Costumes have been a part of human fashion for thousands of years, and people have used costumes for everything from distinguishing between social classes to warding off evil spirits. Even though they’re usually worn in elaborate events, costumes have also had a strong influence on everyday wear and popular culture.

Costumes have been used throughout history by humanity since the ancient Egyptians and have been used in many types of ancient theater. Costumes are also used in pagan religious traditions that continue today across Europe and America. Modern use of costumes includes cosplay and cinema.

Costumes have accompanied humanity over the centuries, and they’ve had an evolving role in human history. Keep reading to learn more about the history of costumes.

The Function of Costumes in Human Society

Going back into ancient history, costumes have always had an important part in human culture and society. Even when costume consisted of nothing more than beadwork or carved bone and shell, people were using costume accessories to express themselves in art, social status, and religion.

Here are a few ways that costumes have historically functioned in human society:

• Fashion: Period costumes in ancient cultures were the first recorded instances of fashion being expressed through human clothing. While many of the materials used in these costumes have not survived the centuries, many of these cultures left records of how popular costumes influenced the fashion of their time.
  
  
• Performing arts: Costumes have always been one of the most important aspects of the performing arts. Historically masks have played a large role in live theater in acting troupes all over the world, from Greece to Japan. While modern theater productions don’t use masks as often in plays, masks are still used in historical plays to lend authenticity to them.
  
  
• Class identification: Costumes have been used for thousands of years for people to identify different levels of social status. In ancient cultures, the difference between low class and high-class costumes was usually depicted through differences in textile quality (silk for nobility, linen for commoners). However, as society evolved, accessories also began to play a larger role.
  
  
• Social role: Costumes are used in many industries to create a sharp visual distinction between staff and customers. Costumes are also popularly used by individuals with authority, such as police officers, security guards, and judges.
  
  
• Religious ceremonies: Humans have used costumes in religious ceremonies since the dawn of time, and these costumes still play a significant role in religious rites today. From religious masks worn in modern Africa to the Pope’s vestments, religious costumes are always strongly symbolic and often denote power or authority. 
• Play: Throughout human history, costumes have often been used by children playing as a way for them to emulate adults. Dress-up play with costumes has been a time-honored tradition for children to learn how to flex their imaginations and take on grown-up roles while at play.

It’s easy for people to write off costumes as something for children to dress up in once a year for the holidays, but the truth is that costumes have a much more crucial and deep-seated role in human history. Costumes are not only the way we tell other people about ourselves; they’re also one of the basic tools that humans use to tell stories. 

Who Wore the First Costume?

When costumes were first used by humans, they were used as a form of cosmetics—costume in ancient Egypt was a way for the ancient Egyptians to visually distinguish class and fashion. The ancient Egyptians wore a form of fashion in which men’s and women’s clothing was visually indistinct, so the costume was a way for people to practice self-expression.

The biggest types of costume used in ancient Egypt were the following (Source: Ancient History Encyclopedia):

• Jewelry: Jewelry was a major aspect of ancient Egyptian costume. Many Egyptologists note that elaborate gold jewelry was, in many cases, one of the only things distinguishing the costume of an ancient Egyptian noble from the peasants or middle class.
  
  
• Wigs: Wigs were a popular costume accessory in ancient Egypt and became more and more elaborate depending on the social status of the person wearing them. The beading in Egyptian wigs eventually ended up leading to beadwork in Egyptian costumes in the upper class. (Source: Ancient Origins)
  
  
• Embroidery: While earlier centuries of ancient Egypt didn’t see much elaboration of the basic tunic-style clothing worn, embroidery became a more popular element in ancient Egyptian costumes as beadwork came into play. Elaborate embroidery was used by the nobility in costume as a display of their wealth.
  
  
• Kohl: Kohl, a type of dark makeup worn as eyeliner to help ward off the glare of the desert, was used in costume by both Egyptian peasants and nobles. The use of kohl has persisted in modern fashion, not just in Egypt but around the world.
  
  
• White costumes: Most use of color in ancient Egyptian costumes was used to show off wealth since the dyed fabric was more expensive than plain fabric. However, the priest class in ancient Egypt used pure white costumes. Priests were the only people allowed to wear pure white because the color was used as a sign of sacred purity.

Because the clothing of the ancient Egyptian kingdoms was simple and unadorned, the flamboyant accessories used by the Egyptians, such as jewelry and makeup, helped Egyptians stand out as some of the first costume-wearing people in the ancient world.  

