American Costume Ideas – Overview
American Independence Day (the US National Day) is on July 4th and thus there is a strong likelihood that America could crop up as a theme idea. The theme, like the county itself, offers vast potential. so in order to channel your thoughts we have selected a few sub-themes and suggestions.
American Icons
The leading icons are probably The Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam. Though the American Bald Eagle might come in a close third, a costume for this is not quite so readily available. When thinking about US Presidents, apart from the present incumbent, Barack Obama and those that are in living memory, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are probably the main two former Presidents that might be recognisable, if anyone nowadays wants to dress up as them?
More accessible costumes and symbols of the American Dream, might include the Marvel creation Captain America(a Miss Captain America is now also available), the Cheerleader (which continues to be extremely popular, because of High School Musical, Grease and Glee), the American Footballer and the 1950s Diner Waitresses (on roller skates as an extra challenge).
Wild West
Indians (or Native Americans) are now less fashionable than they used to be for Wild West parties, but for those who want to be different, at Props & Frocks we do stock a range of costumes, jewellery, bows and arrows and other accessories.
Cowboys still tend to be one of the most popular costumes for Wild West parties. Cowgirls are possibly less so as there are fewer female role models (Annie Oakley and Doris Day springs to mind, and some might remember Cat Balou (Jane Fonda) from the Sixties). Country and Western singers, such as Dolly Parton have also given the cowgirl a more glitzy image that that portrayed by Doris Day as Calamity Jane. However, when faced with this theme, many females now tend to gravitate more to the saloon-girls style fashions, which we have in a range of colours and concepts.
Western is often used as a fancy dress theme in it’s own right, so take a look here for lots more Western or Wild West Costume ideas
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is a bit of a cheat, because whilst sheltering under the American theme, you can then use the wide range of Casino Resorts in this City of Light in the Nevada Desert as an excuse for a range of other non-American costumes. Obviously you have already got the Wild West covered (you are virtually in it in Las Vegas as Arizona is just next door). In Vegas they have very thoughtfully put together a version of the essence of New York, with its own scaled down statue
of Liberty, for the benefit of those who cannot be bothered to fly to the East Coast. However other world cities are also represented here such as Paris and Venice (with a canal which is a lot bluer than the real thing and several storeys above street level).They have not quite got round to capturing the essence of the England of nowadays, but you can usefully choose costumes from our range of medieval outfits to represent Olde England as seen in the Excalibur resort. Also possible are Pirates (at Treasure Island), Circus Characters (at Circus Circus) and an entire range of film characters (notably those from The Wizard of Oz) at the MGM Grand. More in depth information on Vegas will be available in our forthcoming specialist information sheet.
Las Vegas is often used as a fancy dress theme in it’s own right, so take a look here for lots more Las Vegas Costume ideas
New Orleans
Aside from being the birthplace of Jazz,New Orleans is one of the major world centres for Mardi Gras and Carnival, with green, gold and purple being the three predominant colours. Well known for its French Quarter and its connections with Voodoo, which were epitomised in the James Bond film Live and Let Die it has a unique feel and is an interesting take on an American theme. Obviously the citys encounter with Hurricane Katrina caused major damage and heartache to the inhabitants, but their spirit lives on and the Good Times continue to roll.
Hollywood
A Hollywood theme is synonymous with a movies event, but in deference to the American theme, you might want to concentrate on US film stars such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean or movies with an obvious American back-story such as Gone With The Wind. The latter gives females the opportunity to be a Southern Belle, whilst males can either look dashing in a Confederate or Union Soldiers uniform, or model themselves on Rhett Butler. Other Hollywood films also putting men in uniform include GI Blues, Top Gun and An Officer and a Gentleman.
Hollywood is often used as a fancy dress theme in it’s own right, so take a look here for lots more Hollywood Costume ideas
We hope we have given you a few additional ideas for your American theme event. The above is just a small sample of some of the costumes and accessories that Props and Frocks can offer and you might have your own ideas. Red/white and blue are the obvious colour choices for this theme, and aside from the costumes and accessories mentioned above, we also stock red, white and blue bunting, make-up and hair colours. So, come and have a chat and see what we can do to help.