Who says it has to be Halloween to dress up? With so many fun festivals, school events, fairs, cosplay conventions, and themed parties popping up all year round, there is always a good excuse to get in character for a fun event. Stock up on face paint, make-up, costume accessories, complete costumes, and all dress-up items, and add them to your costume storage so that you can get what you need any day of the year.
You’ll have no problem taking your costume game to the next level when you have all the costume supplies you need on hand, for any event that may come up throughout the year. Have fun with it! Get creative and mix and match various costume accessories for a unique ensemble. Personalize a premade costume with a new wig, accessory items, and fun make-up. Go wild – the possibilities are endless, and your take on a costume can be one of a kind.
Purim
This Jewish holiday celebrates the Jewish people’s escape from Haman. If you’re looking for ideas for a Purim costume for adults, think about putting together a Queen Esther costume by adding a gold armband and bangles to a dress you already have. Your child will love a Haman costume that you make complete with a fake beard and mustache. Spice up a hamantaschen costume with a fun wig for easy Purim dress up. Don’t be afraid to recycle and reinvent costumes that are already in your closet. You don’t have to spend a lot of extra money on a full costume. Take stock of your current inventory and dress it up with fun costume accessories. Now that you’re in costume, it’s time for Purim crafts!
Burning Man
Whether it’s your first Burning Man or your 10th, take your costume game to the next level. There are no rules when it comes to Burning Man dress-up, so let your creativity run wild. An easy way to beef up your costume game is to gather various accessories and use them in new and unique ways. Try covering yourself entirely in feathers, by gluing them on every inch of clothing, ankle bracelets, and your headband. Wigs don’t have to go on your head; using elastic, wrap it around your waist to make a long, fluffy, colorful tail. Take a hat you already have and wrap it in a new material, glue fake jewels and beads to it, and transform it into a new costume piece. You can even make a fun bra out of colorful ribbon, scraps of cloth, beads, and feathers. Don’t forget to dress up your bike as well!
Themed Parties
If you’re in a sorority or fraternity, you’ve probably been to a theme party at one point in your academic career. Even if you’re not part of the Greek row, there are plenty of adults and children who love throwing themed birthday parties and celebrations throughout the year. Create a unicorn horn with a cotton candy cone and ribbon, making sure to decorate it with sparkly, colorful paints and stickers for a kid’s unicorn party. Be the life of the next Game of Thrones party or Lord of the Rings party by adding chains, fake swords, and sashes to clothes you already have in the closet. For example, dress up as Khaleesi by adding a wide belt to one of your long dresses, donning a long white wig, and making a jeweled headpiece out of beads and string.
School Events
Did your child just come home from school telling you they need a fake sword for the school play? Or they need a Chautauqua costume for their next performance? Save money by finding a complete costume that your child may have worn in the past and sprucing it up with a wig, hat, feather boa, or costume jewelry. It’s easy to dress your kid up in black pants and a button-up shirt; transform that basic outfit into a character from the past by adding a vest, a fake mustache, fake beard, wig, and appropriate hat. Little items like a pocket watch, a fake mouse, or spectacles will make your kid’s costume complete.
Cosplay
You can get really creative with your cosplay costumes using accessories, face and body paints, and wigs. For Anime cosplay spruce up a short skirt with a pair of colorful tights. Use wide white duct tape and a messy wig to create a Deku costume. Use boot covers over existing shoes to add to a My Hero Academia cosplay costume. Sailor Moon is easy when you find some red ribbon to tie in a giant bow to put over a white sailor shirt. Beef up clothing items that you already own with duct tape, feathers, paints, wigs, scarves, boas, ribbons, and beads. Get creative with costume accessories for your next cosplay, whether it’s Raven, Spiderman, Spider Gwen, Starfire, Todoroki, or Zero Suit. No need to spend a ton of money on a full-kit costume – stand out from the rest with your own personal take on your favorite cosplay character.
Themed Fairs & Live Action Role Play
If you’re attending a Renaissance fair, Dickens Fair, or a live action role play (LARP), think about all the extra accessories you can add to your clothing or box costume and really make an impression. You can get lost in the moment at a themed fair and LARP, especially if you get into character with LARP foam swords for live action sword fights, crowns and headdresses for the queen’s parade, and a goblet around your neck for imbibing with other festival attendees. Bedazzle a wig you already have with beads and a headdress for a female Twin Mask LARP costume. Perhaps you have an old cape lying around from that year you were a vampire on Halloween; throw it over black jeans, a black shirt, grab a fake sword and tie a black bandana around your face for a dark LARP character.
No matter the festival, play, party, or event, it’s easy to take stock of items you already own and inject an added flair with ribbon, tape, beads, feathers, wigs, make-up, face paint, boas, capes, swords, fake glasses, and fake facial hair to get into character. It’s fun to transport yourself to another time, another place, or another world, any time of the year.
Don’t wait until the last minute to get you or your children outfitted in the perfect costume for the next school play, fair, festival, cosplay convention, LARP, theme party, Purim, or any other fun celebration that may come around throughout the year.
We never put our costumes away!!
We never put our costumes or costume accessories away, so swing by our Berkley store at 1629 San Pablo Ave. or call us at (510) 525-1799 if you have any questions.
The colors for a classic casino theme party include black, red, white, silver and gold. Glean your inspiration from decks of cards, dice, and the glamour of the casinos as they’re depicted in James Bond films. If you’re looking to go with more of a Las Vegas-style casino theme, then you will have many other colors to choose from, including neon colors!
Happy Oktoberfest! If you’re wondering when Oktoberfest is, it actually isn’t in October: It starts on the second Saturday of September. That means it’s finally time to get gussied up with traditional Oktoberfest clothing and celebrate life, love and family with Oktoberfest games. Get ready for elaborate costumes, games and, of course, Oktoberfest beer.
Set The Oktoberfest Table
Get Your Costumes On!
Self-Reliance at Burning Man
First, a little word-history lesson: Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and refers to the tradition of eating richer foods before the ritual fasting of Lent, which begins the next day, a.k.a. Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is also called Shrove Tuesday, from the English word shrive, which means ‘to confess’ — referring to the penitence given before the start of Lent. This year, Mardi Gras is Tuesday, February 9th.
People all over the world celebrate Mardi Gras by wearing masks and costumes and dancing in the streets to live, uptempo music. Other popular ways to celebrate include overturning social conventions (dressing up lavishly and taking to the streets), dancing, engaging in sports competitions, parading, and generally being debaucherous.
Costumery
