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 programme, 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 via e-mail - Nigel4SG@aol.com, or to speak to us in person, call our Cardiff store on 02920 396386
