It’s almost World Book Day 2020! The official date is 5th March, but schools will be celebrating all that week – and so will I!
My short story, The Case of the Drowned Pearl, is one of the OFFICIAL World Book Day 2020 titles – I’m just so proud that Daisy and Hazel have their own World Book Day adventure, and so excited to introduce my series to new readers all across the UK and Ireland.
I know a lot of you are planning on dressing up as one of my detectives for World Book Day this year, and so I thought I’d update a post I originally wrote in 2018 to help you with your costumes. The good news is that it’s very easy to look just like Daisy, Hazel, George, Alexander and their friends …
How do I dress like a Deepdean girl or a Detective Society member (in Murder Most Unladylike, Jolly Foul Play and Top Marks for Murder)?
Daisy, Hazel and their friends Kitty, Beanie, Lavinia and Amina all go to Deepdean School for Girls. All you need is a grey pinafore (or grey skirt) and a white blouse, plus a grey jumper or grey blazer to put on over it. On your legs you can wear tights or long socks, and you should have a stripy tie (any colour!) to wear around your neck. If you want, you can wear a hat, to make you look just like you come from the 1930s. Put your hair in plaits, grab your magnifying glass and print out the Deepdean Crest (drawn by my talented friend Dustin Hansen) and you’re ready to go.
If you want to show you’re Hazel, make sure you’re holding a casebook and pencil and a magnifying glass. You might also have your favourite bunbreak, Bourbon biscuits.
If you’re Daisy, clutch some crime novels, a magnifying glass and (if you want to go all out) a fingerprint kit.
Kitty has brown hair and freckles and might hold a hockey stick or wear some contraband jewelry.
Beanie is short, with brown hair (until Top Marks for Murder, when she grows very tall and thin), and she would carry her dormouse Chutney. (I don’t advise you bring a real mouse to school – a cuddly toy mouse or hamster works much better!)
Lavinia would look very scruffy – her tie would be missing and her dark hair a bit of a mess!
Amina would look extremely neat. She has glossy dark hair and she is very glamorous – her school uniform would seem fashionable!
If you want to be King Henry or a Prefect, wear the Deepdean uniform as above, but add a badge that says HEAD GIRL or PREFECT.
How do I dress as a Weston boy, or a Junior Pinkerton?
Alexander and George both go to Weston School. It’s also very easy to dress like them! All you need is a pair of grey trousers and a white shirt, plus a grey jumper or grey blazer to put on over it and a tie to wear around your neck. You can wear a hat if you’d like, then grab your magnifying glass and you’re ready to go. I’m sorry that I don’t have a Weston crest at the moment – but you are free to invent one using the Deepdean crest as a template!
If you’re Alexander you should also be carrying a notebook and pencil, and if you’re George you need to make sure that you look as smart as you can – shiny shoes, combed hair and a perfectly tied tie!
What do the detectives wear in Arsenic for Tea?
Daisy, Hazel, Kitty and Beanie would be wearing winter clothes: woolly jumpers, blouses, skirts, thick tights and hats to go with their magnifying glasses!
What do the detectives wear in First Class Murder?
It’s summer, so Daisy and Hazel would wear pretty floral dresses with collars, white socks and little patent-leather shoes, with straw hats on their heads.
Alexander would be wearing shorts instead of trousers, and no blazer or jumper – just a button-up shirt.
What do the detectives wear in Mistletoe and Murder?
Again, it’s winter, so Daisy and Hazel would wear woolly jumpers, blouses, skirts, thick tights and hats – and fur-trimmed coats if you have them! (I recommend fake fur for this, no need to recreate the 1930s too closely).
Alexander and George would be in trousers, and they’d be wearing long woollen coats too, with hats on their heads.
What do the detectives wear in A Spoonful of Murder?
Daisy would wear a white linen dress and a straw hat, and Hazel would wear a cheongsam – black, white or green would all work. Hazel would also have a jade pin in her hair …
What do the detectives wear in Death in the Spotlight and The Case of the Missing Treasure?
Daisy and Hazel would wear spring clothes – light spring coats, hats, blouses and skirts.
Alexander and George would be in trousers, and they’d be wearing long sleeved shirts and light spring coats, with hats on their heads.
What do the detectives wear in The Case of the Drowned Pearl?
This story takes place in summer … but at the English seaside, which, as you know, is not necessarily the warmest place! Daisy, Hazel, Alexander and George would wear fairly light summer clothes (floral dresses for the girls, shorts and shirts for the boys, as in my notes for First Class Murder) with bathing suits on underneath. But they’d have their rain macs on too, and their umbrellas at the ready! Since you’ll be dressing up in rainy March, I am very happy for you to wear trousers and tights if you want – don’t freeze to death on World Book Day!
I hope this helps you out – if you’re dressing up as one of my characters, I wish you all the very best of luck, and I can’t wait to see how you look!
