Animals Costume Theme

Animals Costume Theme
Animals as a general fancy dress theme does give you a great variety of costumes to choose from. And, if you don’t fancy dressing up in a complete animal costume, you always have the choice of wearing one of our fabulous animals overhead masks or face bops. We also stock a range of animal parts such as hands, feet and tails so that you can create your own animal look, or accessorise a catsuit, morphsuit or onesie.

When choosing an animal costume, there are several decisions to be made beyond just what animal to be, and some of the choices may be limited by what is available on the market.

First decision – fur or fabric?  Most animal costumes might be expected to be fur-based and indeed many are, but some come in fleece or fabric and this might be relevant if you anticipate wearing the outfit in a warm environment. As a general rule, fur-based may cost more but offers a better look and in fact some costumes with ‘long fur’ may be cooler than those with short fur or fleece, as the pile density is not so intense.

Second decision – animal overhead mask or make-up? Most off-the-peg costumes will come with a full-face overhead mask which gives a better overall ‘authenticity’ to the outfit but can create something of a problem when it comes to eating, drinking and seeing where you are going (or speaking your lines if you are in a play). Some outfits may offer ‘half-face’ options which leave the lower face free, others may have the animal’s head worn on top of the wearer’s head but the usual alternative to the overhead mask is a balaclava in matched fur/fabric leaving the face free with the option to create a face-paint design. Some animal designs are easier than others – cats, dogs, lions, tigers etc. are not too difficult, but others such as horses and birds can be more of a challenge! Sometimes there is help in the form of novelty prosthetic noses or beaks, but occasionally you just have to improvise or use your imagination.

Here are a few ideas for animals you can be:-

• Cats – Black cats are particularly popular around Halloween, as is Catwoman
• Dogs such as Scooby Doo or various breeds (Boxers, Bulldogs and Dalmatians)
• Bats – what about a Batman or Batgirl costume?
• Mouse
• Rabbit
• Pig
• Kermit the Frog
• Chicken
• Gorilla
• Lion
• Tiger
• Parrot
• Ride-on Emu or Ostrich – hire only
• Pantomime Cow, Horse or Camel (one and two person versions can be found, although the two-person types may not be practical in some party situations) – Hire only
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
• Butterflies and Insects (some might contest ‘Insects’ as ‘Animals’)

Sometimes an animal costume theme is made more specific, so take a look at the list (on the left) which will give you lots of animal theme options. We have even got some examples of animal songs to play during your event…

So are you going to be a party animal? With Props & Frocks, you certainly can!