The phrase “costume,” according to the definition, refers to the entire manner of dressing, comprising all of the garments and accessories worn together as in a certain nation or time period. It is more frequently used to refer to a suit of attire and accessories, particularly uncommon or period clothing, worn by an actor in a play or at a fancy dress party.
A costume, according to the traditional definition or the dictionary, is a way of wearing that includes all of the clothing and accessories used to represent a certain era or nation. A costume can be defined as a specific type of clothing and accessories donned to portray the wearer as a persona or character different than their own.
The phrase has also historically been used to refer to conventional attire for particular activities, such as riding costumes, swimming costumes, dance costumes, and evening attire. Changes in local cultural norms and fashion might affect what is appropriate and acceptable to wear.
This typically pertains to performers and their theatrical performances, where costumes are worn to transport the audience to the character’s historical or geographic setting. In the theatre, costumes are utilised to visually inform the audience of a character’s age, social standing or class, and occupation.
Along with the important characteristics of geographic location and historical era, there is also this. For instance, take into consideration the highly stylized costume of exaggerated shoulders and lapels of a sharply tailored black jacket with a thick white pin-striping and you have a classic cartoon gangster. Theatrical costumiers frequently invent/develop stylized costumes to exaggerate some aspect of the character wearing the costume.
These visual costume cues help theater/opera goers place the characters in relation to one another and to the larger theatrical piece when the costumes are authentic and properly detailed. So, kudos to the costume designer and theatrical costumier.
At events like masquerades, fancy dress balls, and Mardi Gras celebrations, costumes are worn outside of the acting industry either to change our characters, or at least allow us the ability to change our characters, or they are worn to commemorate our own heritage. Here, a costume will be closely tied to both the wearer’s clothing and their accessories, which also include things like their chosen hairstyle.
Check out Blossom Costumes for a huge selection of costumes and accessories. Again, whether or not these “costumes” are worn, we use them to create the perfect visual stylization for that “group.” There must also be a saturation point at which the originality of the costume gives way to the ordinary.
The popularity of fancy dress costumes and fancy dress gatherings has increased because wearing a costume gives the wearer the ability to adopt a different persona, at least while wearing it. Although fancy dress costumes are still a big part of Halloween and Mardi Gras, they are also worn these days during other holidays with set dates, like Christmas and New Year’s.
As you can see, there are many situations where costumes are appropriate, but no matter the event, the main goal of wearing a costume is to provide the wearer the freedom to assume a different character, even if only for a brief time.