Dennis
Alexander, the founding member of
Chickenshop.co.uk Ltd, has been in the fancy dress and party
business for over 15 years. The web site www.chickenshop.co.uk
has been going now for more than ten years which means that it is
one of the oldest fancy dress and party supply sites on the
Internet. They can satisfy customer orders from their shop and from
their well-stocked warehouse. As a company they are large enough to
carry a wide range of merchandise but still small enough to care
about each and every customer.
In
his 15 years in the business,
Dennis
Alexander has seen many changes in the industry. In the early days
most costumes went out as hire. In those days there was not a great
deal of choice for those who wanted to buy a budget costume. Quality
tended to be low and most costumes came in one size to fit all. This
was achieved by using elastic or ties for the waist, arms and back.
Today fancy dress and fashion go hand in hand. Costumes come in a
wide range of sizes and at prices that are comparable with the cost
of hire. The biggest event in the fancy dress calendar is obviously
Halloween but retro parties are a year long favourite with
customers.
Retro
20’s - 30’s: This was a
time when woman gained more rights and a freer lifestyle and ladies
known as Flappers characterised those changes. Prohibition in
America
saw an increase in organised crime and the image of the
Chicago
gangster was born. Through
film and television the gangster has become a romanticised figure
and names from this period like Al Capone and Elliot Ness have
become legendary. Relive
this flamboyant time with a range of ladies
flapper outfits and men’s
gangster costumes.
Retro
40’s – 50’s:
The 1940’s and the 1950’s see us move from the war and the big
band era to the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. The 40’s are a
much-neglected decade in terms of fancy dress costumes but
manufacturers are addressing this shortfall in their 2010
catalogues. The same shortfall is not evident in costumes from the
fifties. Chickenshop has lots of choice for both ladies and men. For
men
dressing up for a 50’s party this is the decade of Teddy
Boys and Greasers, Elvis
and Buddy Holly. For ladies
fifties dressing up ideas they have bopper girls with their
poodle and polka dot dresses. The 40’s/50’s represents the
golden age of
Hollywood
so the ladies have the opportunity to dress as Marilyn
Monroe.
Retro
60’s – 70’s:
The sixties and seventies are by far the most popular decades to
recreate as a theme party. The result of this is that each year
there is always a new selection of colourful
ladies 60’s/70’s costumes and men’s
60’s/70’s costumes. They have such a variety of outfits for
those two decades including hippie flower power costumes, shift
dresses, mod styles, disco outfits, flares and pimp costumes.
Celebrity fancy dress for the period includes the Beatles, Abba, Elvis,
Kiss and the Village People.
Retro
80’s - 90’s and Beyond:
Celebrity culture gripped us as we travelled through the 80’s and
90’s and into the noughties. The fancy dress available reflects
this obsession we have with celebrities and the way they dress. Our retro
ladies can dress up as Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Spice Girl Geri
Halliwell, punk or disco ra ra. Our retro
men can get dancing with Rod Stewart outfits, Michael Jackson,
Adam Ant and Freddy Mercury.
Period
Costumes: Going
further back in time Chickenshop sell a range of ladies
historical costumes and men’s
historical costumes. You can dress up as characters from the
ancient world,
Rome
,
Greece
and
Egypt
. Medieval costumes are popular during the summer months for
medieval fairs and medieval theme weddings.
To
look the part and get into character Chickenshop offers a range of
retro accessories including
retro shoes, character
shoes, retro
jewellery, retro
wigs, character
wigs and celebrity
wigs. Chickenshop’s catalogue of costumes and accessories is
always changing and is always growing. Whatever the theme of your
party or event look in on their web site www.chickenshop.co.uk
or give them a call on 01592 642377. I am sure they can help.
chickenshop.co.uk
