NEW ORLEANS EVENTS - Mardi Gras Costumes
Masquerading is one of Mardi Gras' oldest traditions
Before the parades started, Mardi Gras was about masquerading in the streets. Some of the earliest recorded history of Mardi Gras in New Orleans are laws forbidding costuming. During Spanish rule in the late 1700s, slaves and Native Americans were forbidden to mask. Then after the Louisiana Purchase, when Louisiana went from European colonial rule to American rule, masking was again forbidden, though the law was rarely enforced. By 1830, the law was repealed and costuming flourished.
Today, the French Quarter is the center of Fat Tuesday costuming. Though some locals will wear a costume to all sorts of parties and events, the biggest spectacle is in the Quarter. It starts early in the morning as the Society of St. Ann gathers hundreds of lavishly costumed walkers at a secret location for a walk to the French Quarter. All sorts of costumed groups march in the Quarter, including the recently formed Krewe of Elvis, in which everybody is the King. They meet at the steps of the St. Louis Cathedral at 10 am and march through the Quarter. But many people come with a small group of friends and make the rounds through the streets. By the end of Fat Tuesday, the costumed crowds move to Frenchmen Street and the Faubourg Marigny to continue the party into the night.
Going behind the mask for Mardi Gras
Enthusiastic locals don't prepare just one costume for Mardi Gras. Many wear one to every major parade, or every night of the last big weekend, or as many as three on a Mardi Gras Day. Many of them also happen to run costume shops. That makes them great places to find unique costume pieces, and get a little help or advice along the way.
Fifi Mahoney's - 934 Royal St., 504-525-4343
Fifi's wig maven, Marci Hesseling, has a three-costume change minimum on Fat Tuesday. She runs the best shop in town to primp an outrageous hair-do, especially, big, crazy, neon colored masterpieces. If you'll need one styled, make an appointment as soon as possible. The selection is predominantly high quality wigs that can be shaped. The store also has an excellent selection of theatrical make-up and body paint.
Little Shop of Fantasy - 517 St. Louis St., 504-529-4243
Co-proprietor Ann Guccione is one of the artists whose handmade work is available at Little Shop. Opera-style masks and some that cover the full head dominate the store. They have a huge selection of unique pieces from many artists, many of them local, in everything from feathers and paper mache to leather. Also big at Mardi Gras are angel wings and glittery devil horns. They also carry some costume pieces.
New Orleans Party and Costume - 705 Camp St., 504-525-4744
Raquel Deckert opened a costume shop in the Warehouse District near the CBD and has stocked it with a very large and well-organized selection of basic costume pieces and accessories. And she's got a great handle on make-up and attachable props. Costumes come in all sizes from infants to plus sizes and include everything from superheroes and Harry Potterites to gypsies, pirates, renaissance ladies and lords, goth figures, and even couples costumes like a basic Adam and Eve.
Masquerade Fantasy - 907 Bourbon St., 504-593-9269
Brightly colored leather masks are the specialty of Jim Gibeault, a longtime familiar face in the French Quarter. His masks run the gamut of whimsical to grotesque. They are ornate and molded into everything from a full bull's head to classic harlequin faces.
Maskerade - 630 St. Ann St., 504-568-1018
Maskerade offers all sorts of masks from opera-style feathered masks to mountable hand crafted masks from Africa, South America and South Asia. Besides the fun of masquerading, they suggest all the many spiritual and cultural uses different cultures imbue in masks and ceremony. Most of the wearable masks are hand-crafted unique pieces by artists, which are highly decorative after Fat Tuesday is long over.
Uptown Costume and Dancewear - 4326 Magazine St., 504-895-7969
Uptown Costume has a particularly large selection of props and make-up as well as masks and entire costume sets. It's the place to find molded masks of celebrities and movie creatures. They don't have much in the way of unique, handmade pieces, but they do have costumes in children's sizes. They also carry basic wigs and Mardi Gras accessories.