Greek and Roman Costumes

Like the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and Romans mostly wore a simple form of dress at first. The main reason was that the types of needles used to do more elaborate sewing were not in use yet, and sewing in the ancient world was a much more cumbersome chore with ancient needles. Here are some of the clothing items that were featured in Greek and Roman costumes:

• Togas: Greek and Roman nobles wore a draped outfit called a toga that was held together with brooches and pins. Contrary to popular belief, only the upper class in ancient Rome and Greece wore togas—commoners were seen costumed in simple tunics instead.
  
  
• Stolas: Women wore a long, draped dress called a stola. Since these outfits weren’t visually distinctive in form, both societies used costume accessories to help illustrate class and fashion sense. Upper-class women would wear stolas dyed in a multitude of colors to signify their wealth since dyes were still a precious commodity during this time period.
  
  
• Jewelry: Since brooches and pins were needed to hold up both stolas and togas, these pieces of jewelry were among the first costume accessories. Armlets and golden hairnets were also popular accessories in ancient Greece and Rome. Ancient Romans and Greeks had a strong interest in semiprecious gems and colored glass, leading to the first cheap costume jewelry.

Purple was one of the most prized colors in Roman costume, and the dye was obtained by grinding up the purple shell of sea snails. This dye was then used by Roman senators to stripe their togas almost like a badge of office. (Source: Halloween Express) This was just one example in a long history of humans using costumes to be able to immediately identify a person’s social status on sight.

A costume element that was especially important in ancient Greek and Roman theater was the mask. Masks let actors play multiple roles within the same play and also play roles of either gender. Unlike costume masks created by other cultures, the masks created by the ancient Greeks and Romans were made of organic lightweight materials, and none have survived to the modern age. (Source: City Dionysia)

Costumes in the Pagan Traditions

Costumes in the ancient world weren’t just used for social distinction and theater—they were also a prominent part of religious rites, especially in pagan communities. The ancient pagan holiday of Samhain is a holiday representing the liminal between life and death.

During Samhain, ancient pagans would dress up as monsters and spirits to trick evil spirits into thinking they were one of them. One way that costumes were used in ancient Samhain in Wales was to construct a Mari Lwyd, a costume of a horse skull and a hooded cloak that was used to go door to door to ask for food and drink with rhymes and song. This was the birthplace of trick or treating. (Source: Wikipedia)

In the New World, the tradition of Samhain persists in the Americanized holiday Halloween. On Halloween, both children and adults dress up in costumes and go door to door to ask for candy and attend parties. Halloween costumes are a large part of the Halloween tradition and include people dressed as the following:

• Scary monsters and spirits such as ghosts, werewolves, or zombies
• Popular political figures
• Popular sports figures
• Characters from movies or television
• Superheroes

While Halloween costumes used to be mostly handcrafted in the 20^th century, most modern-day Halloween costumes are purchased. Halloween costumes are strongly influenced by popular culture, and trending costumes will change wildly from year to year. Adults rarely use costumes for trick-or-treating at Halloween but instead participate in drinking parties, masquerade balls, and costume contests.

National Costumes Around the World

Along with their use in religious traditions and ancient theater, costumes have also been around for centuries as a way for countries to show off their national identity. Here are a few cultures that are especially known for their elaborate costumes (Source: Love to Know): 

• Germany: Germany’s national costume is the lederhosen for men (leather shorts paired with suspenders) and the dirndl for women (a simple aproned dress with a bodice). While these costumes used to be worn daily, they are now only used on special occasions.
  
  
• Japan: Japan has a complex costume culture, with symbolic imagery and fashion style sharply linked to social status and class. One type of Japanese costume kimono, the junihitoe, consists of twelve layers and requires help to put on. Costumes also have a strong place in Japan’s performing arts—costume masks are used in kabuki theater to distinguish the actors.
  
  
• Native Americans: Most Americans associate the feather headdress with Native American costume, but the truth is that these elaborate headdresses were only used by the Plains Indians. Many Native Americans had distinct costumes, depending on where they resided. Shell jewelry is popular with coastal natives, while turquoise is a popular material in Western tribes.
  
