Who Loves a Bit of Dressing Up?

Jess Helicopter - 28 Oct 21

Hands up who likes dressing up? Are you a lover or a hater? Three guesses which I am. I am a LOVER! (ofc) I love that shiz to death! There is nothing more fun than making a big old deal about something with full blown costume thrown in! If you give me an invite which has the immortal words “Fancy Dress” on it…you can bet your bottom dollar, I’ll be there!

But why DO some people like to dress up so much? Well, it’s a little bit of fantasy, isn’t it? You get to play someone or something else for a few hours. You can completely change persona if you feel like it! My parents had a 70s themed Ruby Wedding party and people didn’t even recognise me. I loved it! “Look, it’s me JESS! ….see?” I was so over excited, bless.

It can also be quite ceremonial. When a friend had her 40^th a few years ago, after a long struggle with cancer we were all instructed to come in medieval gowns and the venue was the basement of a medieval castle. It felt really portentous and grand. Everyone there who was in costume respected her wishes to be celebrated in a way that she utterly deserved after such a shit time.

It’s also a very traditional thing to do, especially around Halloween. People used to go Mumming and Guising (this is completely lifted from Wiki) dressing in disguise and going from house to house reciting songs for food.

I also wondered a about the psychology of dressing up and wanted to know there was a psychological explanation for those of us who love a face thick with paint/silly wigs /comical pants. And the two main theories I found were (loosely) that people who are drawn to fancy dress tend to be either people who like to reinvent themselves or people who are immature. Um… ok! *awkward face emoji* People who reinvent themselves tend to frequently change careers or can be social chameleons. Well, that is certainly true for me. I tend to adapt how I act to fit in with those around me. Which is probably not something I should admit to because it makes me sound like a phoney…but mostly I think I do it to make people who I am with feel comfortable. Actually, I am not sure that’s better. Now I sound completely sanctimonious! Oh god…I don’t know!

The other theory being that people like the childishness of dressing up. It’s a form of nostalgia, a recreation of the excitement we felt as kids when we did so. This is definitely true for me. I have tonnes of memories of fancy dress as a kid. My mum was a dab hand with a sewing kit and my folks were always up for dressing up parties. They had a legendary Sci Fi party when I was about 9 and I remember being equal parts in awe and horrified when a guy turned up with an alien bloodily bursting from his chest!

Is it true that men are not as fond of dressing up as women? I feel like this is true but am I being sexist?! Tell me your experiences. I know that I find it really attractive when a man is willing to not take himself too seriously.

In the last 20 years or so, a trend has emerged for girls (women) to dress up as “sexy” versions of Halloween characters. But what utterly baffles me is why there aren’t sexy MEN costumes (or are there?!)  I was asking friends online about this earlier and realised that it really is just a female thing. Because you get “sexy witch” outfits but you sure as shit don’t get sexy wizard costumes! What is up with that?

Now don’t get me wrong… I can dress like a ho as much as the next person…nothing wrong with wanting to display the goods…. but when it seems to be only a one-sided thing, I have serious what-the-fuck-itis. Give me a sexy Lord of Darkness please!

Sexy or not though, are you dressing up this year? What are you going as? Let me know!

Jess Helicopter

Jess is a wine-addled, social media tart, *feminist and chronic over sharer. She lives in Cardiff with her husband, children (G-11/J-7) and some cats. Went to art school but after graduation got sucked into working for "the man". Now trying to claw her creative way out by fancying herself as a bit of writer. (*Intersectional/trans incl)

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