La Vie en Bleu

What does a car rally in the Cotswolds and Admiral Costumes have in common?

French costumes of course!

The Bugatti Owners Club is holding it’s annual festival of speed this weekend in the Cotswolds which promises to be a mini Goodwood, with fantastic races and live entertainment.

The French themed La Vie en Bleu celebrates French cars in a very British way with French themed comedy actors and mime artists together with a couple of wickedly funny franglais speaking gendarmes.

Admiral Costumes are delighted to provide French costumes for this type of event. 

For more information on our quality costumes that are available for hire give us a call on 01908 372504 or visit our website www.admiralcostumes.co.uk

Les Miserables Costumes

This hugely popular stage show has recently been made into a film and is now being chosen as a show for many school’s end of term productions.

Based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, Les Miserables is set in 1815 France during the French revolution.

It follows the story of convict Jean Valjean who is released from prison and after being befriended by Bishop Myriel, starts an honest life under a new identity.

The involved plot follows Valjean as he becomes a wealthy factory owner and adopts Cosette, a daughter of one of his factory workers. As she grows up and falls in love with a French student, the past comes back to haunt Valjean amidst the backdrop of a political uprising.

We have a great set of costumes suitable for this show from the poor urchins, the young Cosette and Gavroch,  the prostitutes in the Thenardiers tavern, Marius and the students in their tailcoats and rosettes,  Valjean in his smart waistcoat and cravat and Cosette when she becomes a rich lady.

For more information on clothing suitable for shows set in this period visit www.admiralcostumes.co.uk or call us on 01908 372504

Alice in Wonderland characters

When we were asked for costumes for a school production of Alice in Wonderland, we had no problem getting together our selection of Alice frocks, Queen of Hearts dresses, Mad Hatter outfits and the White Rabbit suit, as these costumes are popular not only for drama, but for fancy dress parties and themed events.

It was more of a challenge to create costumes for the wide variety of animals in the show, ranging from a Do Do to a mouse.

We wanted to avoid the leotard and head-mask option which gives little scope for the performer to get into character. By walking, twitching and acting like a feline for example, it is amazing how the acting can create the illusion and the audience can believe that there really is a cat creature on stage.

Having access to over 4000 clothing items, we have had great fun putting together some really fun and superb outfits for all the animals in Alice in Wonderland.

For the parrots we chose sequinned dresses, teamed with a feather boa, net tutu and feather headdress. The frog footmen have a green waistcoat, tailcoat, green tights and green shades and the owl just had to have a mortar board and red cloak.

For inspirational ideas on how to costume parrots, mock turtles, do dos, frog and fish footmen, lizards and hedgehogs, give us a call on 01908 372504 – we love to help.

Our superb costumes can be viewed on www.admiralcostumes.co.uk with some picture galleries on our Facebook page: admiralcostumesMK

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Costumes

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays and tells the story of the Duke of Athens, Theseus and the events surrounding his marriage to Hippolyte, the Queen of the Amazons.

The adventures of four young Athenian lovers are played out against a group of six amateur actors who are controlled by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which the play is set.

Costumes for this show are open to interpretation by the producer, but medieval, roman or woodland floaty styles are popular.

We have a great range of costumes that can be adapted for this play from Hippolyte the queen, Hermia and Helena the young female lovers to costumes for Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies.

For more information on our costumes visit www.admiralcostumes.co.uk or give us a call to discuss your requirements on 01908 372504

Costumes in action newsletter

Sweeney Todd Costumes

After 15 years in exile, Benjamin Barker returns to London with a new identity – Sweeney Todd. He sets up shop as a barber in Fleet Street and starts murdering customers who have done him wrong in the past.

He meets Mrs Lovett who owns the pie shop opposite and the bodies find their way into her pies………………

This musical thriller has excellent music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and is set in 19^th century London.

Admiral Costumes have a great selection of 19^th century style costumes suitable for this type of production. From the poor street boys, ladies dresses rich and poor, to the frockcoats of gentlemen and the flambouant stage wear for Adolfo Pirelli, we have something to suit.

Characters include: Sweeney Todd the demon barber, Mrs Lovett the widowed pie maker, Tobias Ragg a street urchin, Adolfo Pirelli the circus performer, and Johanna, Benjamins love.

For more information on our 19^th century style costumes, give us a call on 01908 372504 or visit our website www.admiralcostumes.co.uk