There is a Ginger Spice Girl Union Jack costume, a Union Jack Mini Top Hat and, of course, a Queen Elizabeth mask up for grabs and all you need to enter is a Twitter account! Follow any (or all) of the links above and click enter – it really is as simple as that!

We’re hearing stories of parties in the pipeline all over the country and we’ll certainly be joining the British revellers amongst you! It’s remarkable that Her Majesty the Queen has been on the throne for 60 years now, so we need to celebrate in style.

As always, we’d love to see pictures on our Facebook wall before, during or after your celebrations in your best Jubilee costumes!

Tracey Weatherill and Alex Colquhoun invited their guests to attend in costumes and decided to put a twist on their own wedding attire when it turned out that a lot of people were on board with the idea.

The bride and groom got married in an orange dress and a kilt (respectively, obviously), while many of guests really went the whole hog and donned everything from the classic 118 118 costume to French Maid and Jessica Rabbit outfits.

Tracey, championing the idea of fancy dress wedding dresses, wanted to bring an even bigger smile to the faces of their guests, especially the children, with this quirky modern wedding. They did, of course, stick to tradition when it came to their vows, but the pictures tell a rather untraditional story when it comes to the apparel!
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Alex, the groom, and his family were kitted out in kilts, while his Jamaican brother-in-law, Michael, made a Jamaican ginger cake with white icing and tartan trims with his mum for the happy couple.

There’s nothing like the power of the sunshine, Jamaican ginger cake and fancy dress to make a wedding day extra special! Wishing Tracey and Alex a very happy marriage from all at @FancyDressBall!

Since many of us like to get married in the summer months, May and June are extremely popular months for stag dos and hen parties. So, if you’re planning a massive party to celebrate your best friend’s upcoming wedding, let Fancy Dress Ball help you out with some stag do fancy dress ideas and fancy dress for hen parties!

There is an abundance of possibilities for both, but here is what we think are two of the best for each:

Hens
Blow Up Willy – OK, so it’s not a costume as such, but a hen party wouldn’t be a hen party without a blow up willy. Many a joke and many a memory will arise from this, we’re sure…

Police Lady Tutu Kit – Blow the whistle on the crudeness and go for pure sexy with this police lady costume. If the male stripper is one to wink at, you can even get handcuffs as accessories to lock him up for the night.

Stags

Well Hung Highlander Costume – Guaranteed to draw a few looks and laughs when you’re out on the town, this one is great for any stag.

Giving It To Ewe Costume – Another crude one, but that’s what stag dos are all about, right? Inflatable sheep are probably the most common guests at stag dos these days…

You can, of course, roam around our stag and hen sections (links above) if these suggestions aren’t floating your party boat. Whatever you go for, though, we sincerely hope the weather lets you party both the day and night away in style!

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with all the latest releases in the fancy dress world!

Parts of the movie were filmed in the state of Ohio, so they’re all planning to dress up as the superheroes and party the night away! The event will take place in Cleveland and is expected to attract a lot of attention. To further commemorate Ohio’s part in the making of the movie, there will be an exclusive premiere of the movie for all the extras held at Cinemark in Valley View.

The Avengers has had a very successful first few days in the cinema and looks set to be one of the biggest superhero movies of the year. The blockbuster has received a multitude of great reviews, too, so it seems to be going down a storm with everybody.

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There hasn’t been so much hype about a movie in a lot of years, so now that the wait is over, the fancy dress parties can begin! People are kitting themselves out in costumes like the Thor movie costume and the Iron Man outfit to party in style.

There are plenty of superhero costumes available over at our dedicated category page, too, so even if you’re not a fan of the Avengers, you won’t be short of choice!

The Daily Mail reported on the fancy dress celebration and included some great pictures of the soap stars in their best fancy dress outfits. Paula Lane, who plays Kylie in the nation’s favourite soap, dressed up as Amy Winehouse, complete with the beehive bob and big earrings, while Simon Gregson, who plays Steve McDonald, was in a time warp with his 1970s wig and purple flares.

