HOBBYCRAFT
www.hobbycraft.co.uk
Of course the ultimate fancy dress is DIY. It’s budget and you’ll get buckets of praise for any efforts. It’s win, win. First stop online is the greatest craft website of all time, Hobbycraft. Stock up on cardboard, paint, a glue gun, tin foil, face paint and mask-making kits. Watch the face painting tutorials and learn how to make googly eye shoes, a Halloween wreath and a jewelled skull. Budge over Blue Peter.
SMIFFYS
www.smiffys.com
With free (and quick) delivery on orders over £25, Smiffys is price sensitive. From dirndls, lederhosen and beer barrel hats for Oktober Fest to iconic characters Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Angry Birds, the range is vast. There’s a costume for everyone; Smiffys boasts over 5,000 products stocked year round and 2,000 more products added seasonally. Not forgetting, too, that it's the oldest online costume and fancy dress retailer in the UK.
VIOLET'S BOX
www.violetsbox.com
Violet’s Box is a high-end dress boutique founded by fashion stylist Violet Neylor-Leyland. Decadent in appearance, it’s an efficient website which is easy to navigate. Hunt by theme or period so whether it’s Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Bond Girl or Gothic Rock, you will find what you’re looking for.
ETSY
www.etsy.com
Turn to the resourceful creators at Etsy. Thousands of independent designers are busy cutting and sticking weird and wonderful outfits so you don’t have to. Some look wonderfully homemade, so you can even pull it off as though you made it yourself. Look to textile artist Karen Rao for frivolous wear or the wonderful faux fur masks by Spirit Parade.
ANGELS
www.fancydress.com
Established in 1840, Angels was awarded the BAFTA for outstanding British contribution to cinema this year. But their costume designs are not just for the film industry; you get a look in too on their website www.fancydress.com. Raise your game and look online.
PRANGSTA
www.prangsta.co.uk
This is fancy dress for the very rich and committed. Prangsta offers a bespoke costumier service of handmade costumes. Think cabaret, catwalks, carnivals and a lot of wow-factor, available to buy or hire. A favourite with Prince Harry, Kate Moss and Katy Perry, Prangsta is for the Tatler crowd.
EBAY
www.ebay.co.uk
From angel wings to skeleton costumes, eBay will never let you down so long as you order in good time. Dressing up means digging into our imagination. Mostly its mass-produced throwaway costumes but sometimes, that’s just half the fun.
Updated October 2017