If you have a team of people who are all going to be attending the same fancy dress party get them all together and arrange to dress up as a group in outfits that follow a theme.   It doesn’t matter what sizes or shapes your group is made up of. There are fancy dress costumes to fit every size and suit every pocket. 

Elect one person to organise the fancy dress for the whole party or event.   Email everyone you know and ask them if they want to belong to the group.  Start them off by sending them your ideas for a group fancy dress theme and ask everyone to reply back with their ideas for costumes.  Give them a time that they must get back to you by email or you’ll expel them from the group!  If you’re not tough they’ll take forever because we all leave everything till the last minute!  If you’re lucky and everyone has the same idea then obviously go with the most popular fancy dress theme.  If people send lots of ideas narrow it down to a few possibles and get people to just vote on three or four.    When you’ve got the chosen theme look online and choose your outfits and accessories.  Contact your online retailer and see if you can get discount for a bulk purchase.  Make sure you’ve chosen the accessories to go with the outfits so you can include them in the discount.Work out the costing and email everyone to let them know how much you need from them and get them to agree.  Get the money upfront before you buy.  People tend to remember to pay you before the event.  If it’s come and gone you’ll find it harder to get people to cough up the dough!! 

Check the delivery date and wait till your fancy dress has arrived before you get everyone to come and collect.  You could even arrange a pre-party pickup night with a few drinks and nibbles to try on outfits and discuss transport.

Group Fancy Dress IdeasStorm troupersGhostbustersPink ladiesRock groupSailorsPimpsStar warsChickens or animal charactersPolice officersFrench maids

Fancy dress or costume parties are really popular all over the world, in recent years people have been really creative whenever there has been a family or friend’s birthday, Halloween even New Year’s Eve parties. There are some parties that tend to stick to a theme such as super heroes but the funniest and most interesting costumes tend to come about from parties where there is no theme and can make for plenty of laughs and intriguing photos from the party.

A lot of parties will have plenty of different costumes, sometimes even the dreaded clash where two people wear the same outfit, but in the end it is all a bit of fun and everyone tends to have a great time at a fancy dress party. If you’re going to one soon then here are a few ideas for inspiration if you haven’t decided on what you are going to go as just yet.

Super Heroes (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman) Super heroes are perfect for fancy dress parties, especially the big kids that want to act out their childhood dreams of dressing up as Batman complete with the cape and trademark bat ears. A super hero themed fancy dress party is a popular choice as there are plenty of movie and comic book heroes and villains to choose from. Your party may end up looking like a meeting of the Justice League but a function room full of superheroes eating buffet food is sure to raise a few smiles!

Pirates Another popular costume ideas is dressing up like a pirate, you can speak like a pirate if you want but the iconic dress sense of swashbucklers and sea dogs is easy to achieve, the popularity of this category is possibly down to the recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies, where a lot of the men will be vying for the role of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Music Icons and pop stars When you think of pop stars and fancy dress a lot of people will instantly think of funny Elvis Presley costumes whether they are the slender early Elvis or hilariously large Elvis suits from the later years. There are a whole lot of modern and classic pop stars you can dress as for fancy dress parties from Madonna to dressing up like cast members from the musical Grease.

These are just a few ideas that have proved popular in the past but that shouldn’t limit you, let your imagination roam wild and see if you can come up with an original idea of your own or buy one of the many funny costumes that are available online.

There are lots of fancy dress costumes available for adults as well as childrens fancy dress costumes that you could choose from online for your next fancy dress party.

Fancy dress for charity events includes fairies, angels and convicts. Costumes to consider for your run include:

FairiesFancy dress for budding fairies is a tutu and a pair of wings.  Depending on how far you are running carry a wand.  If you’re running the London Marathon then give the wand a miss, it will just slow you down, but if you’re running for only a couple of kilometers in a local fun run then go for the wand.  If nothing more you can wave it at the people who are watching! This is one of the most popular fancy dress outfits for running in a marathon.

DevilsIf you’re feeling a little devilish then go for a devil fancy dress. These can be full costumes or short sexy outfits.  Maybe the time of year and the weather will play a part in your choice! Or maybe you want to wear the short sexy skirt anyway!  

Convicts and police fancy dress costumesThere’s a good choice in convict fancy dress.  Ladies can wear a frisky police outfit consisting of a short clingy blue police dress and belt.  Or a pink lady fancy dress outfit.  Men can wear an orange convict jumpsuit or a striped two piece convict outfit.

Check your event’s website for training tips and follow their training advice.  Choose your costume well in advance of the day and hound your friends and family for money!! 

Lots of people every year participate in fund raising events.  A really popular fund raiser is a short fun run or a more serious run such as the London Marathon.  Anyone can get involved.  Even if you don’t enjoy jogging, join an event that only has a one to three kilometer distance and walk the course instead of running.  Most people enter into the spirit of things by dressing up in various fancy dress.  Fairies, Convicts and Police are among some popular outfits. 

The internet has made it easy to sign up online and most charities have a website where you can easily create your own webpage where your friends and relatives can make online donations to sponsor you.  You can let people know how you are doing in your training, what fancy dress costume you’ll be wearing and how much you’ve raised for your charity.