You’ve probably seen it, stag parties wandering around towns and cities dressed like giant penises. Or a bride-to-be in the familiar veil, learner plate, drinking out of a willy-shaped straw. It’s fun and makes for a memorable night, but have we seen it all now? Is it time to hang up the stag and hen fancy dress outfits?
Some hen parties seem to think it’s tacky to dress the bride up, others love it and can’t get enough of the silliness. And I suppose that’s all it is — silliness and harmless fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
Fancy Dress Decline?
This year we have have seen a slight drop (about 10%) in stag groups enquiring if fancy dress is OK to wear to clubs and bars, compared to last year. But is this because just don’t bother to check with us, or because not as many groups are dressing up in 2017 compared to 2016?
Outfits and Themes
Over the years there have been some fantastic fancy dress themes for stag groups. Golfers, old ladies, Morph suits, kilts (very old hat and usually worn to the wedding), super heroes, denim shorts, jacket and high heels like the money supermarket advert, fox hunters with the stag is the fox…. there are too many to mention.
Hen parties have also been dressing up in outfits such as airline pilots and cabin crew, St Trinian’s (obviously), nuns, cops and robbers, dirty dancing, baseball players, cowgirls, pirates… the list goes on and on.
Fancy Dress Policies
If you are going to dress up, make sure the clubs and bars you plan to visit allow fancy dress. You don’t want to be making loads of effort and not get in anywhere. Bars we currently know allow inoffensive fancy dress are Revolutions, Bar Signature, Pop World, Walkabout, Flares and All Bar. However, some cities have different door policies, so always check.
Dressing up in fancy dress will also depend on the stag or hen. Some stags/hens absolutely love it and wouldn’t pass a fancy dress shop without going in. Others loathe it and think it’s nonsense, and some may just want t-shirts. So, checking with the stag or hen first is best unless you intend to surprise them.
So the question; is fancy dress old hat? I don’t think so. If you are thinking about it, just do it. Make your hen or stag weekend as memorable as possible — you only get married once!
Guest post by Marco Walker of Designaventure
Image from geography.org by Paul Anderson (CC BY-SA License)
