What to Wear For a Stag or Hen Party
While planning for a wedding can be a stressful and frantic event, stag and hen parties are a chance for the bride and groom-to-be to let their hair down and have some fun with either the `girls` or the `lads`. It is traditionally the responsibility of the Maid of Honour to arrange the hen party, while the Best Man is in charge of organising the stag night. Notoriously known as the `last night of freedom`, stag and hen parties are often a fun-filled, raucous affair, often including fancy dress, novelty `props`, drinking games, pranks (notoriously played on the stag and generally involving some form of public nudity) and strippers.
A favourite part of stag and hen parties for many is the opportunity to go out wearing fancy dress. As one gets older and university years become more and more distant, occasions that require a fancy dress costume become few and far between. For this reason then both `stags` and `hens` tend to embrace the change to dress up for the night, often wearing similar costumes, or (attempting) to follow a general theme.
For the hens there are a number of fancy dress themes that seem never to wane in popularity. Naughty school girls, sexy nurses, police women, angles and devils, and fairies are all fancy dress themes that are good ideas for hen parties, most of which are easy to put together yet look effective, especially when the whole group is wearing similar outfits. A school girl costume, for example, could be kept simple with a white shirt, a black skirt and a borrowed tie, items that most women already have in their wardrobe. Also important to remember is the traditional veil and `L` plates generally worn by brides-to-be on their hen night!
As for the stags, it is often the case that they opt less for the hen idea of everyone dressing the same, instead tending to choose a general theme such as `sports stars` or `movie characters`. These themes are a good idea as they allow for creativity and individuality, and mean everyone can go dressed according to their own choice. Increasingly popular amongst stag parties are printed t-shirts, most of which feature a generic `Dave`s getting married` type of message on the front, and the wearer`s name, or nickname, across the back. Such is the popularity of these shirts that they`re also becoming rather popular with the hens!
If you chose not to embrace the frivolities of fancy dress then the best advice is to wear something stylish yet fun - this is an evening for partying and celebration, so avoid wearing anything too serious or conservative. Ladies should remember that they`re likely to be on their feet dancing a lot, so if possible try to wear shoes that won`t render you completely incapable of walking for the following three days. Men not wearing fancy dress should probably just stick to whatever they normally wear on a night out. Do bear in mind where you`ll be during the evening though; if planning on heading to the most stylish bars in town, it is probably a good idea not to go wearing a favourite old t-shirt or a football shirt! Instead go for a sophisticated shoes coupled with smart jeans or trousers, and a pair of McQueen shoes.
