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One hat.
One attitude.
Nobody needs a hired costume. Every case has a dress code for its era, and every character has one practical line on what to wear, sent with the invitation. Most guests find their outfit in their own wardrobe.
Dress to the era of the case, at wardrobe level: a hat, a jacket, a string of pearls. Every case has its own dress code and every character gets a one line costume note with their invitation, so guests know what to wear before the night. Costume is optional and no role depends on it.
Sent early, written for a wardrobe.
- A dress code per case. The era and the setting in one line, so the whole room is dressed for the same evening.
- A costume note per character. One practical line: a ring of keys at the waist, a buttonhole flower, a flying jacket.
- It arrives with the invitation. The guest sees their character and what to wear. The secrets stay sealed until the night.
- Specific beats vague. "Dressed for a 1950s family Christmas" gets a room in costume. "Come in period dress" gets apologies.
What each case asks for.
The dress code for every Case File, War File and Christmas File, as it appears on the invitation.
The Case Files
| Case | Dress code |
|---|---|
| Poisoned at the Priory | Late-Victorian formal dinner, 1876: frock coats and cravats, bustled gowns, long gloves. |
| Not Proven | Late-Victorian Highland sporting estate, 1893: tweeds and plus-fours, tartan, country gowns. |
| Curtain Call | Late-Victorian theatre, 1897: evening dress, capes and top hats, a little stage finery. |
| Providence House | Edwardian Suffolk village, 1902: chapel Sunday best, plain dark suits, shawls and bonnets. |
| The Red Velvet Swing | Gilded Age New York, 1906: white tie and tails, Gibson-girl gowns, opera gloves. |
| The Cellar at Hilldrop | Edwardian music-hall supper, 1910: high collars and waistcoats, feathered hats and trailing gowns. |
| Under the Crab Apple Tree | Small-town America, 1922: Sunday best, three-piece suits, drop-waist dresses, straw boaters. |
| A Death in the Family | Genteel 1920s suburban England: drop-waist dresses, lounge suits, cloche hats. |
The War Files
| Case | Dress code |
|---|---|
| Operation Nightfall | RAF, 1943: flying jackets and service blue, WAAF uniform, or period civilian. |
| The Cipher at Bletchley | Wartime Britain, 1943: service uniforms (RAF, WAAF, Army) or tweeds and twinsets, headscarves. |
| The Paris Safe House | Occupied Paris, 1944: berets and trench coats, worn suits, plain Resistance dress. |
| The Lisbon Handover | 1943 black tie and cocktail glamour, dinner jackets and evening gowns, a casino on the neutral Riviera at war. |
| The Cairo Conspiracy | 1940s wartime Cairo: officers in tropical service dress and khaki drill, civilians in linen suits and bias-cut evening frocks, a hint of desert dust. |
| The Admiral's Dinner | Royal Navy, 1943: mess dress or dress uniform, evening gowns, medals. |
The Christmas Files
| Case | Dress code |
|---|---|
| A Body Under the Tree | 1950s country-house Christmas: dinner jackets, full-skirted cocktail dresses, pearls. |
| A Cold Christmas | 1970s alpine evening wear for a Christmas in July gala, snow boots and woollens at the door, festive but cold-country. |
| The Carol Singer's Secret | 1958 English village Christmas: choir robes or Sunday best, overcoats and scarves. |
| The Twelve Suspects of Christmas | Mid-1950s black-tie house party: dinner suits, elegant winter gowns, furs. |
| Tinsel and Treachery | Early-1960s Manchester: smart work wear and shop uniforms, festive knits, a Father Christmas suit. |
| Yulefest | 1980 Australian midwinter dinner, warm woollens and country-formal layers against the cold, a touch of Christmas red and tartan welcome. |
Five pieces that do most of the work.
- A hat. Nothing reads as period faster.
- Something borrowed from a grandparent. A brooch, a tie pin, a cardigan.
- Dark, plain tailoring. Works for Victorian, Edwardian and wartime alike.
- One prop that fits the character. A cane, a notebook, a set of keys.
- For the host: dress well. You are the victim, and everyone will be looking at you.
Costume, answered.
What do you wear to a murder mystery party?
Whatever the case's era calls for, pitched at wardrobe level rather than costume shop level. Every case has a dress code, and every character has a one line costume note that arrives with the invitation.
Do guests have to dress up?
No. It adds a lot to the room, but nobody's role depends on it.
When do guests find out what to wear?
With their invitation, so there is time to find a hat. The invitation shows their own character's costume note while the rest of their dossier stays sealed until the night.
What about Halloween?
The Halloween Files carry costume notes for every character, and it is the one night nobody needs persuading.
Send the invitations.
Watch the costumes arrive.
Every case comes with a dress code and a costume note for each guest. A$39, instant access.