Charlie Condu (Marcus) was grooving it up, too, in a shiny gold shirt with a white waistcoat to complete the 70s look. Ian Puleston-Davies, who plays Owen in the popular soap, seemed as though he was going for the Bono look, but perhaps we’ll have to wait for the episode to discover his intentions. It will likely be aired in the week of the Jubilee next month.

There was plenty of bunting and a fair number of Union Jacks flying around the set if the Daily Mail’s pictures are anything to go by, so we can’t wait for the episode to see the fancy dress outfits in all their glory.

The Jubilee week is set to be a nationwide celebration – let’s keep our fingers crossed for some good weather. Take a look around the site for some easy fancy dress ideas for women and men in preparation for the biggest celebration since the Royal Wedding!

A little over a year after the Royal Wedding celebrations, the British public will be hitting the streets in numbers with bunting to mark yet another historic event in British history. In the first week in June, the Queen will have occupied the throne for a remarkable 60 years and, what’s more, it will be marked with a double bank holiday – woohoo!

So you know what that means, Britain – it’s time to organise a party with your friends and family and get looking for some British fancy dress ideas to celebrate and congratulate the lady who has characterised the United Kingdom for the last six decades.

There is, of course, a huge party concert planned to take place at Buckingham Palace on 4th June to mark the special occasion. The BBC reported on the announcement of the line-up in February, with a star-studded bill set to wow the London crowds. Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Shirley Bassey and Sir Elton John are amongst the elite acts booked in to perform for Her Majesty the Queen.

If you don’t need to organise your own party because you’re lucky enough to be going to the celebratory concert, make sure you’re kitted out to look the part with some Jubilee fancy dress from @FancyDressBall!

Maureen Hammond was the owner of the vast collection and now, as she plans out her retirement, the decision to get rid of the impressive collection was an emotional but necessary one. Maureen had run the business with her husband long enough to develop a sentimental attachment to the collection but she can now rest from years of washing and ironing with a considerable cash sum from selling them off.

The auction itself saw over 8000 costumes on sale. A room was open for all costume enthusiasts to peruse before the auction kicked off. Fortunately for the auctioneer, there were only 800 lots meaning about 10 costumes per lot. The sale started at 10.00AM this morning at Lacy Scott in Bury St Edmunds.

Among those being sold today were some real curiosity pieces including costumes worn by performers at the Royal Opera House. Even more interestingly perhaps, is the 1,000 costume buy from the BBC. This purchase made it so that Maureen’s company Hammond’s Costumes were the proud owners of getups worn by the BBC’s fictional Dr Who, the band Hot Chocolate, famous eighties sketch show The Russ Abbot Show  and a variety of apparel worn by ‘Allo Allo’ star by Kim Hartman.

Many dresses worn by Shakespearean actress Barbara Jefford OBE were up for grabs, the majority of which may not be donned by their new owners, but simply worshipped.

If you, like most fancy dress shoppers out there, missed the auction, fear not! We have many sci-fi, seventies, war time and medieval costumes for all sizes and occasions!

Major sporting events come thick and fast from the start of May onwards as excitement levels build ahead of the FA Cup final, UEFA Champions League final, Tour de France, Euro 2012, US Open, Wimbledon, British Grand Prix, World Matchplay darts and, of course, the London Olympics and Paralympics 2012.

It promises to be a special summer no matter what sport you follow and many revellers will be searching for inspiration on what to wear to get in the spirit of things.

Fear not – we’ve compiled a guide to when the various events are taking place and a few suggestions on how to get involved with a few sport fancy dress ideas.

 

Football
Chelsea and Liverpool kick off the sporting summer at Wembley in the FA Cup final (May 5) and it’s fair to say there’s no love lost between the two clubs. All eyes will then be on Munich’s magnificent Allianz Arena for the UEFA Champions League final (May 19) before Euro 2012 (June 8 – July 1) takes centre stage, when hopes will be high that England and the Republic of Ireland can at least progress into the knock-out stages in Poland and Ukraine. When it comes to sporting legends fancy dress, patriotic England fans may like the idea of modelling themselves on the iconic Bobby Charlton, part of the 1966 World Cup-winning team.

