From everyone at All Fancy Dress we would like to wish you a really happy Halloween. Whatever you are doing, whether its Trick or Treating, holding a fancy dress party, or just staying at home and having a horror film fest, make sure you enter into the fun spirit of the day. It's great to see that the UK has really started to take Halloween to its heart. For many years the USA has celebrated the event with real gusto. Just about every house in the states is covered throughout with halloween decoration, grizzly looking pumpkins, jack-o-lanters and spooky spiders. There's also a host of 'scary farms' and 'horror houses' that spring up during the Halloween season to scare the wits out of its unsuspecting vitims. These trends are starting to emerge in the UK too, and we love it. Long may the Halloween fun continue- have fun, but be safe! Happy Halloween folks!

Greetings fellow Halloween Fans! We're 'dead' excited here at All Fancy Dress Towers, as we're now officially only 7 days away from the best (and scariest) day of the year! That's right, you may think we're mad but we get more excited about Halloween than Christmas here at AFD. We love the sense of fun and anticipation involved in choosing your costume, followed by the creativity of customising it to suit your inidividual look! And there are literally hundreds of ways to 'pimp' your costume, from fake blood through to fangs and even funky coloured cosmetic contact lenses (which look truly scary on zombie costumes)! And let's not forget the fun kids can have carving pumpkins, Trick or Treating, and helping you to decorate your house (spooky style!) It's really great to see that we're embracing Halloween with real gusto now in the UK, and who knows, maybe we can teach our American cousins a thing or two about how to celebrate Halloween in style- Have fun, but stay safe folks!

Now if you thought Ozzy Osbourne Looked a bit scary (and well, yes he is a bit) then you ain't seen nothing yet. That's right becuase this fierce looking Zombie Rocker Costume combines the edginess of the rock n roll persona, with the added 'bite' and attitude of a rabbid wide-eyed zombie! The parralels between zombie and rock star are there for all to see- the vacant stare, the post drug-binge addled brain, and the long extended growling. We love this outfit at All Fancy Dress- It can be worn not only as a Halloween Costume but also fits in nicely with the 1980s theme! This zombie rocker costume includes beige shirt with bone print on the front and an attached black waistcoat, skeleton mask with hair and a red headband, and a cool bone guitar. Party on Zombie Dude!

Burlesque is all the rage these days- Across London and further afield burlesque themed clubs are opening up, and popular culture has become increasingly obsessed with this fascinating phenomenon. Recent film releases such as 'Burlesque', which featured both Cher and Christina Aguilera, have allowed what was a fringe activity to enter the mainstream. At All Fancy Dress we're really excited about this new trend, as Burlesque is a great way for women to express their sensuality and sexuality in a fun yet classy way.  The world of Burlesque has now entered the world of Halloween as well, with the launch of a number of 'Burlesque Vampire' costumes. One of our favourites is the fantastic Madame Vamp Costume. This sexy vampire costume includes black, white and red skirt, top and hat, and looks ultra sexy when you add a pair of fangs!  

Zombie Films have made a resurgence in the last 6 or 7 years with some superb remakes, including 'Day of the Dead', as well as the brilliant zom-com Shaun of the Dead. And even Brad Pitt has been getting in on the action by working on the much hyped zombie flick 'World War Z'. This zombie renaissance has inspired the costume makers to push zombie outfits to new heights, especially when it comes to womens costumes. And one of the most exciting new zombie costume launches is the excellent High School Horror Cheerleader Costume. This fab costume includes a red and black dress with high school football team logo, and pom poms. We'd recommend adding a pair of white contact lenses to truly master that 'undead' look. It's highly versatile as it can be worn to Halloween or Zombie parties, but can also be worn as an alternative 'school days' outfit (oh the irony!). Just handle this costume with care- It can be truly terrifying to those around you!  

  This incredibly creative costume is set to be one of our biggest sellers this Halloween. It includes blood stained top, trousers, and helmet. If you're going to a Halloween party with your other half, then she can complement your outfit by wearing the High School Horror Chearleader Costume.     Ok, so the name of the costume may be a handful, but not as much as you will be when you put it on! This is genuinely one of the scariest looking zombie costumes that we've seen (and that's saying something). What's most frightening about the new wave of zombie costumes available is that they've taken every day costumes and professions and turned them into something altogether more horrifying.

