Sports fans have a blockbuster next four months to look forward to.

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!

Summer is nearly upon us – although they wouldn’t know it judging by the recent wet weather!

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’s Time for the London Marathon Fancy Dress Fans

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!

The Halo series is without doubt one of the most successful video game franchises in the world. Exclusive to the Xbox since 2001, the Bungie creation Halo has become something of a cult sensation and has raked in billions for its creators and Microsoft.

It’s one of those things that take the gaming world by storm when a new one is released, in development or even just rumoured. Suffice to say, it packs as big a punch in the gaming industry as the Spartan Laser does in Halo 3.

The Halo Master Chief costume is a head turner, a conversation starter and a computer geek’s fancy dress competition winner rolled into one. Complete with gauntlets and a half-helmet, this costume does the legendary Halo series serious justice.

The Halo hype has been going on for over a decade now and it certainly doesn’t look like stopping any time soon. To kick off a second trilogy, Halo 4 is currently in development – in case the Halo fans amongst you hadn’t heard yet – and it is due to be released in autumn this year.

There has even been talk of a blockbuster movie adaptation of the epic Halo story. First mentioned back in 2005, Halo: The Movie still seems like it will never happen. However, in 2010, Frank O’Connor, the Franchise Development Director at 343 Industries, stated that the Halo movie project will go ahead at some point, we could be in for a treat.

Just take a look at this explosive video for a taster of what could be in store:

The advancement of video games over the years has been rather astonishing to say the least. Technology has reached such a level that the line between video games and movies is beginning to blur. Indeed, video games have contributed as much to the world of fancy dress as have movies, so it’s time to pay tribute to the characters that made the games of our (extended and hopefully on-going) youth.

Mortal Kombat
Sub Zero stands out as one of the coolest characters (no pun intended) to come out of the 90s video games boom. Computer game fancy dress is epitomised by Sub Zero, along with his foes, Scorpion and Raiden.
Tomb Raider
First introduced in 1996, Lara Croft has become a bit of a sex symbol in the world of video games. In a perennial pursuit of ancient relics around the world, the adventurous English archaeologist truly racked up the miles, travelling from North Pole to South Pole, Mexico to Kazakhstan.
Street Fighter
In the same vein as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter really nailed it in the fighting genre. We have the officially licensed Street Fighter costumes here at Fancy Dress Ball, so you’re sure to pack a punch as Ryu, Ken, Akuma or Chun-Li.
Sonic the Hedgehog
There is no doubting that Sonic the Hedgehog is a timeless classic of the video game world. He and his sidekick, Knuckles, first burst onto the scene in 1993 in Japan and proceeded to conquer the world, battling Dr Eggman along the way. Game characters fancy dress at its best.

Mario and Luigi
What can we say about these two cheeky chappies? Mario and Luigi have not only given us brilliant costumes, but also a number of great catchphrases that will never grow old. Shouts of “Ey Mario!” and “Ey Luigi!” will be making folk laugh for years to come, especially when it comes from ten Marios and ten Luigis at the same time!

The legendary Star Wars franchise has brought us many awesome fancy dress costumes over the years, from the Phantom Menace through to the Return of the Jedi. So, since they are all getting the 3D treatment now, we thought we’d pick out five of the best for you to don, should you find yourself in a lightsaber battle or two this summer.

Stormtrooper
One of the most recognisable of all Star Wars costumes, the Stormtrooper is the epitome of the sci-fi warrior. It’s perfect for stag weekends in particular, so if your soon-to-be-to-married mate is on the lookout for a costume, this is sure to go down a storm.

Darth Vader
If anybody can lay claim to being the face of Star Wars, it’s Darth Vader. We’re not into the business of spoiling movies for our readers, so if you (somehow) haven’t seen Star Wars, it is a must watch for this character’s arc alone. This costume comes complete with the mask, the cape and even the belt (the lightsaber is sold separately).

Princess Leia
If you’re looking for a little something for a hen night, Princess Leia will steal the show as much as she lit up the big screen in the original movies. This costume certainly comes with her famous wig, so you won’t even have to do your hair on the night!

Jabba the Hutt
This one might not be so great in a lightsaber battle, but it will certainly make the night of anybody that sees it. It’s inflatable, so you can make your presence known at any party in any club.

Han Solo
Harrison Ford’s Han Solo has the costume of choice if you want to keep cooler than Jabs, D-Vade and the Stormers this summer. You can even recreate that famous “I love you” moment if your partner dresses up as Leia…

The ‘festival’ is very much alive amongst music fans the world over – tickets are still selling out year after year and people are putting ever more effort into standing out from the sweaty masses. Likewise, festival fancy dress is very much alive and since festival season is now upon us, it’s time to start planning the fancy dress costume that’ll get on the big screen!

Here, we take a look at some festivals that you might be heading off to this summer (and some that we wish we were going to!). If you plan on enjoying some musical muddiness this summer, tweet us @fancydressball and tell us what you’ll be dressing up as!

Download – 8th-10th June
Download is only a matter of a few weeks away now, so it’s time to don the long hair and tight leather trousers for an all-out session of hard moshing. The bill includes the likes of heavy metal icons Metallica and the incredible Prodigy, so you can pay tribute to Mr Flint with the Prodigy costume.

