Australia Australian fancy dress parties typically follow 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 Rita Lloyd, aged nine, to the ‘Lord Mayor’s Juvenile Fancy Dress Ball’ at Mansion House in
Perth on 8 January 1909.
Iraq It is a tradition to have a costume party at a university graduation.
United Kingdom Nineteenth century 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
Marie Antoinette and
Elizabeth I for women and
Napoleon and
Robin Hood for men.
Twentieth century 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; for the most part the costumes were simple affairs until the mid-1970s. Prior to the late 1990s, most costumes were either hired or constructed at home. Although 'accessory' items had been available for some time, retail purchased costumes are, in respect of the U.K., largely since in the late 1990s. Many materials and costumes being imported from the Far East (with cost savings in labour and bulk orders) had increased in volume at that time. This has seen the price of purchased costumes becoming more and more affordable. Coupled with the modern trend in costume parties, 'retro' fashion as a costume theme (such as a 1970s or 1980s fancy dress) is also popular, the costumes to some extent parodying or pastiching the fashions of earlier decades. Amongst the most popular parodied costumes are:
Audrey Hepburn (as
Holly Golightly),
Madonna in her classic stage outfits, and more recently
Lady Gaga. Fancy dress parties are popular year round in the United Kingdom. The 1996 novel ''
Bridget Jones's Diary'' features the classic British costume party theme "Tarts and Vicars" at which the women wear sexually provocative ("tart") costumes, while the men dress as
Anglican priests ("
vicars"). Fancy dress parties have been held by the
British royal family.
Prince William, heir to the British Throne, celebrated his 21st birthday with an "Out of Africa" theme,
Princess Beatrice of York chose an 1888 themed party for her 18th birthday, and
Lord Frederick ("Freddie") Windsor and his sister
Lady Gabriella Windsor, celebrated a joint birthday party with a pre-
French Revolution courtly theme.
United States , 1927
Nineteenth century In late nineteenth century New York, costume parties were popular amongst the affluent. Costumes were typically historical European aristocracy. Authenticity was important, even extending to using actual period elements. For example, Cornelia Bradley-Martin attended her own party, the notorious
Bradley-Martin Ball, dressed as
Marie Antoinette, wearing jewellery actually owned and worn by Antoinette herself. The choice of aristocratic costume allowed rich Americans, with relatively limited family history, to assume some element of history and legitimacy. This coincides with the celebration of
Halloween in the United States during the late nineteenth century. As a reaction to Halloween pranks and vandalism brought to the country by Celtic immigrants, women's magazines introduced a new, middle-class rendition of the holiday that would come to assert women as the dominant celebrants of Halloween throughout the coming decades. It sought to enforce the ideals of
white Anglo-Saxon Protestants by encouraging young people to partake in tame, preferably indoor, activities instead, often with a focus on romance. While the middle and upper classes shifted their Halloween celebrations toward these new actives, including costume parties, the poor and immigrant populations of the United States continued to celebrate in the ways that they always had, demonstrating the effect that class differences had on costume parties during this time.
Twentieth century Costume parties are especially popular in the
United States around
Halloween, when
teenagers and
adults who may be considered too old for
trick-or-treating attend a costume party instead. Costume parties are also popular during the
carnival season, such as at
Mardi Gras. Attendees occasionally dress in costume for popular science fiction and fantasy events, movie openings and book releases. Web site
theonering.net held a
The Lord of the Rings dress Oscar party that was attended by
Peter Jackson.
Star Wars parties were held to celebrate the opening of
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Many bookstores have held
Harry Potter themed parties to celebrate the releases of the series' later novels, and some movie theaters have had Potter-themed celebrations as the movie adaptations have been released. Larger scale 'parties' are often related to organised societies or
conventions. ==Fan costuming==