Costume parties

A costume party (American English) or a fancy dress party (British English) is a type of party, common mainly in contemporary Western culture, where guests dress up in costumes. Costumed Halloween parties are popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Australian fancy dress parties typically follows the style of the United States, and Halloween costume parties have been common since the early 1990s, even though Halloween has not historically been a celebrated event in Australia. Typical events for Australians that involve dressing up are the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the staff Christmas party and cricket matches.

One of the oldest examples of fancy dress being worn in Australia is on display at the Western Australia Museum. It was a child's fancy dress costume worn by Miss Rita Lloyd, aged nine, to the ‘Lord Mayor’s Juvenile Fancy Dress Ball’ at Mansion House in Perth on 8 January 1909.

It is a tradition to have a costume party at a university graduation.

The origins of fancy dress parties in the United Kingdom can in some respects be traced to masked balls of the 18th century period. In the period to 1850, fancy dress balls were a typical part of the social life of music festivals.

Common costumes of the period were specific historical characters, generic historical or regional clothing, abstract concepts (such as "winter", "starlight" or "night"), and objects (such as "champagne bottle" or "aquarium"). Popular characters included, for women, Marie Antoinette and Elizabeth I, and for men, Napoleon and Robin Hood.

Notable amongst early events in the 20th century was the Chelsea Arts Club ball. Such events were often elaborate affairs and for the most part confined to those with considerable means.

Amongst the general population, costume parties also occurred with increasing frequency from the late 1940s onward, although for the most part the costumes were simple affairs until the mid-1970s. Prior to 'cheap' costume imports from the Far East (late 1990s), most costumes were either hired, or home constructed. Retail purchased costumes are, in respect of the UK, a largely modern phenomenon (late 1990s onward) although 'accessory' items had been available for some time. Since the increased import rate in late 1990's onwards saw the many materials / products being imported from the Far East( with cost savings in labour and bulk orders). This has seen the price of purchased costumes becoming more and more affordable.

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Wikipedia