The basic fairy costume consists of a simple dress (in greens, browns or decorated to look like a flower or plant), simple shoes (or pixie boots) and usually a pair of wings. Other accessories can be added depending upon the type of fairy fancy dress you are hoping to achieve.

Fairies have inspired lots of different types of costume. Here follows a some ideas about some of the most popular variations:

Adult fairy costumes take the basic design and add a bit of sex appeal. The skirt of an adult fairy costume is often very short and the outfit often has a low neckline and is quite figure-hugging. The outfit is often combined with high-heels and a fairy wand. Adult costumes tend to be in natural colours (shades of green) – think Julia Robert’s Tinkerbell costume from Hook, but they can also be designed to represent a particular flower.

The gothic fairy costume or dark fairy costume is another popular variation on the theme. This adult costume focuses on the other side of the fairy kingdom. Rather than natural greens, blacks and reds dominate this look. The wings are often designed to look like bat wings and the standard fairy outfit has been corrupted to show the more naughty and twisted side to a fairy’s nature. Such fancy dress is often advertised as fairy halloween costumes.

Another popular variation is the green fairy costume. Associated with the drink absinthe, this outfit is ideal for a cocktail fancy dress party. It is basically the standard adult fairy costume, but greener. In fact, for this look, it is probably a good idea to use face paints of make up to give your skin a green tinge too.

Woodland fairy or flower fairy costumes adapt the basic outfit in a slightyly different way. These variations often incorporate natural elements such as real leaves, flowers, petals and so on, to make it look like the character has just stepped out of a forest glade.

Fairies often feature in fairy tales and as a result a fairy costume is often a good choice when attending a fairytale fancy dress party. However, in traditional stories the fairy character is often a fairy godmother (think of the fairies from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty). The fairy godmother costume is often a more conservative version of the standard costume. It often includes a hat of some sort and usually  a magic wand too.

Tinkerbell was a fairy from the Peter Pan books, and Tinkerbell costumes are probably one of the most popular individual fairy outfits.

Fairy fancy dress is readily available online. There are countless different variations for you to choose from and you will certainly be able to find the right type of costume to suit the type of party or event you are attending.