Who says costumes are just for Halloween?

Upcoming Costume Holidays and Events in 2007:

Mardi Gras: February 20th
MardiGrasCostumes.com carries costumes, masks, beads, party supplies to make your Mardi Gras party or parade the best ever!

Purim: Sundown on March 4th
Purim is a Jewish holiday often celebrated by masquerading in costumes and masks. Costume are also needed for plays that re-enact scenes from The Book of Esther and The Story of Purim.
AnniesCostumes.com carries costumes featuring characters from Purim as well as many other masquerade styles. Many Purim costume parties often have a masquerade theme - use your imagination!

St. Patrick's Day: March 17th
Yes, this is a costume holiday for Leprechauns, Irish Maidens, Irish Dancers & more. Plus hats, beads and party supplies. Show your Irish pride!
AnniesCostumes.com carries Irish costumes, hats and party supplies to make your St. Patty's Day Party great.

April Fool's Day: April 1st
This is also a holiday for costumes: jesters & clowns, of course! Or dress up as whatever it is that you are a fool for! Love women, dress as one! Love food, how about a hamburger costume or a Hershey's Kiss? Dog lover? You get it! Plus, we also have gags and tricks for that perfect April fools prank. Or check out the great selection of magic at my brother's magic website: Wizard's Apprentice Magic Shop.

Easter Sunday: April 8th
EasterBunnyCostumes.com carries over 30 different Easter Bunny mascot costumes, bunny costumes for kids and babies, sexy bunny costumes for ladies and biblical costumes for children and adults.

It's Renaissance Fair Season!
Check out Renaissance fairs and festivals coming to a city near you!
AnniesCostumes.com has all of the garb you need to attend your festival dressed as the lord or the lady you are!

2 Days 'Til Mardi Gras!

I know you may be surprised, Mardi Gras comes a bit early this year. This Tuesday, February 20th is FAT TUESDAY! Its not too late to order your Mardi Gras costumes, masks or party supplies though. Visit MardiGrasCostumes.com to shop online for your Mardi Gras supplies, costumes, masks, beads, party goods & more! Next day shipping will get it to you by Tuesday night as long as you place your order by 4pm EST. (Check with customer service for Special Order items, just to be certain.)

Keep in mind, there is no law that your Mardi Gras celebration must occur on this one day though. You can celebrate Mardi Gras any time of the year! A Mardi Gras theme makes a great party any day of the year.

All the best to our friends down in New Orleans! I hope that the 151st New Orleans Mardi Gras is a great one. Here's to: a great parade, fabulous costumes and all the King Cakes you can eat! Check out www.mardigrasneworleans.com for the latest news, parade routes, Krewe info, and live cams in case you can't be there in person!

Original Obi Wan Robe and Other Costumes to be Auctioned

The original Obi Wan Kenobi costume worn in the 1977 production of Star Wars by Sir Alec Guinness is among many other costumes and props set to go under the hammer.

The Angel Star Collection - Dubbed as the largest UK auction of costumes from TV and film will take place at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, London on Tuesday, March 6, 2007.

This will, no doubt, be a very exciting event for the world of costuming. Never before have so many costumes from film and tv been auctioned at one time. The Obi Wan Kenobi Jedi Robe is estimated to be one of the most expensive at £50,000-60,000 ($97,500 - $117,000 US). The BBC News reports this to be "one of cinema's most famous". Of course, you can find licensed Star Wars costumes and costume accessories in child and adult sizes for sale at AnniesCostumes for much less of an investment. (Full costumes starting at $19.95.)

If you are short on funds or just not inclined to drop such a big load on these entertainment industry treasures, Bohnams Auction House will open viewing to the public for 3 days prior to the auction so that interested customers can get a close up view.

The Easier Lifestyle website reports:

In recognition of the popular appeal of the items, and a world first in terms of a viewing experience, Bonhams’ saleroom will be turned into a star’s dressing room – allowing interested customers the opportunity to try on selected costumes.

Tim Angel, Chairman of Angels, and fifth generation of the family firm comments, “The joy of being in this business is that you know you are creating something that will help an audience immerse itself in a different world. Our costumes are famous for fulfilling the exact requirements and needs of the film, and are researched and tailored to the highest standard.