  
• Georgia: The people of Georgia in eastern Europe have a combative history, and this is reflected in their national costume, the chokha, which includes placement for shotgun shells as well as an elaborate costume dagger. These costumes are typically reserved for Georgian ambassadors working abroad, but a more common variant is also used on special occasions such as weddings. (Source: Listverse)
  
  
• Scotland: Scotland’s most famous national costume item, the kilt, is a piece of clothing that is known pretty much throughout the world. Plaid is another major aspect of Scottish costume, with different colors and patterns used to denote a Scottish person’s clan affiliation.
  
  
• Australia: While many people may think of Crocodile Dundee when they think of a national costume for Australia (or maybe Steve Urwin’s iconic khaki shorts), the true national costume of Australia is known as a driza-bone coat. A driza-bone is a tough waterproof coat originally created from sailing canvas and has historically been used to keep cattle workers dry. (Source: Driza-Bone)

These are just a few of the national costumes that exist across the world—if you look into any nation, you’re likely to find something that is associated with that country’s costume, from the French beret to the American cowboy hat.

Costumes have also traditionally been used for identification with national religions—for example, turbans are associated with Sikh Muslims, while burqas are commonly associated with Middle Eastern women. In many cases, these national costumes have a symbolic purpose, but they are often elaborated and decorated to show self-expression too.

Costumes in the Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance in the 15^th century saw an explosion of productivity across every center of industry, and that included textiles. This allowed the Renaissance Italians to display elaborate social costumes like never in history. However, in this time period, there were laws that limited certain fabrics to the upper class alone, such as silk, brocade, velvet, and satin.

A major factor in Renaissance costume was the use of color, and the color of a man’s clothing and stockings was often an indicator of who he served. Renaissance costumes were also influenced by Italian mercenaries. This led to a series of fashions where clothing was both colorful and slit in several places to allow ease of movement during a swordfight.

As the Italian Renaissance moved into the 16^th century, Italian costumes became darker in color and more serious looking. This was done to give off the impression of sophistication, and the practice of wearing dark clothing as a costume for high-class gatherings has persisted in the little black dress and the black-tie dress code. (Source: Debrett’s)

The Italian Renaissance also contributed to the history of costumes by popularizing the masquerade ball. Masquerades were large public dances held to signal the start of carnival in Renaissance Italy, and wearing a mask was the most important aspect of the gathering. Masquerade costume balls are still practiced in high society regularly around the world today.

Italian Street Comedy and Costumes

As with the ancient Greeks and Romans, Italian costume also had a significant influence on the theater. Improvised Italian street comedy blossomed during Renaissance Italy in the form of the commedia dell’arte. These street performances often featured simple but exaggerated costumes to help on-lookers identify characters easily—for example, a plumed hat would be used to indicate a soldier.

These forms of improve comedy were the earliest forms of prop comedy, and costumes played a large role in telling the story since the street meant there was no traditional backdrop. Italian street comedy of this time period could be classified into two types:

• Commedia dell’arte: Commedia dell’arte was a form of street theater that was performed by professional actors and often included elaborate masks and costumes.
  
  
• Commedia erudita: Commedia erudita is similar to commedia dell’arte except that the actors often performed unmasked, and these street plays were performed by amateurs rather than professional actors.

As fabrics and art aesthetics became increasingly important in Renaissance Italy, the costumes used in commedia dell’arte became more elaborate. This, in turn, introduced more complicated costumes to theater productions in other parts of Europe, such as England.

Costumes in Shakespearean England

In Shakespearean England, costume played an important role in the theater and in identifying different levels of social class. There were strict laws on what people could wear in Shakespearean England depending on their social class and role in society.  Wigs were also a major aspect of costumes that helped to communicate to the audience what the social role of the wearer was.

The laws regarding costume in Shakespearean England were known as the Sumptuary Laws. These laws were so complex that the most detailed of them restricted certain fashion designs and fabric colors to certain nobles in Shakespearean English society. (Source: University of Michigan)

As in Renaissance Italy, textiles were a precious commodity. Costumes were often inherited from actor to actor as a measure of wealth. Servants who were gifted high-class clothing by their masters would sell that clothing to the theater since it was against the law for them to wear it themselves. (Source: Shakespeare’s Globe)

Makeup was also a large part of a Shakespearean costume, and white face paint was used by women to emulate the desired paleness of the day. Some makeup used in costume by Shakespearean actors and high society contained harmless organic ingredients, but poisonous white lead was also a popular ingredient in cosmetics of this time period around the world.

