Angels is the world longest-established supplier of costumes to the entertainment industry and general public. A British business that has supplied costumes to 27 films that have received Best Costume Oscars, the most recent being Marie Antionette, the company is unique as having been in the same family for six consecutive generations.

collared”>http://www.himfr.com/buy-collared_shirts/”>collared shirtsIn 2005, the company received international headlines after the rediscovery of the robe worn by Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars on the rails of its fancy dress division in London. The Obi Wan Kenobi cloak (with a reserve price of 60,000) was auctioned along with other film items from the Angels archive at Bonhams of Knightsbridge on March 6th 2007.

Morris Angel started his business in 1840 in the Seven Dials area of London, near Covent Garden, selling second-hand clothing and tailors samples from Savile Row. Morris Angel shop became popular with theatrical actors, who at that time had to purchase their own clothes and costumes for auditions and performances. It was a request from actors to hire rather than buy outfits for the duration of a performance which served as catalyst for the launch of the costume-hiring business that is the Angels trade to this day.

Morris Angel brought his son Daniel into the business in 1870, and seven years later, the family opened a shop on Shaftesbury Avenue (this shop is now the site of Angels Fancy Dress). The quality and style of the clothes offered by Daniel was of a very high quality, and soon theatrical managers superseded the actor clients in seeking his expertise and services for their West End shows; by 1921, every major show in London West End was being dressed by the Angel family.

With the advent of cinema, the Angel family made their second major diversification by supplying costumes to the new movie industry. The crystallization of the success of this move came when Angels supplied its first Academy Award-winning costumes to Laurence Olivier Hamlet in 1948. To date, 26 further Best Costume Oscars have followed for work that the company has undertaken on major international films, including Star Wars, Titanic, Lawrence Of Arabia, The Great Gatsby, The Aviator and Memoirs of a Geisha. At the time of writing, two movies – The Queen and Marie Antoinette featuring costumes supplied by Angels have just received 2007 Oscar nominations for Achievement In Costume Design.

Today, this London-based business occupies a unique position as London (and the world) longest-established supplier of costumes. The business has two divisions: Angels The Costumiers, based in North London, which supplies the TV, film and theatre industries worldwide from its warehouse which contains over a million costumes spread across 5.5 miles worth of hanging rails. Angels Fancy Dress, on Shaftesbury Avenue, is the leading UK supplier of top class fancy-dress costumes and together with the Angels website provides the largest range of party outfits and accessories in the UK.

Tim Angel is the fifth generation of the family to work in the business and is Company Chairman (as well as being former Chairman of BAFTA). A long-running tradition in the Angel family is that the first son of each generation is named either Morris or Daniel. Tim (whose first name is Morris) joined his father, Daniel, in the family business in 1967. He now works from the Hendon Head Office with son, Daniel. Tim daughter, Emma runs Angels Fancy Dress.

Angels Fancy Dress has supplied fancy dress items to parties hosted by Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Elton John, and is regularly used by members of the Royal Family, though the controversial Nazi uniform worn by Prince Harry in 2004 did not come from Angels, as they have a policy of non-rental of politically sensitive costumes.

In the late 80s, fashion designer Alexander McQueen worked at Angels.

In September 2005, the original cloak worn by Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi in George Lucas Star Wars film was rediscovered hanging on the rails at Angels Fancy Dress having been unwittingly available to the general public for some time as a monks-style robe, and having been used as crowd scene costumes in films including The Mummy. The provenance of the piece was confirmed by John Mollo, who created the item for the film in 1977, and received an Oscar for Best Costume for the work of the film.

The Obi Wan Kenobi cloak was auctioned by Bonhams in London on March 6th 2007 for 55,000. It formed part of a sale of 400 lots from the Angels archive ??alongside iconic costumes from James Bond, Dr Who, and Highlander, and items worn onscreen by Ava Gardner, Erroll Flyn, David Niven.

For the first time in the history of the Bonhams auction house, members of the general public were able to try on items before placing bids.

Attending a fancy dress party can seem like a stressful experience but it certainly shouldn’t be; choosing a fancy dress costume is fun and affordable and now has never been easier.

Who do you want to be? And why? Choose the right Fancy Dress costume. It might seem a great idea to dress entirely for laughs but unless that’s how you want to be remembered – well think carefully.

Remember this is a great chance to live out the character of whoever you are dressed as. There are many options like the amazing Little Britain range from the BBC hit TV show or the Cowboy or Girl range or Robin Hood the choice is endless and the only limitation is your imagination!.

Other themes are plenty and range from TV and Film to just plain fun and mostly available from children, men and women with complimenting accessories.

Fancy dress parties can be held to celebrate any occasion or no occasion at all and they promise to be great fun for the guests as well as the host. Top online suppliers like Novelties 4 Parties http://www.novelties4parties.co.uk offer a wide range of choice to help you decide and prices are low.

If you are calling a large group of people, a general fancy dress party may be a better idea. Trying to organize a themed party to suit so many different tastes may prove to be too challenging for you and may not sound as exciting to everybody. You can be sure not everyone will be doing cartwheels when they receive your Aliens v/s Predators party invite. Better to give your guests the creative license to dress up or dress down as they please and watch the excitement unfold as you try and guess who is behind each mask.

Halloween costumes are about being creative and having a good time, which makes them the most fun costumes out there. However big or small your age, or your size, there’s a costume out there with your name on it. They’re the biggest element of the holiday because people enjoy the opportunity to get dressed up in something that they would never normally wear.

But of course, Halloween night would not truly be Halloween night without some terrifying Halloween costumes. Zombies, Grim Reapers, and monsters are classic creepy choices. For those grown-ups who value education, there are historical scary Halloween costumes or simply plain and simple some examples such as extravagant Marie Antoinette dresses, sharp colonial George Washington suits, seductive Cleopatra gowns, or honest Abe Lincoln ensembles. Whatever costume you end up with, don’t forget that sometimes it’s an accessory that will pull your entire outfit together and separate it from everyone else’s. Hats, wigs, swords, belts, capes, boots, scarves, and accessories will all take your Halloween costume to a whole new level.

One such company offering scary Halloween fancy dress costumes and accessories is http://www.novelties4parties.co.uk/department/Scary-Halloween-Party/ who have developed their business in supplying scary Halloween costumes and accessories to the UK consumer market.

Homemade costumes are great because they are truly one-of-a-kind, they’re as much fun to make as they are to wear, and they’ll perfectly express your unique personality. Lots people decide to use homemade costumes to save cash, but then they proceed to go out and buy all their materials, rather than using things that are lying around their house. As a result, after all the materials are bought, some home-stitched costumes end up costing even more than the store-bought ones. Don’t make that mistake.

Halloween, as we know it, originated from the pagan Celtic holiday of Samhain (the eve of All Saints Day). The day allows anyone to step outside of their normal (boring?) self and be someone or something entirely different for the evening. Usually restrained people let loose and get spooky, wild, or wicked without fear of peer judgment. That’s why it’s a favourite holiday of so many: they love the merriment, amusement, and creativity, as well as the chance to publicly show off their alter egos.