Whether it is the cloak of a Jedi knight from a galaxy far, far away, or the most elegant suit worn by Her Majesty’s best secret agent, our job is done if the audience are convinced by the authenticity and effectiveness of the costumes shown on the screen.

The flip-side of creating such iconic costumes, that become so very famous and so firmly associated with key movies, is that they can never be used in other films or productions, nor can they be made available from our fancy dress shop…for obvious reasons! With over a century and a half’s worth of costumes on the racks, each with ever increasing insurance requirements, and space at a premium, it seemed the right time for us to allow collectors and fans the chance to take home a piece of the movie magic.”

The famous jedi costume is only one of many iconic costumes going up for auction in this collection.

Also up for auction among the 350 lots are costumes from the Dr. Who TV series, which featured several different actors in the title role over the years. Here are the details from Bohnam's press release:

Costumes representing Dr Who include the original Tom Baker coat, Patrick Troughton trousers and Christopher Eccleston’s leather jacket all worn in the series. The remaining outfits were worn by the actors for promotional reasons but not worn on set.

The complete outfit made for Tom Baker [the fourth Dr. Who] includes a maroon wool topcoat, three pairs of trousers (tweed, grey wool and dark grey cotton), striped waistcoat, three felt hats and a striped scarf, and is estimated at £1,200-1,500. A wine coloured 3/4 length coat, complete with two large added pockets for the Doctor’s jelly beans and sonic screwdriver used by Baker in various episodes of Dr. Who (including some Dalek Episodes), is estimated at £8,000-10,000.

A Patrick Troughton outfit (the second Dr. Who) comprises full-length fur coat, tailcoat, checked trousers, shirt, tie, handkerchief and bandanas. Known for his scruffy appearance, Troughton played a much quirkier Doctor. The producers and writers behind the programme wanted the Doctor's second incarnation to be a contrast to first Doctor, William Hartnell's 'Victorian Headmaster' mode of attire. Therefore, Troughton was unveiled as, in his words, the "Cosmic Hobo," an eccentric exemplified by his unusual combination of garments, and in particular his long hair coat.

The third Doctor Who, John Pertwee, is represented through the promotional outfit consisting of black cape coat, burgundy velvet jacket, black cravat, and sonic screwdriver.

A promotional outfit for the fifth Doctor, Peter Davidson, is represented with a beige and orange-edged single breasted top coat, stripe trousers, cricket jumper, white shirt and straw hat, estimated at £1,200-1,500.

An promotional outfit worn by Sylvester McCoy – the seventh Doctor Who – including a cream linen jacket, grey pinstripe trousers, shirt, tie, pullover, scarf, shoes, cravat and hat, is estimated at £1,200-1,500.

After a 16-year absence of the series, Christopher Eccleston returned as the Doctor. In the sale is the original black leatherette jacket estimated at £3,000-4,000.

James Bond fans will be able to bid on a piece of their favorite secret agent. The auction will feature different oufits donned by both Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan; as well as several pieces worn by some infamous Bond villians, according to the Pocket-Lint website.

Some other costumes of interest in this auction include a grey linen overcoat, from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), as worn by Gary Oldman as Sirius Black is estimated at £3,000-4,000 and several outfits worn by Madonna in the Eva Peron film biography Evita (1997), are on auction including: a stone coloured coat, blouse and skirt (£500-700), a black silk patterned dress with a mint coloured and peach coloured slip (£400-500), a green coloured dressing gown, white satin and peach satin slip (£300-400) and a navy blue wool suit and blouse (£400-500).

Note: To convert all British pound prices to US dollars, multiply by 1.95.

AnniesCostumes in the News!

