Costume

Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture.

[2] This general usage has gradually been replaced by the terms "dress", "attire", "robes" or "wear" and usage of "costume" has become more limited to unusual or out-of-date clothing and to attire intended to evoke a change in identity, such as theatrical, Halloween, and mascot costumes.

[3] Derived from the Italian language and passed down through French, the term "costume" shares its origins with the word signifying fashion or custom.

[4] Variedly, the term "costume," indicating clothing exclusively from the eighteenth century onward, can be traced back to the Latin consuetudo, meaning "custom" or "usage.

The front part of the dress which is formed like a pouch, in olden days was used to hold baskets of food and short dagger, but now it is used to keep cell phone, purse and the betel nut called Doma.

However, while visiting the Dzong or monastery a long scarf or stoll, called Kabney is worn by men across the shoulder, in colours appropriate to their ranks.

Women also wear scarfs or stolls called Rachus, made of raw silk with embroidery, over their shoulder but not indicative of their rank.

[8] The costume technician is responsible for taking the two dimensional sketch and translating it to create a garment that resembles the designer's rendering.

Draping is especially useful with stretchy fabrics or bias cut garments as the maker can see how it will be effected by body curves and the pull of gravity.

Wearing costumes is an important part of holidays developed from religious festivals such as Mardi Gras (in the lead up to Easter), and Halloween (related to All Hallow's Eve).

Halloween costumes developed from pre-Christian religious traditions: to avoid being terrorized by evil spirits walking the Earth during the harvest festival Samhain, the Celts donned disguises.

[15] However, in the modern era, Halloween "is widely celebrated in almost every corner of American life," and the wearing of costumes forms part of a secular tradition.

A quote from the Book of Esther, which says: "On the contrary" (Hebrew: ונהפוך הוא) is the reason that wearing a costume has become customary for this holiday.

Public sporting events such as fun runs also provide opportunities for wearing costumes, as do private masquerade balls and fancy dress parties.

Costumes are popularly employed at sporting events, during which fans dress as their team's representative mascot to show their support.

They may also dress in uniforms used in common jobs, such as nurses, police officers, or firefighters, or as zoo or farm animals.

These companies have often been in business for over 100 years, and continue to work with individual clients to create professional quality costumes.