Cosplay

When Chloe Green launched her new Topshop fashion collection, she was joined by best friend Rita Ora, who dressed for the occasion in a skin tight, PVC Catwoman suit. A cap with cat-like ears finished the feline look.

After a celebratory meal in Dorchester restaurant China Tang, the party moved onto London club Chakkana, where they were joined by another guest dressed in his own variation of the cat-suit, a Spiderman and Lara Croft.

Indeed, the singer sported a pair of black stiletto heels from Christian Louboutin for the phase one of what become a late night out as she dined with Green - who was in a celebratory mood following the official launch of her new line earlier that day - before switching  into a pair of strappy monochrome striped shoes.

The party eventually clambered into the back of a cab as the party moved on to South American themed venue Chakkana for Chloe's launch party, where they were accompanied by Rita’s stylist friend Kyle De’volle - who matched the singer by wearing his own variation of the Catwoman ensemble.

You can recreate Rita Ora’s look yourself, with our Catwoman outfit.

Author Bio

This post on Rita Ora with a Catwoman Costume was brought to you by Alex Prevost form Character Fancy Dress Shop in Aylesbury. They provide the Batman Halloween Costume and also a great range of Catwoman Fancy Dress Costumes and Movie Fancy Dress Ideas for every occasion.

Cosplay idea

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade or so, you have probably heard the term cosplay a time or two. Do you know what it means and how much a hobby like this could end up costing a cosplayer? If not, read on as we are going to explain the ins and outs of cosplay and what it takes to get started.

Cosplay is literally the combination of the words “costume” and “play” and it is the dressing up as one’s favorite characters from comics, video games, anime, manga, movies and television shows. The origin of the word says that in 1984, Nov Takahashi, founder and writer for the anime publishing company Studio Hard, was sent to Los Angeles to cover the World-Con science fiction convention. He was impressed by the fans' costumes and the elaborate displays at the masquerade, and when he returned to Japan, he coined the term to describe what he saw.

Today, almost everyone that attends a Comic Con event participates in cosplay and just as the people vary greatly, so do the costumes. Some resourceful cosplayers repurpose clothing and props they already own while others can spend hundreds of dollars to get just the right look.

The cosplayers who choose to go above and beyond to create something totally unique have been known to commission costumes from specialists or shop costume retailers online and get the costumes and accessories they need for their upcoming “adventure”.

One example of a cosplayer who went a little out of the way to get the costume she wanted is a woman who wanted a Giselle costume from Disney's animated movie "Enchanted." She requested a price quote from an online commissioner asking for specific, high-quality materials and hand-embroidered flowers and soon discovered that the price would be upwards of $850!

Now that may seem exorbitant, but cosplayers take their craft as seriously as golfers take their game and they don’t have any problem spending the extra money to pull it off. For cosplayers, the experience is nearly always worth the

stress of choosing a costume and dropping the money. It's an opportunity to be a hero, princess or otherworldly creature for a while and it might even be considered therapeutic to many of the world’s more serious cosplayers.

Now that you know what cosplay is, the costs that must be endured and the seriousness of the players, maybe you can see yourself as the next great cosplayer saving the galaxy from the evil squirrel horde from outer space. Or maybe just dress like your favorite TV character and have less of a back story.

Happiness is so much sweeter when it’s shared. The same applies to fancy dress! You can have so much more fun with your outfit if you share your costume idea with a friend, sibling or significant other. Dressing up as a couple is a great idea for theme parties, couple outings or simply making a statement – that you are together!

Whether you and your loved one are entering a couples’ costume contest or just going out to celebrate Halloween or someone’s birthday, costumes for couples are a great way to have an enjoyable time together. They are a great favourite among people every year, as it is fun to co-ordinate.

When it comes to fancy dress, you have no limits. You can be outrageous, funny and creative. You may already have a completely unique costume idea for you and your special someone, but if you haven’t, here are some suggestions:

Superhero Couples Costumes 

Maybe Batman has an off-day. Batgirl is close at hand to salvage the situation! You can also choose to be Superman and Supergirl.

TV & Movie Couples Costumes 

From Star Wars, The Flintstones, Toy Story, Harry Potter and other perennial entertainment favourites, you have a lot to choose from.

Career Couples Costumes 

You could dress up as a priest and nun, striped jailbirds, firefighters and all branches of the military are just a few of the costumes for two populating this category. And yes, prison can be a one-night career!

Funny Couples Costumes 

Peanut butter and jellied slices of bread, ketchup and mustard, honey bee and bee keeper — who wouldn't get a chuckle out of these wacky costume ideas?

Getting Specific

Here are some great examples of famous couples:

• Bee and Beekeeper
• Mickey and Minnie
• Emily and Victor from The Corpse Bride
• Jessica and Roger Rabbit
• Shrek and Fiona
• Donkey and Dragon
• Ghostbuster and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
• Woody and Bo Peep
• Woody and Buzz
• Buzz and Jessie
• Batman and Robin
• Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swan
• Forrest Gump and Lieutenant Dan
• Jack Daniels and Coke
• Ken and Barbie
• Sandy and Danny from Greece
• Batman and the Joker
• King and Queen (list several)
• Jager Meister and Redbull
• Ghostface and Sydney Prescott from Scream
• Bunny and Pimp
• Frankenstein and his Bride
• Loofah and Soap
• Lion and Lion Tamer
• Count Dracula and his Vampire Queen

Don’t party alone when you can pair up with a friend and deck yourselves out in the coolest couples’ costumes!