AnniesCostumes.com was recently featured in an article about contests in the South Florida based newspaper: The Sun Sentinel. One of the contests we run every year is our Top Halloween Costume survey & contest. Each year is a different prize. The PSP2 was actually the 2005 prize. In 2006, we had 5 weekly winners of gift certificates and coupons. What should we do this year? Keep me posted and look for our picks for the Top Halloween Costumes of 2007 to be posted on ExtremeHalloween.com next month! Here is an excerpt from the Sun Sentinel:

Web sites and online services can be especially effective for contest, said Jay Berkowitz, CEO of Ten Golden Rules, a Boca Raton online marketing consulting firm. Berkowitz worked with AnniesCostumes.com last year to create a survey and contest. The survey asked about the most-wanted costumes by category, including boys, girls, couples and pets, for example. The winning respondent won a PlayStation, Berkowitz said.

For the full story on contests and promotions: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/columnists/sfl-ybzbar12feb12,0,1160473.column?coll=sfla-business-headlines

The Renaissance is alive and well

The Renaissance is alive and well in Apache Junction, Arizona. This year’s festival marks the 19th year that the two-month festival has been around. People come from all over to spend a day at the 30-acre festival to see the jousting tournaments, a falconer, the comedy troupes, giant turkey legs and $5 ale.

The revelers enjoy the escape to a different reality for a little while. Most go in costume to get the most out of their experience, the festival also boasts stages of continuous live entertainment, an outdoor circus, a medieval arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament with performances each day, and a day-long feast.

Aside from the dressing up and watching jousts, people go for the wares that are often available at these festivals. This one is no different. For those that like trinkets, the Renaissance Fair is the place to look. There are vendors selling jewelry and various arts and crafts items. On the weekends, artisans come in and demonstrate their crafts sell their wares. During the week they replenish their stock when the crowds aren’t there.

Admission to the fair is $20 but offers a variety of activities from sightseeing to shopping, from face-painting and hair-braiding to camel rides and axe-throwing contests. This year the Arizona Renaissance Festival will be open February 10, 2007 through April 1, 2007.

If you're going to this or any other Renaissance Festival, be sure to check out Annie's Costumes before you go.

Original Wizard of Oz Lion Costume SOLD for $805,000

Back in December, the original Cowardly Lion costume worn by Bert Lehr in the 1939 movie production of the Wizard of Oz was auctioned off on Ebay by the Profiles in History auction house. It went for the amazing price of $805,000! A quote from the Profiles in History website states: "The Cowardly Lion costume worn by Bert Lahr composed of real lion pelts in the memorable "put 'em up, put 'em up" pose stands alone as the single most important film costume in the world! Discovered at the legendary 1970 MGM/David Weisz Auction, this Lion Costume is regarded as the most coveted piece of Hollywood history extant."

According to the cbc.ca website, the costume sold for $705,00 US, but either figure is quite a steep price to pay, although worthy of this historic and nostalgic costume! A blue-and-white gingham dress worn by Garland in The Wizard Of Oz fetched £140,000 at an auction in London in 2005. The scarecrow outfit from the movie is on display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington D.C., while the tin man costume was unfortunately destroyed.

I have personally seen one of the pairs of Dorothy's red slippers on display at MGM Studios in Orlando. The Wizard of Oz movie is a world wide classic and one of my all time favorites. My earliest memories of the movie are watching it at my grandparents house one night while eating a snack of apples and nuts with my grandpa. I must have been only about 3 years old at the time as it predates my little brother. I am sure many of you have similar memories of classic movies shared with your families.

If you would like your own piece of licensed movie history, we carry the costume and accessory replicas for a much more affordable price! See our Wizard of Oz costumes and accessories in child and adult sizes as well as deluxe adult styles. You can get your own badge of courage for only $5.95, chidlren's costumes start at $21.95 and adult costumes start at $41.95.

Crediting for picture used on CBC.ca website: A scene from 1939's The Wizard of Oz features, from left, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Judy Garland as Dorothy and Jack Haley as the Tin Man. (Warner Bros./ Associated Press)

Back to Blogging After Holidays

I've been away for a while and I am anxious to get everyone out there caught up on all of the costume industry news. Check back for new and exciting updates on the newest and latest trends in the costume industry. It currently buying season for all of us retailers, so we are getting the first looks of what will be new and hot in costumes for 2007 and, of course, what will be tops for Halloween 2007. So, stay tuned for costumenews, costume trends, and updates from all of the buying shows.