Isle of Wight – 22nd-24th June
A couple more icons of the rock world will be shaking the ground on the Isle of Wight later in June. Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will be playing on the Saturday and Sunday respectively and will be joined by the likes of Tom Petty, Elbow and Noel Gallagher’s new band, High Flying Birds.

Reading and Leeds – 24th-26th August
The world famous festivals of Reading and, more recently, Leeds will take place in the August Bank Holiday weekend, with the Foo Fighters, The Cure and Kasabian topping the bill. An eccentric black wig wouldn’t go amiss if you’re going to watch The Cure.

Bestival – 6th-9th September
This has truly become one of the biggest festivals on the British calendar. Some highlights of this year’s festival include Stevie Wonder, New Order and Justice, so there is, as always, plenty of choice! It’s one of the most diverse festivals around, so you can be as adventurous as you like with the fancy dress…

Such is the diversity of these festivals that you won’t look out of place in any costume, but fitting into place is not the point of dressing up now is it?! Whatever you decide to dress up as this festival season, be sure to send us your pictures on Facebook and Twitter – we’d love to see them!

We all know about the hundreds of movies that have inspired us to put on the fancy dress, but we thought we’d take a look at a few of those infamous movie characters that were inspired to dress up themselves – and all for very different reasons…

The Dark Knight

With all the excitement surrounding the new Batman movie at the moment, it only seems fitting to begin this list with the clown masks featured in the heart-pumping bank robbery scene that kicked off the last one.

The Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger, and his posse stormed a bank in clown masks in the opening scene of the Dark Knight to great effect. We won’t spoil what happens in case you haven’t seen it, but all the clowning around comes to a rather surprising conclusion.

Point Break

The infamous ex-presidents are amongst the most memorable heisters in Hollywood history. Point Break saw Reagan, Nixon, Carter and Johnson conduct a series of bank robberies and get subsequently investigated by the FBI. No spoilers here, either.

Looking for Eric
Eric Cantona, one of the most famous French footballers of all time, was the subject of a now-cult film called Looking for Eric. Writer Paul Laverty penned the story of a postman looking for answers. The ever-philosophical Cantona comes to the fore and saves the day, much like he often did for Manchester United. A gang of fans conduct Operation Cantona and storm a gangster’s house for a reason we will not share for the same reasons as above!

Kick Ass
Kick Ass is, shall we say, a lot more tongue-in-cheek. An outcast comic book fan one day decides to become a superhero. Need we say any more? OK, his exploits are side-splittingly funny and his costumes are enough to inspire the rest of us to become superheroes (but, of course, we’re not encouraging anybody to go out and try to save the day in one of our superhero costumes!)

A crime spree spanning the majority of last year’s summer featured a myriad of disguises sported by armed robber Martin Reilly. He has now become notorious for his Elvis Presley costume after being sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Thankfully there was no physical injury caused by the robberies, except maybe some split sides of CCTV staff watching the fancy dress thief in action. Other disguises used included a medley of beards, hats and moustaches, most of which were to hide or deter from the criminal’s discerning facial features.

The 53-year-old was sentenced to 12 years of ‘Jail House Rock’ for armed robberies aimed mainly at betting shops.
A net accumulation of nearly £20,000 made Reilly a prolific criminal, but his decision to commit crimes in fancy dress has, however, gained him the most fame.

From this fame Reilly can claim his place in crime history along with such figure heads as ‘The Duck Tape Bandit’ who attempted to rob liquor stores in Kentucky USA back in 2007, and famous 1900s’, Brooklyn bank robber, ‘Slick Willie’, who dressed cunningly and somewhat more inconspicuously than our most recent Hound Dog, in civil servant attire.

All joking aside, at Fancy Dress Ball, we do ask that our costumes are used purely for the purposes of fun.

But if you do fancy a game of Cops and Robbers, we’ve got a lot more imagination than those infamous historical hooligans!

Easter is almost here, which means that mums, dads, children and students are getting ready to forget about work, school, college and university for a nice long weekend. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will be a long weekend in the sun, but the (inexplicable) snow is bound to make the Easter egg hunt in the garden that little bit more fun for the kids.

There’s a whole range of different costumes you can don for the weekend. If you’re planning a weekend with the kids (or if you have no other choice because they’re on holiday), you could create the second coming yourself and dress up as Jesus and Mary for a great way to teach them the real meaning of Easter.

If you don’t fancy dressing up yourself but you want your kids to have a bit more fun, why not create your own Humpty Dumpty costume with a little help from our fancy dress accessories? Creating a costume with your kids is a great way to spend the Easter holidays.
If you’re a grown-up kid yourself and you’re planning a university party or pub run with your mates, there’s no limit on what costumes you can wear. Have a gander around the site for a whole host of funny fancy dress costumes for men and women that are perfect for student pub runs and, of course, perfect to take your mind off your exams!

There’s one last Easter fancy dress suggestion from us, but it’s not suitable for a child’s eyes…we also have a saucy range of sultry costumes for you to heat things up this weekend. If the kids are spending Easter with their grandparents or, indeed, you don’t have any children, our Pin Up Bunny costume might be perfect for you. Just an idea…

Whatever you get up to this weekend, we all hope you have as much fun as is humanly possible. Happy Easter from Fancy Dress Ball!