Author Bio

This guide to couple fancy dress costumes was provided by Alex Prevost form Character Fancy Dress shop in Aylesbury. They provide fancy dress costumes for every occasion.

If you use a wheelchair, or know anyone that uses a wheelchair, then you know how difficult and challenging it can be to find a unique and functional fancy dress costume. Because people are all different shapes and sizes, not to mention the wheelchair itself, your best option is to custom make your own wheelchair costume.

A costume that is tailor fitted for a wheelchair needs to be able to function as well as impress. A wheelchair fancy dress costume also presents the perfect way to create a "one of kind" costume that leaves a lasting impression with both the person wearing it and everyone who sees it.

Whether you are putting together a costume for a child or an adult you have an amazing opportunity to create an award winning, original fancy dress costume that will steal the show, especially when dressed as a pirate in a ship!

A wheelchair fancy dress costume can instantly stand out in a crowd and the sky's the limit on the ideas. The fun thing with these costumes is that you can go far beyond typical fairies, monsters, zombies and super heroes. Everyone else will be jealous when they see Batman gliding through the streets in his Batmobile or Cinderella arriving to the Halloween party in her Enchanted Carriage!

The most difficult part of a costume being used for a wheelchair is that you can't order a standard princess or movie character costume online or from your local store. However, with a little fairy dust and some big ideas, you’ll be able to create your own costume. The best thing about creating your own costume is that you can customise the design to do whatever you want, plus, no one else will look anywhere near as unique.

There are no limitations on what can be created for a wheelchair – a "spy plane" being flown by a secret agent, a princess riding her horse or a farmer driving his tractor. Add in accessories, wigs, masks and anything else you can think of to design and construct your fancy dress costume for one of the most exciting times of the year – be it Halloween or simply a birthday party.

These wheelchair costumes are special, with the power to create a memorable experience for everyone involved, from the people helping to make them and the people that wear them to everyone who is lucky enough to see them in person. Get started now on your unique and distinctive costume.

Images from http://www.costume-works.com/

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, with over 200 retail stores in 80 countries. Before this, he was the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton from 1997 to 2013.

Hint - Marc Jacobs is the one on the left. Yes, you got it. The bird.

Marc Jacobs is almost as well known for his fancy dress costume shenanigans as for his fashion designs. At his annual holiday party in New York, he reportedly demands that his guests wear a costume, or they will not be allowed entry.

A fan of ketchup? Why not dress up as a ketchup bottle?

A fan of making political statements, as well as fashion statements, Marc Jacobs’ outlandish getups always cause a stir.

Marc Jacob wins the prize for 'Best Pig'. What does he win? Naomi Campbell, of course!

He must be doing something right, for he is friend and designer to the stars – his presence is often gracing the red carpet, either in the form of one of his artistic creations or the attendance by the designer himself.

Those lace dresses are all the rage, don't ya know?

Notable fans of his designs include Miley Cyrus, Ashlee Simpson, Vanessa Hudgens, Sarah Jessica Parker, Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Garner; the list goes on.

Even Miley Cyrus is getting in on the lacey dress action. And yes, this is a Marc Jacobs creation

He’s a long-time friend of Kate Moss and is credited to have persuaded her to make a runway return. He is also the person who supplied her with a stunning gold gown for her book launch party.

Kate Moss works that golden gown

If you want to embrace a fun and fantastic attitude like Marc Jacobs, you can get your own crazy costumes at Character Fancy Dress.

Cosplay has a couple of meanings, but the most relevant is the merging of the words ‘costume’ and ‘play’. If you want to wear a costume while attending an event (perhaps to compete or to perform a short sketch), then you have arrived in the exciting world of cosplay.

Cosplay is the combination of the English words "costume" and "play". It is a Japanese subculture centred on dressing as characters from manga, anime, and video games. However, in some circles, "cosplay" has been expanded to mean simply wearing a costume.

One anecdote about the origin of the word "cosplay" was that Nov Takahashi (from a Japanese studio called Studio Hard) coined the term "cosplay" as a contraction of the English words "costume play" while he was attending the 1984 Los Angeles Science Fiction Worldcon. He was so impressed by the hall and masquerade costuming there that he reported about it frequently in Japanese science fiction magazines. This ultimately triggered Japanese cosplay.

Cosplay is a hobby where like-minded people gather to see other costumes, show off their own elaborate handmade creations, snap lots of pictures and perhaps partake in best costume contests.

In the United States and Europe, it differs from Japanese culture in that cosplay concerning Sci-Fi films and TV shows along with Renaissance-era characters and historical re-enactments, especially at science fiction conventions, are far more popular in the West than they are in Japan.

Cosplay is a favourite habit of Comic Con attendees, which fans attend in droves. There, you will see dozens of Batmen, Iron Men and Wonder Women, in addition to niche costumes, like characters of the Japanese manga series "Attack on Titan" and '90s throwbacks like Freakazoid and Hey Arnold.

The costumes vary greatly in intensity. Some crafty cosplayers get imaginative and repurpose clothing and props they already own. For example, to cosplay as Katniss Everdeen of "Hunger Games”, you only need a black t-shirt, green cargo pants, lace-up boots and hair tied into a braid. You can buy a Mockingjay pin replica and use brown eye shadow for dirt and grime smears.

For cosplayers, the experience is nearly always worth the stress of choosing a costume and dropping the dough. It's an opportunity to be a hero, princess, or otherworldly creature. It takes courage to put on a costume and go into public. But cosplayers enjoy celebrating the characters that they love and embracing their fandom.

Have you cosplayed yet?