Wimbledon
Murray-mania will be back in full swing when Wimbledon (June 25 – July returns. Will this be the year when Andy Murray finally wins a major title? Or will Roger Federer regain the Wimbledon crown after a two-year wait? Wimbledon, of course, is synonymous with John McEnroe’s on-court rant in the 1980s and the You Cannot Be Serious costume is a timeless classic. New balls please!

Olympics
The most-talked about sporting extravaganza for years sees London host the Olympics (July 27 – August 12) and Paralympics (August 29 – September 9) when athletes from around the world compete in a variety of different disciplines. From archery to wrestling, there’s going to be plenty going on and our male runner costume means you can at least look the part, even if you’d still be in the blocks by the time Usain Bolt crossed the finishing line if you took on the Jamaican sprinting ace. 

Horse Racing/Golf/Darts
Royal Ascot (June 19 – June 23) is a real highlight of the horse racing calendar as the pinnacle of the flat racing season sees the best jockeys and the best horses battle it out for glory. Show off your sporty side with a jockey costume. Or perhaps the gone golfing costume is more appropriate if you’ve pencilled in a game of pub golf to coincide with the US Open (June 14 – 17) or British Open (July 15 – 22). There’ll be no shortage of darts aficionados getting dressed up either for the World Matchplay (July 21 -29) in Blackpool.

Get ready for a summer of sport. On your marks, set……GO!

And it’s traditionally a time of the year when groups of friends throughout the UK embark on a good, old-fashioned pub crawl. It’s a chance to relax, have some fun, soak up some rays (hopefully) and gives people of all ages an excuse to get all decked out in fancy dress.
Here, we throw the spotlight on four of the most popular pub crawls in Britain, although of course here at Fancy Dress Ball we encourage responsible drinking so go steady on the loopy juice! 

Otley Run
First up we head to lively Leeds for the Otley Run, which is a route that takes you from the student area of Headingley into the city centre and can include anything up to 20 different watering holes. If you need Otley Run fancy dress inspiration then how about slipping into a Scary Spice costume as a tribute to Leeds lass Mel B if you Wannabe noticed?

Trans-Pennine Real Ale Trail
This up-and-coming pub crawl involves travelling by train between Leeds and Manchester and stopping for refreshments at the establishments on or near eight of different stations that are all a short distance away from each other. The scenery is almost as spectacular as the quality of the ale on offer!

Monopoly pub crawl
Head around the streets of London as this family favourite board game is turned into a memorable day out enjoying a tipple or two. There are many variations to the Monopoly pub crawl so it can be tweaked to suit your needs. Just buy a Tube pass for the day, dig out an old Monopoly board complete with a dice and get exploring (and sipping).

Rose Street Challenge
Last, but by no means least, it’s off to Edinburgh for the Rose Street Challenge. Rose Street itself is in close proximity to the city’s famous Princes Street and is packed with a good mix of traditional pubs and bars. And what better way to get in the good books of the locals by donning a Morphsuit Scotland Flag outfit?

If you’re doing a pub crawl fancy dress in 2012 then tweet us a pic @fancydressball and we’ll share it with the world!

It doesn’t seem like five minutes since the last one, but the 2012 Virgin London Marathon will take place this Sunday to the delight of fundraisers and fancy dress fans all over the world.

It’s one of the biggest and most outrageously popular marathons on the planet, attracting runners from practically every continent. There are thousands of serious runners, of course, and that has to be commended, but what we really watch it for is the fancy dress!

We’re treated to some excellent costumes every year, like Lloyd Scott’s famous diving suit costume (which was so heavy he had to walk the entire course over more than five days!). The race organisers have since rewritten the rules to state that participants must complete the course within a day, which sadly means that he won’t be able to bid farewell and retire on a high this year.

The costumes will come thick and fast through that finish line on Sunday – the charitable efforts of the fancy dress runners really are the highlight of the day.

All the preparation and training is done and the pasta parties are about to begin – it’s almost time for one of the biggest fancy dress extravaganzas of the year!

Good luck to everyone participating this Sunday!