If you're of my generation (I shudder to reveal my age) then you would have been a kid in the 80's, and you would have been heavily influenced by a series of classic films. For me this included such gems as 'Back to the Future', 'ET' and such comedic classics as 'Ghostbusters'. Ghostbusters was one of those rare films that successfully combined comedy with rip roaring action. It follows the story of Egon Spengler and his buddies as they attempt to set up a company whose sole purpose is to rid New York of all the ghosts and ghoulies that have moved in. The film features a cracking cast, including the hilarious Bill Murray (so dry!), Dan Ackroyd and Sigourney Weaver. It's probably a sense of nostalgia for the 1980's that has led to a resurgence in popularity for Ghostbusters Costumes. They're a great choice as they can be worn to parties with a host of different themes, including 80's, Film, and of course Halloween.  We're also pleased to say that a new Ghostbuster character has joined us in time for Halloween- The Marshmallow-like ginat creature Stay Puff. What a corking costume!

An invasion of angry zombies is heading your way, with evil intent! That's right folks, the angry hoardes of the undead have arisen, with the promise of a gory Halloween in store! This year we predict that zombie costumes will be the most popular category of Halloween Costumes, and that's because the fancy dress manufacturers have been busy creating some of the most horrific (yet coolest) zombie outfits yet. The fairer sex is well catered for with some ultra cool zombie outfits, including the Zombie Schoolgirl Costume, and Zombie Nurse. These look REALLY gory if you add a generous dose of fake blood, as well as some white contact lenses (it gives me the creeps just thinking about it!) Lads, please don't feel left out though. One of our personal favouite male costumes this year is the High School American Football Zombie.There's something really spooky and menacing about the look of this costume. And if you're going to that Halloween party with your other half, she can dress up as the High School Horror Cheerleader Zombie Costume- what a grizzly looking All-American pair! A final bit of advice- start doing some research on zombie noises and movements in plenty of time for Halloween by watching a load of classic zombie movies- have fun my undead friends!  

Nowadays its much more acceptable to dispense with the more traditional scary costumes at Halloween, such as zombies and vampires, and do something more unexpected and creative. We love it when we see customers using 'everyday' costumes for Halloween parties, by putting a cool twist or customisation on it. One great suggestion is to wear the officially licensed Honey Monster Costume. Ok, so this character is best known from the wholesome cereal adverts for Sugar Puffs. But, after all, he is still a monster, and with the judicious addition of some fake blood and maybe a toy weapon, he suddenly becomes something altogether darker! The officially licensed Honey Monster Costume includes a full over head mask, red jacket with “HM” on the front and “Honey Monster” on the back, furry gloves, and boot covers.  

Wow!! - we've just found out today that Warner Bros. is keen to work on a sequel to the cult classic 'Beetlejuice' with 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' author Seth Grahame-Smith. Just last year Michael Keaton said he'd jump at the change to reprise his role as the kooky ghost! The 1988 movie - directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder - is set to get a follow-up worked on by David Katenzberg and Seth Grahame-Smith after they signed a production deal with Warner Bros. Grahame-Smith is going to write two scripts for the studio, one of these is likely to be 'Beetlejuice 2'. The film was awared an Oscar for best make-up in 1989.  It's one of our perenial favourite halloween costumes too - our Beetlejuice Costume could help you to reprise the role yourself this halloween! The distinctive black and white outfit is a classic that is sure to stand out, and you can easily and effectively mimic the makeup too using the Beetlejuice Makeup Kit. And on the night - why not make use of two of his most famous catchphrases - used so many times in the film? Complete the effect on the night with these extras: Quotes "It's Showtime!" and " "Save that guy for later" (in the film this referred to a piece of phlegm he'd hocked into his jacket pocket) - maybe you could keep some jelly cubes in the pockey and gross out those that know by taking the occassional bite out of it!!! Trivia During the wedding scene, Lydia's dress is a bright red. According to the old rhyme about wedding dress colours, it's "Married in red, better off dead." Michael Keaton spent only two weeks filming his part in the film, which lasts 17.5 minutes out of the 92-minute running time. It is Keaton's favorite film of his own (maybe why he was so keen to reprise the role).