Costumes in the Modern Age

In the modern age, costumes are still used to continue old pagan traditions such as Halloween during the holidays. They’re also popular in fandom culture. Even though we don’t think of them as costumes, people in modern society still use costumes to denote social status too. Think about some of these common costume concepts in society:

• A Wall Street executive in a suit and tie
• A soccer mom in a cashmere sweater
• Letterman jackets used by high school athletes
• Uniforms used by police, priests, and postal workers

While these uniforms aren’t what people think of when they think of costumes, uniforms are a costume in that they tell people at a glance what a person’s social role is. People also still use accessories and fashion as a part of their social costumes, with expensive designer brands used as a literal mark of prestige and financial power.

Halloween and Cosplay Costumes

Along with costumes as a social construct, costumes are still used widely in Western society during the Halloween holiday. Another way that whimsical costumes have been embraced by modern society outside of Halloween is through the hobby of cosplay.

This hobby involves fans dressing up as their favorite superhero or animated character, usually at specialized venues like comic and anime conventions.

The first recorded instance of people using cosplay was during the twenties, but it has become so popular in modern society that there are now worldwide competitions for it. The Harajuku District in Japan is especially associated with cosplay, and people can be seen dressed in costume there at all times of the year. 

Costumes and Sports Mascots
Another way that modern society has adapted the costume is to use it for sports mascots. While sports teams have historically used taxidermized and live animals as their mascots for hundreds of years, this practice has eventually given way to the use of costumed mascots who dance and cheer on the sides of the field during the game. (Source: The Culture Crush)

Like other costumes, the costumes used by mascots often tell a story about the culture of the community they derive from.

While chosen mascots for sports teams are often ferocious animals such as tigers or eagles, the costumes for sports mascots are usually created with exaggerated or caricatured features. Costumed sports mascots take part in jester-like antics to entertain the crowd and drum up their cheers. Mascots are also used to drum up competitive aggression against the other team.

Costumed mascots often dramatically feud with each other on the sidelines of a sports event, and these “fights” are staged for comedic effect.

Contemporary Costumes and Popular Culture

As in ancient times, the use of costumes in entertainment has influenced the use of costumes in social expression (and vice versa). Two of the major ways that costumes have influenced popular culture in the 21^st century are through their use in both fashion and cinema.

Contemporary Costumes and Fashion

Throughout the centuries, costumes have been used by cultures around the world to act as visual indicators for social class, but in popular culture, costumes often have a trickle-down effect on street fashion. Clothing and hairstyles popularized by famous movie stars, for example, have been imitated by housewives since the Roaring Twenties.

There have been several iconic fashion collections that were directly inspired by contemporary movie costumes. Fashion designers have drawn inspiration from all sorts of films, including some of the following:

• Lord of the Rings
• Hunger Games
• Disney animated films
• Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo

While many of these couture costume looks never make it off the catwalk, they nevertheless go on to shape street fashion in new and surprising ways.

One example of this is the striking costumes in the film The Matrix. The sleek, black iconic outfits of this nineties film inspired an entire decade of casual cyberpunk fashion in the 1990s and early 2000s. As in ancient Rome and Egypt, elaborate versions of these costumes are actively worn by the upper class, but simplified versions are imitated by the masses in everyday street fashion.

In modern society, as in ancient society, the use of costume is often a direct reflection of the art and class structure of the time period.

Contemporary Costumes and Cinema

Just as the costumes in the cinema have a strong impact on modern fashion, costumes have a huge role to play in modern cinema in movies and television. For example, the entire subgenre of period pieces—both in movies and television—aim to recreate historical periods. These pieces of cinema depend heavily on the costumer designer’s ability to recreate fashion trends from hundreds of years ago.

For realistic authenticity, many historical dramas have come to rely on period costumes to accurately depict their characters. In the modern world, it is as easy for the audience to check the authenticity of a costume against history as the push of a button, so costume designers have to go above and beyond to make their outfits realistic for a modern audience.

Costume design is still a highly respected field in the cinema and the theater, and major industry awards are handed out to costume designers in cinema and stage productions. In the modern world, many aspects of theater costumes and popular culture are linked.

Cinema serves to reintroduce elements of period or fantasy costume into popular fashion. The wild popularity of the television show Game of Thrones led to renewed interest in medieval fashion accessories, for example.

Costumes Are an Important Part of Human History

The history of costumes runs deeper than cosplay and Halloween. Whether they show up in religious rituals or in a Broadway play, costumes have always had an important part to play in how humanity expresses itself.