The Best Kids School Costumes Ever

Most schools will have an annual play. This may be a Christmas time nativity or just before the summer break.

From our experience in the shop and online, teachers can ask for some very strange costumes!

I do not think that teachers are aware of the legislation that childrens costumes have to have. The amount of costumes on the market is rather limited and you will not find everything that you have been asked to find. I would suggest that if you do have some weird request from your childrens teacher, and you have no idea how to achieve the look, just write it in the comments section at the end of this lens and we will give you our advice on how to achieve it.

There are a range of masks, called Face Bobs on the market which have proved fantastic for school plays. As you can see from the image (right), the mask does not cover the entire face. Your child will be able to say his lines (if he has any) and have clear vision, so no nasty accidents!

Face Bobs are available in: Dog, Cat, Parrot, Mouse, Chicken, Rooster, Donkey, Sheep, Rabbit, Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Pig, Cow, Monkey & Owl

All childrens costumes must be up to the current British (or European) standards.

The safety standard BS EN71 is a series of British & European standards on toy safety (yes, I also agree that it is strange to call a fancy dress costume a toy, but I do not make the rules!)

A child is defined under the age of 14 and the standards include different aspects such as flammability and chemical compounds. It also includes mechanical and physical properties. In plain English that basicially means that there are no cords around the neck or wrist and has nothing that the child can choke, stab or trap itself with.

The law has been enforced since 1990 and all 'toys' supplied (or sold) in the UK must meet the exacting standards and carry a CE mark. This CE mark is the manufacturers declaration that the item meets the standard.

All childrens costumes supplied should carry a label with the CE mark, material content and the country of manufacture.

Although the BS EN71 standard is made up of 11 parts, only some are relevant to costumes, they are:

*Part 1. Mechanical & Physical Properties. This is where the costume is checked that it cannot stab, mangle, trap or choke the wearer. No cords can be around the neck or the wrists.

*Part 2.Flammability This part covers that all fancy dress or disguise clothes and wigs that do catch fire, can be droped or get out before serious injury occurs.

*Part 3. Migration of Certain Elements This basically sets limits on certain chemicals such as lead, cadmium and mercury, which could be dangerous if swallowed by a child.

*Graphical Symbol For Age Warning Labelling This specifies that a label must be present on the item which states that the item is not suitable for a child under the age of 3.

All imitation helmets should also have a warning label that states 'Warning! This is a toy. Does not provide protection'.

Schools in the UK have to include certain historical eras as part of the curriculum. Schools will accomplish this in different ways. Some will arrange for a drama group to come in to the school. Others will ask the children to come to school for a day dressed appropriately for the era being covered. Some lucky children will have the opportunity to attend a re-enactment day in costume.

In each of the sections below, I will outline the costumes that are available to purchase, but also give some ideas on how you could make your own, very cheaply, at home.

Take a look at our main website where you will find lots more information regarding kids historical curriculum costumes for school.

Basic dress requirements for children:

For the boys a plain white long sleeved shirt, a sleeveless waistcoat or a body warmer, cut down trousers at the knee or tucked into long socks.

For the girls, long full skirt, white shirt, bodice or waistcoat laced up the front and a small coif (hat) in white or cream material.

If any mums would like to make a costume, Simplicity supply patterns for the dressmakers among you.

For those of us who cannot sew a button on, we have recently designed a range of childrens' costumes that are suitable for school dress up days.

The image on the right shows a picture of the Tudor Boy costume.

We are able to be contacted 7 days a week if you have any questions regarding any of the costumes that you have seen on this page. Just call 01245 327156 - we are here to help!

There are many Tudor costumes on the market. We find that many of the schools ask their parents not to purchase a costume. From the amount of people who come into our retail shop and from our feeback both online and in the shop, many parents just do not have the time or the inclination to do. Childrens' costume are relatively cheap to purchase, and you can order it online and it can be with you the next working day (depending on the time you place your order).

The costume shown on the right is a Renaissance Boy. Long socks (like rugby or football socks) could be worn so the trousers look more like pantaloons.

A Victorian costume may be easier to put together.

Girl will require a long length skirt or dress with a white full pinny.

Boy can wear shorts, white collarless shirt, a scarf and a cap.

The costume on the right is the Victorian costume for children that we have recently designed. It is available in 4 sizes and is very well priced and has proved very popular with parents looking for a costume for their child for school.

We also stock girl's Victorian Pinafores and mop caps that are sold as a costume kit - ideal if you have a plain dress, or top and skirt to wear underneath.

If you are not looking for an entire boy's Victorian costume, we stock waistcoats and caps that come as a set, and caps with a neck scarf that come as another costume set that are a great way to get a Victorian style outfit

A costume for this era can easily be made at home. All you need is an old pilow case (white) and cut a hole for the head and 2 arms.

A belt is used to secure the waist and you have a basic costume. Braiding and a drape can be added, but is not essential.

We also sell a good range of Egyptian accessories to make it nice and easy to put a costume together at home. They include:

* Collars
* Belts
* Arm Bands
* Snake Armbands (Asps)
* Headpieces

The costume shown here is a Roman Centurian Costume - we have a choice of 3 Roman Soldier costumes.

This costume is available in 3 sizes.

We stock a Roman Soldier costume kit for those of you not wanting to purchase an entire costume and lots of Roman accessories.

We also stock a great range of Egyptian accessories that you can use to put an Egyptian costume together at home.

At the moment, there are a very limited amount of costumes suitable for this era to purchase.

At Props n Frocks, we hire a good selection of 1940's costumes and are in the process of getting our own range of childrens 1940s costume that will be available to purchase.

We have also been advised that a childrens version of 40s military will also be available in the near future.

The picture, right, shows an example of our 40s girls hire costumes.

Most UK schools have a week or a day to promote reading and books. Although there are official designated World Book Days and National Book Days the actual day/week the child is required to dress up may be dependent on the school's own curriculum timetable and the holidays schedule.

Often schools will ask their students to come to school dressed as a character from their favourite book.

I will give a few examples on this lens, but if you require more ideas, check out my other lens on World Book Day Costumes For Children

* Snow White - a real favourite
* Red Riding Hood - always popular
* Cinderella - every girl dreams of being a princess
* Tinkerbell - from Peter Pan
* Hermonie - from Harry Potter
* Jasmine - Aladdin
* Witch - from The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

* Pinocchio - we all love this woodern puppet
* Peter Pan - from Peter Pan
* Aladdin - from Aladdin
* Indian - from An Indian in The Cupboard
* Dracula
* Frankenstein
* Harry Potter - the boy wizard himself!
* Caesar - from William Shakespear - Julius Caesar
* Prince Charming - choose from a handful of fairytales

You May Find Yourself a Costume On eBay