Fancy Dress: The Love Of Masquerade

Children do it as a matter of course, are encouraged to role-play. But adults of all ages & backgrounds can be ardent devotees of this most human of inclinations. The 'cross-dressing' male is often viewed by Frenchmen as an English eccentricity; until we recall the pre-revolutionary France & its' wig-adorning, make-up plastered aristocracy. Or 1930s Berlin with its' hedonistic cabaret & erotica; a culture steeped in transgender theatrics. Or consider 1980s Italy with the largest population of transsexuals in Europe. Such historical perspectives shed much light on what appears to be a strangely normal, universal human need for masquerade & role playing. It sits deep within our formal & not-so-formal traditions.

If we look to early Roman times, Printed Fancy Clothing and to the writings of popular historians of the time such as Suetonius & Cicero, we discover to our amusement how emperors such as Caligula & Nero would often dress as vagabonds in order to enjoy Rome's seedier underbelly. The Roman Saturnalia festival was a week-long orgy of food, sex & wine in which slaves would dress as their masters, bedecked with the finest jewelry & togas, to be waited upon by their masters who would be dressed as slaves. In Medieval times the Venetian aristocracy would hold Masked Balls requiring attendees to hide their identity. In the cut-throat world of Italian politics, with families such as the infamous Medici engaged in all manner of internecine treachery & rivalry, it was wise to keep ones' indiscretions safely hidden behind a mask. In this context, the practice of fancy dress would have been a security measure rather than some playful indulgence.

In Britain, the Victorian & Edwardian eras were renowned for their fancy-dress parties, no doubt part of that old European tradition so prominent in France & Italy. But this was only the highest socio-economic strata of society & reflected the formalities & fineries of Royal courts.

Fancy dress as a practice of the ordinary citizenry probably has its' roots in the ancient pagan festivals & religions, where animalistic deities would be invoked by a costumed shaman, to symbolize discourse with an expression of a particular natural energy. In China the Dragon is a popular entity which is part of contemporary Chinese festivals. Such anthropomorphism - the assigning of animal characteristics to people - is very much a part of the ancient Egyptian religions & rituals. The modern Halloween tradition, adopted by America, actually originated from Celtic traditions. The 31st of October for them portended a time when the spirits of the dead were at their most potent & threatening. To scare away these spirits people dressed as zombies.

Here in the 21st century, the practice of fancy dress has become more of an amusement, stripped of all the older formalities. It remains popular among many people of all walks. It introduces the theatrical into our lives, makes us larger than life. Its' a 'step out of context', an absurd parodying of the participants' 'normal' self which is enjoyed in the spirit of play. It can be an expression of our sexuality, or how we may idealize that sexuality. It enables us to play with the idea of our personality, of our identity knowing we can safely return. In 1970s Britain the love of costumes even found its' way into the mainstream media, as shown by the popularity of both Glam Rock, with its' ersatz space-suit glitter & outrageous make-up, boots & hats, & also Disco with its' extravagant suits & huge hair. At the time, the country was enduring political & economic crises which no doubt gave rise to the mass-escapism found in the fashion of the time.

Fancy dressing was prominent again in the 1980s, where it was evident as an important element of the New Romantic movement. This had begun in London's' club land as an answer to the grey, gloomy post-industrial depression of the times. The emphasis was upon cross-dressing, extravagant use of make-up, one-off chic-designer clothes based on artistic rather than practical merit, colour & deliberate humourless pouting. Chief protagonists of this sentiment were acts such as Boy George, Japan & Steve Strange.

Among the British public, the growth of 'costume parties' has increased significantly since the 1940s. Higher standards of living, higher wages & increased leisure & expectations in a consumer-boom have allowed a sense of frivolity & mock-decadence to permeate pleasure-time for many people. From the 1990s onward there has been a boom in the sales of manufactured costumes, fed by an unending array of characters from the Film & Music industries. This has meant that the fancy-dress party has now diversified completely, incorporating themes such as 'The 80s' or 'Star Wars'. Richard O'Brien's 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' still tours world-wide, featuring as part of its' act audience fancy-dress & participation. Madonna's spiked boob-tube is a popular item for today's fancy-dressers (men or women!), as are Darth Vader & Rambo costumes. Among certain younger British royals & some Tory MPs, the uniform of the Nazi Afrika Korps seems to be the costume of choice.

While some parties are very specific in their imagery & theme others may be more generalized. Its' really down to the vastness of wit & imagination. Often, attendees may go as a piece of fruit or some inanimate object rather than a pop-star or movie character. Examples of the more specified would include The New York Anime Festival, where attendees go as characters from animated films. 'Anime' is a film-genre that originated in Japan on the wave of popularity of the Manga films.

In London there are events such as The Great Gorilla Run, which entails a thousand people dressed in gorilla costumes marching through the city to raise money for endangered species. A great example of public-spirited fancy-dress benefitting other causes. It seems to be a British tradition; the BBC's 'Red Nose Day' & Children In Need' both involve much fancy dress. The famous BBC-sponsored Monty Python team were notorious for their transvestism.