Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class or period. It can also refer to a particular style of clothing worn to portray the wearer as a character or type of character other than their regular persona, at a social event such as a fancy dress party or in an artistic theatrical performance. Theatrical costumes, in combination with other aspects of a production, serve to portray performers' age, gender role, profession, social class and personality. This page works through the term's senses — including national or regional costume as an expression of local identity — and its central place in Mardi Gras, Halloween and other celebrations.
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. It can also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances represented or described, or to a particular style of clothing worn to portray the wearer as a character or type of character other than their regular persona at a social event such as a fancy dress party or in an artistic theatrical performance.
Theatrical costumes, in combination with other aspects, serve to portray performers' age, gender role, profession, social class, personality, and suchlike. Sometimes theatrical costumes literally mimic what the costume designer thinks the character would wear if the character actually existed. On the other hand, often stylized theatrical costumes can exaggerate some aspect of a character.
National costume or regional costume can express local (or exiled) identity and emphasise uniqueness.
The wearing of costumes has become an important part of Mardi Gras and Halloween celebrations, and (to a lesser extent) people may also wear costumes in conjunction with other holiday celebrations, such as Christmas and Easter. Mardi Gras costumes are usually jesters and other fantasy characters, while Halloween costumes traditionally take the form of supernatural creatures such as ghosts, vampires, and angels. Christmas and Easter costumes typically portray mythical holiday characters, such as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, and costumes may serve to portray various other character themes during secular holidays, such as an Uncle Sam costume worn on the 4th of July for example.
Some people wear costumes for erotic purposes. Most people consider this harmless fun, but some regard this behavior as a form of fetishism. Some say it is both.
Women's Costumes
Children's Costumes
Men's Costumes
The working distinction designers draw is that clothing is what a person wears as themselves, while costume is dress that presents a character, a period or an identity other than the wearer's everyday one. That is why the same physical garment can cross the line: a genuine historical dress is clothing preserved, worn by an interpreter at a historic site it becomes costume, and copied for a stage production it is costume by design. The theatrical sense is the most developed because the stage demands legibility — costume must tell the audience who a character is before a word is spoken, which is why exaggeration is a legitimate tool of the costume designer rather than a failure of realism.
Seasonal costume follows the same logic at household scale. Halloween costumes traditionally take the form of supernatural creatures such as ghosts, vampires and angels, Mardi Gras costumes are usually jesters and other fantasy characters, and Christmas and Easter costumes portray mythical holiday figures. In each case the costume announces the celebration and the wearer's temporary character in it.
Costume has several related meanings: wardrobe and dress in general; the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class or period; and clothing worn to portray a character or type of character other than the wearer's regular persona, in the theatre or at an event such as a fancy dress party.
Theatrical costumes help portray the performers' age, gender role, profession, social class and personality. Sometimes they mimic what the designer thinks the character would actually wear; often stylized costumes exaggerate some aspect of a character to make it read clearly to the audience.
National costume, or regional costume, is the distinctive traditional dress of a people or place; it can express local — or exiled — identity and emphasise uniqueness. Holiday costumes work similarly, from Mardi Gras jesters to Halloween's supernatural creatures and a Santa Claus or Easter Bunny outfit.