“Dress up begins at age five and never truly ends.”
– Kate Spade
All of us at one point or another have dressed up. Whether for an event, holiday, or just to play cowboys and indians, or princesses and knights. This idea of dress up is one that is ingrained into humans’ minds because of our need for community and our desire to express ourselves in some creative fashion. In order to illustrate this, let’s take a look at costumes throughout history.
Ceremonies and events involving disguise and costume have appeared in most every culture from the beginning of records. During the time of the black death, the famous plague doctors were known to wear their tell-tale masks which served the purpose of the ones all of us have been wearing for quite a while now. These, while not recreational at the time, have morphed into an edgy costume or statement piece, becoming associated with Venetian Carnival and have appeared in modern steampunk art as well.
Perhaps one of the most well known instances of costuming for pleasure rather than religion came with the invention of the Masquerade. Originally the Masquerade Ball began as part of Europe’s carnival season. Beginning as a kind of cirque du célébration, villagers would gather in masks and costumes to take part in elaborate pageants. The idea quickly spread and changed into what we know now, when the French Royalty used Masquerade Balls to introduce Royal Entries. They were popular all over Europe for centuries. Italy had a particularly strong masquerade culture with some of the most well known and prestigious balls being held there. For those of you who are surely dying to know … some of them still are being held!
In late-Victorian England, an interesting festival appeared in Whittlesey, England called the Straw Bear festival. On Plough Tuesday, the day after the first Monday after Twelfth Night, a man or a boy was covered from head to foot in straw and danced in exchange for gifts of money, food, or beer with other dancers, sword fighters, and entertainers accompanying the bear. The festival was so important that farmers would reserve their best straw to make the bear. This died out for a little less than a century but in the 1980s the town revived the custom, which has similar traditions around Europe such as in areas of Germany and Poland during Shrovetide. Although odd, practices such as these have developed with culture as a costume opportunity that brings the community together.
In more modern times we continue to have these cultural dress up patterns as it were. Two examples are the recent Met Gala and cosplay.
The Met Gala, usually held the first Monday in May, supports the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan museum of art. However, what it’s more well known for are the often extravagant outfits worn by the attendees. It was founded in 1948 by Elenor Lambert, fashion publicist and inventor of New York fashion week and the “best dressed list.” Editor at Vogue magazine, Diana Veerland, formed it into what it is today. With current editor-in-chief, Anna Wintor, putting the last touches on who came and when the event was held. Each year there is a theme and those on the very selective invite list work with designers to get the most jaw dropping outfit possible.
The last form of modern costume that should be mentioned is cosplay. When you first hear the term “cosplay,” it sounds like either a math term or a disease. Fortunately, it is neither. The term, a translation of the Japanese portmanteau “Kosupure” into the English words costume and play, describes the practice of video game, anime, or literature fans dressing up as their favorite characters. The idea started in Japan in the 70s and 80s and has since spread throughout the world, with South Korea, China, and America having the most cosplayers. People will get together to show off their outfits at conventions or will have online groups to share know-how of “how exactly do you sew those sleeves?!”
As we are created to want community, human culture has developed various traditions to express that along with our innate creativity. Costumes have become a way to express what is important to us — like changing seasons, or a favorite character in a book — and to have fun with friends and family.
Citations:
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/history-of-costume-in-england/
allthatsinteresting.com/masquerade-ball-history
www.cheatcc.com/extra/cosplayfeature
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittlesey
www.cnn.com/style/article/history-of-halloween-costumes/index.html
Plague doctor drawing by ImJustDandy_2017
incrediblethings.com/style-and-gear/disney-character-cosplay-by-mom-and-daughter/
www.vogue.com/article/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-met-gala-video
camilliacourts.com/galleries/disney-inspired-photos/
libguides.lib.umt.edu/cosplay