and tan costume, a biker look with plenty of black leather, and in X-Force Logan wore a blue red and gold costume.

Where to buy the Wolverine Costume:
Shoppers in the USA:
Wolverine Costumes on Amazon.com


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

Check out my previous post: The Wolverine costume, for the X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer and if you want to learn a little more about The Wolverine character.

If you are in the USA, you may wish to check out this page on the X-Men Origins Wolverine Costume

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

Zorro Costumes

The Zorro Fancy Dress Costume
Zorro is usually depicted in films and books wearing a black costume with a flowing Spanish cape and wearing a flat-brimmed Andalusian style hat. Zorro also wears a black face mask that covers the top of the head from eye level upwards.

For authenticity, you should use a rapier as the correct style of "sword" Zorro uses this to slash his famous "Z" as his mark. Most Zorro costumes come with the Zorro sword, or you can purchase it as a separate accessories. Zorro has also been known to use a bull-whip and some costumes come with one included. If you cannot find one being sold with the Zorro costume, you could check the accessories for Indiana Jones as their whips are similar.

Child Zorro Costumes - World Book Day Costume Idea
The Children's Zorro costume available is almost miniature replica's of the adult costume and for me makes an excellent fancy dress idea for World Book Day as not only has Zorro been featured in many books, but the costume is undeniably cool, which you know as well I do, is extremely important at school!

Why a Child Zorro Costume makes a perfect World Book Day Costume
Did you know that Zorro who was often called Señor or El Zorro in the original stories about him was first created in 1919 where he appeared in the serialized story of "The Curse of Capistrano" written by Johnston McCulley. The original story "The Curse of Capistrano" was reprinted by Tor books in 1998 under the title "The Mark of Zorro". ISBN 978-0-8125-4007-9 (see below for links to the books, DVD's and costumes)



Adult Zorro Costume

Of all the Zorro costumes, I think the official deluxe version is the best. The Zorro outfit comes with a one-piece black jumpsuit complete with a padded muscle torso, chest, bicep, triceps and deltoid muscles, that makes you look like you have spent the past decade in the gym! The costume comes with attached black knee-high vinyl boot covers that makes it look like you are wearing Zorro's boots. This costume also comes with the long black cape, Zorro's black Andalusian style hat has a 3D raised golden trim and Zorro logo. Finishing touches include a belt with printed decoration and Zorro logo and the Zorro face-mask.

To complete the look you will probably have to buy the Zorro sword and whip separately.

Other Zorro Fancy Dress Costumes
Other than the child and adult Zorro costumes, there are also infant Zorro costumes, Pet / Dog Zorro costumes and women's Zorro costumes (La Bandida) costumes available.


Where to Buy Zorro Costumes
To buy the adult, child, women's, infant and pet Zorro costumes, I would suggest the websites below:

UK Shoppers:
Zorro Costumes on Amazon.co.uk

The Mark of Zorro on Amazon.co.uk

Amazon have the adult men's and woman's Zorro costumes as well as the child and infant outfits. There are also the accessories like the masks and swords. As well as the books and DVD's!

US Shoppers:
Zorro Halloween Costumes on Amazon.com

The Mark of Zorro on Amazon.com

Like the UK site, Amazon.com have every Zorro costume that you could ever want including all the available accessories for sale.

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.