Costumes
For hundreds of
years, fancy dress
parties have been a part of Western society. It is thought that the trend developed
with the popularity of Venetian
masked balls in the middle of the last millennium, which spread to public
festivities during the 15th Century Italian Renaissance. Whatever the concept's
origin, there can be no doubting that fancy dress is part of all levels of society
in the twenty-first century. Let's face it - you are likely to be invited to
at least one fancy dress party during the course of a year, which will often
include donning a Halloween
costume of some variety. This is because Halloween is the most popular time
of the year to have a fancy dress party, closely followed by New Year's Eve.
Popular costumes follow trends. After the success of Moulin Rouge, for example, burlesque parties became very popular. Similarly, geekier sections of society will find any opportunity (such as the release of another film) to don Star Wars masks and mutter something about being 'your father' after a few beers. This is the beauty of a fancy dress party: it represents a fantastic opportunity for a little harmless escapism. Have you always dreamed of being Darth Vader? Well, get your mask on and swish that light sabre. Had hustling fantasies? Why not hire a pimp costume, get some slutty looking friends on your arms and paint the town purple!
The variety of party supplies available on the internet is baffling. Years ago, your options would be limited to what is available in your local party shop. This created difficulties around busy times of the year as the most popular costumes would be snapped up very quickly. Nowadays, everything from fancy dress wigs to Freddy Crueger masks are available online at the click of a button. Some stores will even send the costume to your door by courier and arrange to have it collected later.
Essential to most costumes are fancy dress hats, which can really make or break an outfit. At Halloween, for example, you will often see a wide range of black, pointed witches hats. All it takes is a little imagination to add an LED to the top of the point and make a truly spectacular fancy dress hat.
Making a little effort for a fancy dress party goes a long way. After all, the host will have gone through all the stresses and worries of organising the 'do' - if you make the effort to come in a decent costume, it shows that you have given it some consideration.
| Some popular items: |