DRESSED TO THRILL: Costumes, fancy dresses

Did you know that costume parties once were considered scandalous in England for a long while, as people connected them with low values? In the US, however, costumes and fancy has, mostly, because of the huge popularity of Halloween and pantomimes. Most of my favorite childhood memories are of Halloween costume parties, where I guess I pretty much covered the entirety of superheroes. The best part is that costumes are still an important part of our Halloween, although we are now too old for trick-or-treating habit.

In the West, fancy dress parties are most likely to have started in England. The masked balls of the eighteenth century were perhaps the first costume affairs. The Victorians introduced costume parties, which then became more and more popular. In recent times, both in Britain and in the US, fancy dress are now the center of most modern parties. So many of our favored bits from shows involve fancy dress parties, don’t they? Remember Mean Girls, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Birdcage?

Scary or funny?

It is no surprise then that costume and fany dress themes have become a big industry to cater to the demands of the folk. There are 2 chief reactions you could desire to expect from men and women when you decide to appear in fancy dress. You either wish to frighten them, or make them laugh. As a result, the most popular fancy dresses are ones of characters from horror or comedy movies. Dracula is a perennial favorite, as are Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. More recently, there is quite a rage in TV programs, like Friends.

Pick and choose

So where do you find yourself a fancy dress? First, of course, you must decide what you wish to be, after closely evaluating the type of the affair. Once you’ve done that, you have 2 choices. You can go to a great fancy dress shop and try out several and finally decide on one. Who knows, while at the place, you may feel so taken with a certain dress that you may give up your first costume thought completely. Your second choice could be look for a costume online, from the variety of sites that offer party dresses. Though this is obviously the simpler choice, it could become more troublesome than it seems. Especially if your dress arrives late, or if you find that it does not fit or is made of low quality material, or that it is not how you had imagined it to be. It’s not for nothing that they say, seeing is believing.

Make your own

Of course, you could construct your own costume ensemble. This is especially useful for pantomimes, when you can make Robin Hood costumes from old leggings, adding trimmings to suitable jackets and feathers to old caps. If you happen to have any needlework abilities as well, you can create old outfits or costumes a whole new look and casually slip on a completely new persona without spending more than a few cents. Now how about that —- self-made costumes —- for a new party idea?