Hijinks

I phoned up and reserved an elvis suit and headdress for a New Year’s Eve party but when I went to collect the elvis suit it was really badly damaged. On the phone they said I could rent for £25 but when I got there they said they would only sell it and the cost would be £35! £35 for a badly damaged outfit? I don’t think so! The girl I spoke to on the phone was polite and helpful but the other lady in the shop was rude. The headdress with feathers they put back for me was also damaged, all squashed with damaged feathers, it looked rubbish!
We ended up going to Party Zone near St. Patrick Square and they kitted us out no problem with better service and prices!

I have 3 different themed parties coming up: moulin rouge, fright night, and jungle and Costume Haha was a place that we stopped by. I was able to get half the things I needed for moulin rouge and jungle, and I’m sure if I had made up my mind for fright night I could have found half the stuff I needed there too. Overall, its got a lot of things, but hard to find a complete costume unless you buy one of the ones that comes in a bag (then you’re still missing shoes, and probably random other little things).

How often do you ever need to go to a costume store? Not often I’d wager. So when I found myself one evening in desperate need of a lei (y’know, the Hawaiian flower wreath! What’s that smirk for?!) in the middle of the Grassmarket I did think «where on earth am I going to get my lei?» (Ok now I am just teasing).
After a quick search on the Unilocal app (shameless iphone plug) it turned out that, lo! there was a costume shop literally around the corner! I’d passed it many times before but having never been in need of a boa, dracula teeth or scream mask in the past hadn’t clocked it.
Its bright orange exterior made it easy to spot, and it has a great location. As others such as Amy G have said, it’s not huge inside but it has a massive collection of different costume props. And just like that, I got lei’d. (Ok I gotta stop overdoing it.) Easy to spot, great quality, the white and pink one was the one for me.
I noticed the girl at the counter was reading The Time Traveller’s Wife. One of my favourite modern novels, I couldn’t help but comment. Being a chatty wee thing I often find people will either smile politely but make minimal conversation, or be equally chatty back. It turns out the girl in Costume Haha was of the latter half, and what a lovely start to the day that made! So not only does the costume shop deliver the goods, it has friendly genuine staff to boot.
Halloween is a wee while away, and since going in here I have the sudden urge to don some glitter and platforms. Now I just need the party!!!

As far as costume shops go, this is one of the best around. The twin of A Ha Ha just on Victoria street, this has everything your fancy dress customer could need. They have all the traditional outfits — pirate, ninja, cowboy, vampire. These all come in the women’s range as well — sexy pirate, sexy ninja, sexy cowgirl and sexy vampire… and of course sexy nurse.
If you’re feeling a bit more original and want to create your own then they have all the ingredients to brew up a perfect disguise. With wigs, fake beards, masks, hats, glasses, fake noses, fake warts etc adorning the wall, you can make pretty much any costume. They also have a healthy supply of make up and fake blood for those going the extra mile.
A word of warning though, if you’re going around Halloween time, go about a week early, otherwise most of their stuff (especially fake blood — a must for Halloween) has sold out, and the queues are at least 20 or 30 people long outside the door.

Here lies some novelty costumes that are actually affordable. Superhero costumes, horror themed attire etc it’s all here and at a price that won’t make you wince. I’m alluding to another fancy dress shop (Partymania) where the costumes are nearly double the mark up prices of Costume haha’s offerings.
Fancy dress parties need no longer be a chore to attend.

Note to all shop owners: If you want to draw a group of slightly immature and bizarre girls into your shop then plank a huge camel costume in the window. Instant winner.
My friend decided as soon as we laid eyes on the store that she was going to investigate the amazing camel costume in the window for next Halloween, even though we’re only in April. Plan ahead and all that I suppose. She was saddened to see it was a two person costume, and tried to persuade me to be the camel’s backside. No. No thanks.
This is a fabulous fancy dress shop and has a bit of everything, whether it be a witch or ghoul or flapper girl or gangster. It must be positively packed out when Halloween comes! It was actually busy when we went in, and the assistant couldn’t have been nicer. The costumes aren’t cheap though, although you can hire the more elaborate ones for a night if you can’t afford to buy them.
Great for fancy dress, and wee comedy bits and bobs too.

This fancy-​dress shop is really quite small, but packs a punch! It is crammed with really cool, funny costumes and looks brilliant. I wandered in here once and came out with bangers. Remember them? I had a great time throwing them at un-​suspecting passers by. My brother came out with a really disgusting mask, which he went on to win a bottle of champagne with, so the quality of their costumes is high,
I am planning on going back, just for the bangers.

This is THE costume place in Edinburgh. Like a cave full of costume related treats. Its a little pokey, but that only adds to the fun. A friend of mine does Costume Design at uni so we often pop in here for random bits and it more often than not turns into a game of who can find the funniest costume. I am amazed that this little shop holds so much and it fills all your costume needs under one roof. I often find needs I didn’t know I had being satisfied, which is always fun for the old purse. But it is surprisingly cheap, generally costume shops are overpriced just because they can be, well not this one. At Halloween I managed to complete my flapper costume with beads, head dress and one of those funny little cigarette things for under a tenner.
This shop is great fun and will probably save you from that inevitable dilemma of what to dress up as at Halloween.

Personally, I hate always trying to come up with something new and exciting — and more importantly affordable — whenever there’s a fancy dress party looming.
Look no further, this place has it covered.
The shop itself is tiny, the week before Halloween there was even a queue to get in, but it’s definitely worth poking around. If you want to hire a ready-​made costume then they have loads to choose from — from Marie Antoinette to John Travolta, to human cans of Spam to babygro’s for adults complete with bibs and bonnets. Costumes are also available to buy (brand new ones, not ex-​hire!)
For the more imaginative types who want to DIY their costume, you’ll find what you need in literally every colour under the sun… I went there recently in search of gold body paint to go with a toga outfit, and came out with the paint, a laurel wreath for my hair and even the gold fake eyelashes to match. The best thing was, I’d spent less than £10.
Next time you need anything even vaguely related to fancy dress, you should check this place out.