FAQs
How do I use your site?
What size costumes can you supply?
Do you deliver?
How long is the hire period?
How do I supply my measurements?
How do I hire a costume?
Can I hire via the Internet?
I don't like the Internet. Can I do this over the phone?
I don't like the phone either. Can I visit your shop?
Do I have to leave a security deposit for hire costumes?
Can I cancel a reserved costume?
What happens if an item is out of stock?
What is your policy on returns?
Will my personal information be safe?
Is it secure to give my credit card details over the internet?
What methods of payment do you accept?
My purchase is a gift for someone else; can I send it directly to their house?
I have problems taking delivery during the working day. Can I have delivery to another address?
How do I use your site?
However works for you! We deal with all sorts of clients including film and television production companies, corporate clients for parties and promotional costumes, amateur and professional drama groups, schools and colleges, re-enactors, and people looking for ideas for a fancy dress party next month.
Our website is intended to assist us both in supplying the costumes that you want, when you want them, and with the minimum of fuss. Order and measurement forms are available here, and many costumes can be ordered on-line.
Samples of our range of fancy dress costumes are available in the Fancy Dress section. You can simply browse the different categories of costume, or if you have some idea if what you want, you may choose to search via the "search" box at the top of the page. Enter a word or phrase (eg "cowboy") and we will display all appropriate costumes that match.
We have tried to keep the site simple and helpful, and we welcome feedback and suggestions for improvements - email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
What size costumes can you supply?
Most of our costumes come in quite a wide variety of sizes, and we can generally supply costumes to fit the supplied measurements. Some costumes are available in a more restricted range of sizes, and some that were individually made for TV and film work are only available in one size. When ordering a costume via this website, please fill in as many measurements as you can on the measurement chart.
Do you deliver?
We can deliver to most addresses in the UK and Eire. We normally use next day delivery, and all deliveries and collections have to be signed for. Some addresses may take longer for deliveries to reach, and you should ensure that your order is placed early enough to allow for delivery. We can deliver further - contact us for details.
How long is the hire period?
Our standard hire period is for three days. As many costumes are hired for weekend use, we would anticipate delivery on a Thursday, and collection on the following Monday. Bank holidays would cause collection to be a day later. If you need a longer hire period, then extra three day periods are charged at half the standard hire fee.
How do I supply my measurements?
All costumes are measured individually to ensure the correct fit to the measurements supplied. All period costumes are measured to be worn in the period style. We need your measurements in writing, either by filling in and submitting our on-line measurement form, or by downloading the PDF version which can be filled in (in ink), and then faxed, posted, or scanned and e-mailed to us. We cannot accept measurements given verbally. The Adobe Reader program is required for the PDF version. If you don't have it on your computer, you can download it free by clicking the link on the right...
How do I hire a costume?
You can arrange a costume hire in person at our shop, or via telephone, fax or internet. In practice, you will probably use a combination of these methods. Read on for more details.
Can I hire via the Internet?
Partially. You may browse our stock and select the costumes that you are interested in. You can then send a booking enquiry to us and we can check that we can supply the costumes that you want in the sizes and at the time that you need. The individual costume descriptions give an indication of our stock levels, so we hope that this confirmation is just a formality.
You can submit an order enquiry via this website. Browse our costume lists to find a costume that you want. When you find a costume that you like, you can add it to your "wish list" (a "shopping cart"). You can examine and modify your cart as you wish. Once you have selected the costumes that you are interested in, you send us an availablity enquiry. You need to supply outline measurements at this stage, and specify how you would like to pay for the hire. Once we have received your enquiry, we will check the availability of the costumes and if we can meet your needs, you will normally receive a formal acceptance of the enquiry by e-mail the next working day. At this time you will be able to confirm that you wish to proceed with the booking, and we will then contact you to process your order.
I don't like the Internet. Can I do this over the phone?
Some of it, although it's not ideal! We can accept credit card details over the phone, and we can discuss costume options. We do need your order details in writing on our standard form so that you are aware of our terms and conditions. We also need your sizes in writing. There are forms available on our website to assist this process.
I don't like the phone either. Can I visit your shop?
The costumes shown on our website are a tiny sample of the 85,000 or more costumes that we have in stock. If you are in the Cardiff area, you may call in to the shop, and we can then help you find the costume that you want. Fitting is done in the shop, so you don't have to worry about the measurements, and you can arrange to collect the costume at your convenience, saving on postage costs. If you do decide to do this, you might want to ring an make an appointment before travelling. You should also allow enough time for browsing and fitting - we suggest that you should aim to arrive no later than an hour before we close!
Do I have to leave a security deposit for hire costumes?
A refundable security deposit is required for all costumes hired. The amount of deposit required is based on the replacement cost of the costume. The refundable deposit is normally placed via a credit card, but no payment is taken unless the costume is lost or damaged. See our terms and conditions for full details.
Can I cancel a reserved costume?
A non-refundable booking fee of £10 per costume (or order?)(or both? - £10 for 1, then £5 per costume?) is required once we formally accept your order, and is deducted from the hire fee. This fee may be transferred to an alternative costume. The booking fee is non-refundable if the booking is cancelled.
What happens if an item is out of stock?
Once we have accepted your order, the stock is automatically reserved for you. In the event that we are out of stock of an item that you have ordered we will contact you by email or telephone to suggest an alternative item. We will not formally accept a partial order, and will not impose a booking fee, unless we can supply all the costumes required in an order.
What is your policy on returns?
See out terms and conditions page for full details.
Will my personal information be safe?
We only hold the information you give us when you place an order. If you consent, we may occasionally e-mail you with details of any special offers, etc. We will never sell, trade or rent your personal information to any third party.
Is it secure to give my credit card details over the internet?
Remember that "in the good old days", every time you used your credit card with the paper embossing swipe machine, you left your card details and your signature, plus the carbons, with the vendor. Nowadays however, the banks are desperate to move the liability for fraudulent transactions from them onto us, and as a result, the rules and regulations that they are introducing to protect themselves (rather than you!) are making it increasingly difficult for anybody to accept payment by credit card! As a result, we implement internet payments via "a trusted third-party". This is currently Paypal. What it means to you, is that you will use Paypal to pay us for your order. Paypal will deal with your credit card details, and make the payment to us. We will not have any of your credit card details. If you are unhappy about using a service like Paypal, leave a contact phone number and a convenient time, and we'll ring you for the card details and put the transaction though our credit card terminal as a standard "cardholder not present" transaction.
What methods of payment do you accept?
For purchases we take payment using major credit and debit cards such as MasterCard, Visa, Switch and Solo, or via PayPal. We also accept cheques payable to "Marigold Costumes Ltd" but products will only be dispatched after the cheque has cleared, which could take between 5 and 10 working days.
For costume hire, as we need to secure the refundable security deposit, we only accept payment via credit or debit card.
My purchase is a gift for someone else; can I send it directly to their house?
I have problems taking delivery during the working day. Can I have delivery to another address?
We only deliver to the cardholder's address as a security measure. This helps prevent credit card fraud by ensuring that only the cardholder can receive products ordered over the Internet. We are constantly reviewing and upgrading our security procedures to ensure that shopping with us online is as safe as possible.