Fashion Men: February 2009

Popular Fancy Dress Ideas For Men

Fancy dress parties have been popular since the 18th century in Britain. They date back even further in other parts of the world, in Venice for instance, masquerade balls were held as far back as the 15 century. Guests would use masks to cover their faces and hide their identities. These events were elaborate dances, usually only held for members of the upper classes and were very grand occasions. Later in the seventeenth & eighteenth centuries costume parties became more common in mainland Europe and the UK.

Nowadays more emphasis is on the costumes themselves and making them resemble clothing from around the world, both historic and from modern media, such as film & TV.

Super Hero Fancy Dress Costumes

Popular mens' fancy-dress costumes are things like super hero outfits, particularly X-Men, Batman and The Incredible Hulk suits. These sorts of costume are favoured by men as they give them confidence by creating the illusion that they're bigger than they really are. Most of these costumes feature fake muscles down both the arms and legs.

The fact that super hero outfits are often bright yellow or in the case of the 'Incredible Hulk' costume; bright green, doesn't seem to bother the majority of those that wear them. I suppose just by wearing them, they will look silly, so if they are an embarrassing colour, then this should not matter.

Back to school fancy-dress has become a common theme for parties, to the point at which nightclubs regularly hold school uniform themed nights. Though most mens' fancy dress for this sort of event is based on black trousers, white shirts and a school tie, some men dress up as a head master character.

Some fancy dress parties are themed around Roman costumes, where men and women wear Roman style togas, sandals and even laurel leaf headdresses. Other popular styles of mens' fancy dress themed from around the world are 'Arabian' costumes, 'Mexican Poncho' outfits and 'Hawaiian Shirts'.

More and more men are choosing fancy dress themed musical eras such as the '50's', '60's' and '70's'. With costumes styled like Teddy Boys jackets, 'Elvis' jumpsuits and hippy outfits.

Mens' Fancy Dress Ideal for Groups

Some men choose certain styles of costume when planning to go out in a group, choosing to all dress the same to make sure they get noticed. Ideal costumes for groups are policemen costumes, Robin Hood and cave men outfits.

If a group of men and women go out together, then they may choose costumes which show both sides from a theme. Examples of this are doctors & nurses, cops & robbers and cowboys & 'Indians'. All the men wear one style of fancy dress, whilst all the women wear another style.

This is ideal for those who like to go night clubbing in fancy-dress as opposed to an actual fancy dress party, where guests prefer to look different. Though going out in too big a group can see you getting turned away from some venues unless you book in advance.

Hollywoods' Influence on Fancy Dress

Fancy-dress costumes that have become more popular for men are pirates, mainly due to the success of films such as 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. A knock-on affect of this has been an increase the number of skeleton outfits and ghost costumes being worn. These costumes traditionally would only be worn in great numbers during Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night themed fancy dress parties.

Find a large selection of mens fancy dress ideas and accessories.

Pictures of Fashion Men.