'For Halloween, I'll either do a corpse bride or suicidal Maria von Trapp' (Hatty Skinner, Angels)
Halloween is looming – what a fine excuse to get dressed up. We've got the run-down of the creepiest costumes shops in town plus some gruesome inspiration from willing staff who modelled their shop's spookiest creations
'For Halloween, I'll either do a corpse bride or suicidal Maria von Trapp' (Hatty Skinner, Angels)
In search of some spine-tingling outfits? Get inspired here
Where to find your kit
Angels
A
vast selection of quality costumes to hire, from Marie Antoinette-style
ballgowns to ‘Star Wars’ characters and practically anything else you
can imagine.
Angels, 119 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2 (020 7836
5678/www.fancydress.com) Leicester Square tube. Open Mon, Tue, Fri
11am-6pm; Wed, Thu 11am-7pm; Sat 12noon-6pm over Halloween, check
website for full details.
Contemporary Wardrobe
More than 15,000 items from the 1940s to the present day, with plenty of designer labels thrown in.
Contemporary
Wardrobe, The Horse Hospital, Colonnade, WC1 (020 7713
7370/www.contemporarywardrobe.com) Russell Square tube. Open Mon-Sat
10am-6pm, by appointment only.
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Charles H Fox
The place to go for professional-standard wigs and theatre make-up.
Charles
H Fox, 22 Tavistock St, WC2 (0870 200 0369/www.charlesfox.co.uk) Covent
Garden tube. Open Mon-Wed 9.30am-5.45pm; Thur, Fri 9.30am-6.45pm; Sat
10am-5.45pm.
The Costume Studio
Period costumes covering every era and an impressive selection of sci-fi creations.
The
Costume Studio, Montgomery House, 159-161 Balls Pond Rd, N1 (020 7275
9614/www.costumestudio.co.uk) Highbury & Islington tube/rail then
30 bus. Open Mon-Fri 9.30am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm.
Escapade
A
small but reputable Camden Town fancy dress shop with an awesome (and
terrifying) range of hard-to-get masks from America such as Chucky and
Slipknot styles. Staff are friendly and helpful.
Escapade, 150
Camden High St, NW1 (020 7485 7384/www.escapade.co.uk) Camden Town
tube. Open Mon-Fri 10am-7pm; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 12noon-5pm.
Mad World
This
large fancy-dress supplier should have everything you'll need for
fright night, including gear with Rocky Horror or 'bad taste' themes.
Mad
World, 69-85 Tabernacle St, EC2 (020 7253
1003/www.madworld-fancy-dress.co.uk) Old St tube. Open Mon-Fri
9.30am-5pm; Sat 10am-5pm; Thu open until 8pm.
Pantaloons
A
Pimlico party store carrying a full Halloween range which is guaranteed
to spook. For something more individual, there's a made-to-measure
service.
Pantaloons, 119 Lupus St, SW1 (020 7630 8330/www.pantaloons.co.uk)
Pimlico tube. Open Mon-Wed 11am-6pm; Thurs 11am-8pm; Fri 11am-7pm; Sat
9am-6pm; Sun 12noon-4pm over Halloween, phone or check website for full
details.
Party Party
Fun three-floored party shop packed with all the garb – masks, bargain outfits and fake blood – you might require for the ultimate Halloween bash.
Party Party, 8-13 Ridley Rd, E8 (020 7254 5168) Dalston Kingsland rail. Open Mon-Thur 9am-5.30pm; Fri, Sat 9am-6.30pm.
Party Superstore
Costumes for sale and hire, plus a range of party novelties.
Party
Superstore, 268 Lavender Hill, SW11 (020 7924
3210/www.partysuperstores.co.uk) Clapham Junction rail. Open Mon-Wed,
Fri, Sat 9am-6pm; Thur 9am-7pm; Sun 10.30am-4.30pm.
Preposterous Presents
Islington joke and costume shop with a great range of old-fashioned jokes such as whoopee cushions and fart sweets.
Preposterous Presents, 262 Upper St, N1 (020 7226 4166) Highbury & Islington tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.
Prangsta Costumiers
A
wonderful treasure trove of a shop frequented by nearby Goldsmiths and
Camberwell students, who hire vintage clothing as outfits. Staff are
ultra-helpful.
Prangsta Costumiers, 340 New Cross Rd, SE14 (020
8694 9869/www.prangsta.com) New Cross Gate tube. Open Mon-Sat 11am-7pm,
by appointment.
Woolworths
Tricks and costumes as cheap as chips.
Woolworths, 115 Camden High Street, NW1 (020 7485 3932) Camden Town tube. Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm.
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2 comments
Escapade Ltd
Terrible service and a worse attitude!! Paid for a costume on 11th October for a party on 20th. Received email advising costume being dispatched. Phoned on the 18th to chase delivery and was given a list of excuses, problem with credit card (they'd received the money on 11th). Problem with address entered on website (compulsory fields & credit card wouldn't have paid up without the address?). Problem with email address (we'd had confirmation of dispatch!). Finally agreed to post that night. Received V for Vendetta costume on 19th without the mask, without the belt, without the knives and with a badly crushed black cardboard hat that would just about fit a 10 year old. Contacted them on Friday evening, their attitude was one of it's too late to post anything, not prepared to pay courier and it's our own fault for not contacting them earlier. No customer care, no effort to correct their own mistake, no thought for the party we were attending. Somebody else at the party in V costume from Escapade (with the proper hat), it hadn't been delivered though they'd paid for delivery, were told if they wanted it they had to travel across London to the shop. They did so and were told to wait in a queue to collect the sealed box. The queue took three hours to clear!!! We returned the partial costume to Escapade on the 22nd, who then refused a refund because it had been opened. I agreed to them returning the costume providing it was complete. Today 31st received the costume, guess what? No hat. We paid nearly £90 for costume and accessories and guaranteed delivery. Two weeks after the party we still haven't had it all. Their response, a chuckle and “this has been going on a long time hasn’t it? I’m too busy to look up the details phone me back with the ES number.”
My opinion of Escapade, incompetent with a take it or leave it attitude to boot.
anyone know where i could get pics of an african headshrinker? and any costume things (bones etc) to make me look like one? thanks