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For Family Fancy Dress Costumes and Ideas in Cardiff Here

The History of Fancy Dress

Dressing up has been around since the dawn of time, originally being used as a form of disguise. It enabled the wearer to change his identity for a whole variety of reasons.

Probably the most iconic form of Fancy Dress, the jester originated in Europe during the Middle Ages. Jesters were believed to be special cases, touched by God with a child-like madness. This allowed for the mentally handicapped to sometimes find employment by dressing up and behaving in an amusing way. In a harsh medieval Europe, it was a niche which without they would struggle to survive.

During the 14th Century all British Royal Courts employed a jester. Entertainment included music, juggling, clowning and telling of riddles. During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I of England, William Shakespeare wrote his plays and performed with his theatre company the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later called the King's Men). Clowns and jesters were often featured in Shakespeare's plays.

The tradition of Court Jesters came to an end in Britain when Charles I was overthrown in the Civil War. As a Puritan Christian republic, England under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell had no place for such fripperies as jesters. English theatre also suffered and a good many actors and entertainers relocated to Ireland where things were little better.

Over time Fancy Dress has become more associated with the element of fun rather than entertainment, and the number of Fancy Dress parties being held has risen dramatically. No longer is it just reserved for Halloween and New Years Eve parties, people are dressing up for birthdays, Hen and Stag nights, sporting events and some, more often than not, just for the fun of it.

This trend has led to Fancy Dress companies, like Smiffy’s, to massively increase their range of costumes, allowing for party-goer’s an almost unlimited choice of outfits.

Here, at 4sg.co.uk we have stock of a large range of traditional FancyDress costumes, from Nuns and Vicars, Cowboys and Indians to Police, Hippies and Pirates.

Alongside the traditional costumes we have started to introduce more contemporary ideas. We are currently stocking the official licensed Little Britain range - you can choose from any of your favourite characters from the BBC’s hit TV show, be it “I’m the only gay in the village.” - Daffyd, to “Yeah but, No but.....” - Vicky Pollard.

With Smiffy’s constantly developing their licensing program, our contemporary range will increase massively over the coming months to include favourites like Doctor Who, Noddy, Zoom, Rock Hard Fairies, Mona the Vampire and Death Jr.

With this in mind you need look no further for your perfect Fancy Dress costume, plus, with our enormous range of FancyDress accessories, we guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

If, by any chance you fail to find what you are looking for, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line and let us know - we pride ourselves on our customer service and will do everything in our power to source the item for you.

You can contact us on 07918 840222

Try Visiting Henandstagparty.com

For Hen or Stag Night Fancy Dress Costumes and Ideas Here

Hen and Stag Night Parties

Hen Nights The traditional Hen night used to be a visit to a club with hunky Full Monty type strippers, or a pub crawl Through the streets of Cardiff in fancy dress in which the Hen party blatantly ignored any of the men in the pubs and clubs. The evening ended with a male stripogram dressed in fancy dress as a police officer ‘arresting’ the bride (in more ways than one) or with the girls jumping up onto the tables and singing along to Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’, proof a group of women together are wilder than men!

But nowadays a whole industry is devoted to giving a bride-to-be a spectacular send-off to married life. Hen nights have become Hen weekends with visits to exotic locations abroad, and a wide variety of activities on offer. A glance on the internet or in a brochure gives people numerous ideas for a fun break. So what sort of activities do Hen parties choose these days? Well, off road racing, white water rafting, paint ball wars, karting, quad bike riding, pole dancing lessons, and clay pigeon shooting. Another popular choice for women who want a break from their hectic lifestyles is a visit to a health and beauty spa where they can indulge in two days of being pampered with massages and facials, or a theatre break in London with a stay at a top hotel. Now more than ever Hen parties are taking the adventurous route of traveling abroad. Unlike their Stag counterparts, who seem to choose cities based purely on night life, many Hen parties like to go to the capitals of Europe such as Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and Madrid because of the outstanding shopping and high quality hotels. The advent of low cost airlines has boosted the party industry, and a quick search of the internet will bring up lots of companies who will arrange foreign weekend breaks for Hen night parties

There was also a time when the traditional Stag night, one of the last nights of freedom of an ensnared groom, was celebrated in the local pub. The idea was to get the groom drunk, arrange for a busty kissogram in a fancy dress costume to shake her knockers at him and take photos, and then remove his trousers on the way home, so he had to call someone from the telephone box to get a friend to pick him up. In the hours before the wedding he would then have to plead with his wife-to-be to keep the wedding on, after she’d seen photos of him with another woman and heard he had been walking along the Cardiff High Street in just his Borat Mankini.

Thankfully, things have become a little more sophisticated in the last few years. Stag nights and Stag weekends have become a multi-million pound industry with licensed products available for purchase such as the Borat Mankini to make your night/weekend one to remember forever. There are brochures which market them, internet sites which sell them, and cities across Europe that encourage them as a means of earning extra currency. As the phenomenon grows so does the sense of adventure of British people when it comes to the locations they decide to visit. A recent survey listed the following cities abroad as big favorites of the Brit's on Stag weekends: Budapest (Hungary), Dublin (Ireland), Vilnius (Lithuania ), Barcelona and Tossa de Mar (Spain), Warsaw (Poland), Prague (The Czech Republic), Riga (Latvia), the Algarve (Portugal), Amsterdam (Holland), an eclectic choice you must agree. And if people want to spend a weekend in Britain there are a growing host of outdoor activities which are popular such as karting, off-road driving, paint ball wars, target shooting and water skiing. The market has become so sophisticated that internet sites provide a pick and mix choice of location and activities depending on the sort of weekend a Stag group wants.

Try Visiting e-flora.co.uk

For Flowers or Balloons in Cardiff Here

e-flora.co.uk is a high class Florist with with flowers available for all occasions, including Weddings, Funerals and Special occasions, we believe that flowers are something special and that every customer no matter how much they spend with us deserves that extra special service that they deserve. We pride ourselves on our bouquets of exceptional quality with only the best flowers that we can find used in each bouquet

The famous French dramatist Jean Giradoux wrote that
“A flower is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life. “
Offering floral gifts as tribute reminds those who attend the funeral or memorial service that life is truly magnificent, and worthy of acknowledgement.

Our Florist is also professionally trained in all aspects of balloon artistry / decoration and we offer A professional balloon service for Weddings , Anniversaries or other special occasions from helium single balloons to balloon arches we can offer anything you require.

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For Fireworks in Cardiff Here

Here at 4sg (Wales) Ltd

We sell Selection Boxes, Rocket Packs, Single Ignition Mines and Barrages for families or large corporate events *

Organising a display at home

On the day of the event: