History Of Halloween Costumes

History Of Halloween Costumes – You can tell a lot about a certain American era by looking at Halloween costumes — not just what people are afraid of, but also who’s popular in entertainment and who’s running for president. is

Halloween has become the main costume holiday in the United States. But in the early 20th century, Halloween was just one of many holidays that Americans dressed up in, says Leslie Bentin, who has written several books about Halloween traditions.

History Of Halloween Costumes

“Your average person will dress up for New Years, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Easter,” she says. “There were costumes for most occasions, and costume balls and costume masquerades were more popular than they are now.”

Halloween Costumes Of Old

In the early 20th century, Halloween costumes focused on scary themes (as opposed to current events) and were mostly homemade. Here, women dressed as witches line up for a Halloween picture, circa 1910.

The purpose of early costumes was not to dress up as a certain creature or character, but to hide one’s identity in a frightening way that evoked themes such as the moon, witches, black cats or the moon. A man dressed as a cat for Halloween, circa 1920.

As teenagers were known to wreak havoc on Halloween night around the Great Depression, adults began organizing neighborhood activities such as trick-or-treating, haunted houses, and costume parties to keep teens out of trouble. to keep Three girls pose in their fancy costumes as they prepare for Halloween in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1929.

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Boxed costumes were considered an expensive luxury during the Great Depression, so many families continued to make their own Halloween costumes using costume patterns. Children in costumes gather at a Halloween party in Madison, Wisconsin, 1931.

As parents encouraged community activities for children at Halloween, costumes expanded to include characters that children saw and enjoyed, such as this 1930 photo of a girl wearing Mickey Mouse. He bought a mask.

In the 1950s, mass-produced boxed clothes became more affordable, so more children started using them to dress up. Here, children in their costumes and masks pose while trick-or-treating, 1955. How Donald Duck and Peanut Saved Trick-or-Treating

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In the 1950s, clothing also began to be inspired by current events, such as the launch of Sputnik in 1957, as seen in this photo of the Sputnik outfit worn on October 31, 1957 in Los Angeles, California. The Soviet officer is shown in the photo.

As store-bought clothing has become more affordable, parents can dress their children for vacation at the last minute. Read more: Thank that person for your last-minute Halloween costume

Sometimes a good mask makes a great outfit, like this guy photographed in 1968 trying to scare a teenage girl.

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Other times, good makeup is the key element of the outfit. Here, an 11-year-old KISS fan poses in his Paul Stanley Halloween makeup.

Movies have become a popular inspiration for clothing. Here, Star Wars characters C3P0 and Darth Vader celebrate in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1977.

The 1970s saw more changes in Halloween costumes. This is the era when Americans started wearing presidential masks, most notably the most famous: Richard Nixon – shown here in 1978.

Problematic Halloween Costumes

“Sexy” versions of suits for women have been common since the 1960s and became an established commercial product in the 1990s. Here, a woman dressed as a Playboy bunny dances at a Halloween party at Studio 54 in New York City, 1979.

Boxed costumes can turn little kids into superheroes for the night. Here, two boys dressed as The Shining and Batman are photographed in New York City’s annual Halloween parade in the 1970s or early 1980s.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Halloween costumes became more gruesome with the rise of slasher horror movies. Horror movies also cemented the masks of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees as classic horror costumes. Here, people pose as Dracula, skeletons and werewolves at Morrissey’s Magic Shop in New York, 1985. Read more: 6 horror movies inspired by true stories

Years Of Halloween Costumes

Abracadabra store manager Darren Pellegrino, left, with Vice President George H.W. Bush masks and Lourdes Lopez wear Gov. Michael Dukakis masks as they prepare for the upcoming Halloween season at their store in Greenwich Village, New York, 1988.

In 1995, the O.J. Simpson trial, clothing stores such as one in New York sold hundreds of masks of both Simpson and Judge Ito.

Halloween costumes back then were geared toward particularly scary themes (as opposed to current events) and were mostly homemade. The goal was not to dress up as a certain creature or character, but rather to hide one’s identity in a spooky way that evoked themes such as the moon, witches, pumpkins, black cats, and the moon.

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“There will be symbols of the moon, dark clothing for some clothes; anything you can get and do that will suggest or reproduce something dark and otherworldly,” he says.

Clothing in the early 20th century and beyond also sometimes attempted to portray other cultures—and races—in a way that is now seen as insensitive and often racist. Americans culturally appropriated “Middle Eastern” turbans and other symbols, reflecting a contemporary obsession with Egypt as an “exotic” place. White Americans wore blackface to represent African Americans in a tradition steeped in racism that continues today.

While people used makeup and costumes to transform themselves into different characters, it was usually a homemade effort. In the early 20th century the only commercial clothing was paper masks or aprons for children. The goal was not to look like a ghost or a goblin, but to look scary and hide the identity of the person under the mask. Coordination was especially important for children and teenagers who often spent Halloween night playing tricks, throwing flour at people, robbing neighbors’ fences, or even stealing corpses.

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This changed during the Great Depression, especially after 1933. That Halloween, hundreds of teenagers wrecked cars, cut down telephone poles, and engaged in other acts of vandalism across the country. Concerned adults began organizing neighborhood activities such as trick-or-treating, haunted houses, and costume parties to keep the youth out of trouble. This new focus also led to new types of clothing for children.

“As Halloween became about entertaining kids and engaging kids, costumes became things that kids loved,” Bentin says. These include characters from popular radio shows, comics and movies such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. These clothes represent “things [the children] have seen and enjoyed, not a brief description of the night.”

Major department store companies like Sears sold boxed clothing designed for children, but they were considered an expensive luxury during the Great Depression. Many families continued to decorate their Halloween costumes using costume patterns, even for Mickey and Minnie.

Halloween Costumes From A Century Ago

In the 1950s, mass-produced costumes became more affordable, so many children began using them to dress up as princesses, mummies, clowns, or other unique characters such as Batman and Frankenstein’s monster. There were cowboy costumes, and there were types of “Indian clothing” that Indians found offensive (and still offensive).

The 1970s saw further changes in adult Halloween costumes. This is the period when Americans began to wear presidential masks, especially the most famous: that of Richard Nixon. The first newspaper report of a presidential mask was in 1969, when a protester wearing a Nixon mask went to an anti-war rally the day before Nixon’s inauguration. Later that year, at a White House Halloween party hosted by Nixon’s daughter Trisha, a guest wore a mask of former President Lyndon B. Johnson.

After the Watergate scandal, the Nixon mask became the most popular Halloween costume. Conspiracies caused Americans to become more paranoid about their government, and when new politicians took office or ran for president, stores also began selling masks of those politicians’ faces. However, Nixon’s mask remained one of the most famous presidential masks long after he was gone.

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Over the next few decades, various clothing trends related to pop culture emerged. In the 1970s and 1980s, Halloween costumes became more gruesome with the rise of slasher horror films. These films also cemented the masks of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees as classic horror costumes. Great fantasy and science fiction films were also a big influence. Fans dressed up as C-3PO, Darth Vader and Princess Leia from Star Wars, and kids especially in E.T.

“Sexy” suits for women have been common since the 1960s, and by the 1990s “sexy” versions of store-bought suits became an established commercial product. Manufacturers also sell clothes based on highly charged current events. In 1995, the O.J. Simpson trial, clothing stores sold masks of both Simpson and Judge Ito.

In a less controversial trend, clothing companies have also marketed clothing inspired by television shows. For example, in 2019, a new

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There are dresses for Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia – although it’s probably easier (and certainly cheaper) to put together a DIY version of Mum’s old clothes. High hopes were in motion. Dozens of New York teachers marched through the streets of Greenwich Village in October.

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