What are character costumes, exactly? In its plainest form, a character costume is a set of clothing or something like it that reflects a well-known celebrity or fictional hero or heroine that can, when worn, make the wearer in some way more like the person they want to be. These can come in many shapes, sizes, and forms, with the most common being of the hero or villain types, but the whole thing doesn’t start or stop there – character costumes have been around for a long, long time, and probably always will be around for us to look at.
The earliest character costumes could be said to have been invented by ancient druids and shamans, as representations of the gods that were worshiped by the tribe or family group at that time. In them, they wanted to take on the aspects of the figure being depicted, in order to show some point, or to garner the respect to themselves that’s was normally shown to that deity or figure they were depicting. This goes on today in most churches, with priests wearing robes that reflect the connection they have to the Papal See, without them having to say so in so many words.
While the religious aspect of this habit may have reduced in its placement, character costumes were worn in ancient Rome as a method for the rich to ‘play’ amongst the poor, while keeping aloof from the troubles that these people had to deal with daily. This particular habit continued into 15th, 16th, and 17th-century life also with masked balls, where the rich dressed up as others and masqueraded around not being themselves, which is a direct connection to the type of character costumes that we see being used today.
It could be said that some people live out their lives in character costumes today, as both actors and television personalities are rarely seen ‘out of character’ when being interviewed or when simply speaking to others, as it’s normally the character the portray that is most likely to be recognized on a daily basis. With most costumes, no great imagination is needed to see what the idea is, and with a passing knowledge of today’s society, it shouldn’t be a great stretch to know who that character costumes are off. So remember that as you donning your new Spidey costume for the office party that you’re carrying on a tradition millennia old, but without the worship!
Here is a small preview for the costume review from amazon with four-star: Our daughter hasn’t worn this yet, but it looks adorable! However, she will be 6 months old for Halloween and is long for her age, and the 0-6 size is still pretty big! So if you have a newborn, this will NOT fit!! I can’t imagine her being able to wear it if she were under 6 months old!