Costumes As A Window To Our Interests

Costumes, whether for Halloween, cosplay or another dress-up opportunity allow us to explore interests or parts of our personality that aren’t usually on display. This can range from lighthearted dress up to almost split personality levels of fantasy. While uniforms and dress codes are part of many of our lives a mask can give us something to hide behind, or the freedom to more fully express ourselves. Sometimes both at the same time. Given the season, we thought that it would be interesting to explore some different ways this manifests itself in society.

Where did this all start? “Cosplay”, a blending of the words costume and play, was first coined in Japan in 1984 yet its origins trace back to the first World Science Fiction Convention in New York City in 1939 (NyCon1). It was at this event that Morojo (Myrtle R. Douglas), a science fiction fan and fanzine publisher, and her boyfriend Forrest J. Ackerman, a science fiction writer and literary agent, from Los Angeles, CA, wore costumes. Morojo designed and handmade called what she called “futuristicostumes” based on the 1936 H.G. Wells film, Things To Come. The couple was the only ones to wear costumes to the inaugural event, stating that they thought that’s what you should do at a science fiction conference. Duh. In 2016 Morojo was awarded the title, “Mother of Convention Costuming” for pioneering a movement that celebrates fandom, inclusivity, creativity, and community. Here’s a great article about Morojo and her decades of commitment to her interest in sci-fi, Esperanto, and once she’d apparently had enough of dressing up, the nudist movement.

Ever the international family, our son’s BFF who lives in France is named Olivia and her name comes from the ancient Germanic meaning of “elf warrior.” For Halloween and Paris Comicon this year, she and her Dad made a warrior princess elf costume. We asked her father Anthony what his interest in elves are and if that had anything to do with choosing the name. He said, “We liked the name and when we found out its origin (and being the creative dorks that we are), we said, that’s the one!”

We wanted to know how Olivia decided to embrace her name this year in costume form and Anthony explained that she had grown up knowing that her name had a tie in with elves and that gave her a sense of being magical along with a connection to fantasy characters. She enjoys playing fantasy-based video games and drawing elven characters and the elf cosplay was something that she had really wanted to work on for a while. From the photos, Olivia has clearly embraced her inner warrior elfness, but with or without the costume, she’s pure magic.

This daughter-father duo did an amazing job putting this costume together with stuff they found around the house. They are always working on a fun project together. Anthony worked at Nickelodeon as an illustrator for more than a decade and recently went solo. He’s currently expanding his creative pursuits and looking for clients and collaborators. Follow anthonyconleyart on IG. To learn about life as an American kid in Paris and kid-friendly DIY projects follow Olivia on her YouTube channel


This isn’t just kid stuff, as adults will also spend significant time making the perfect costume representation of a character they like, sometimes combining several to create their own hybrid mashup. A quick google search or peep into a costume shop will reveal endless adult-sized costumes for just about anything you can imagine and it goes without saying that in most situations if you dress up as a gorilla, a dinosaur or a zombie you will also be expected to play the part. Perhaps we choose those costumes to explore some primal need - it’s permission to act out some animalistic instincts in a safe and socially acceptable way.

It’s a bit of a cliché but the sheer number and popularity of “sexy” costumes indicate, if nothing else, an interest in exploring part of someone’s personality that they might be uncomfortable with, embarrassed about or ashamed of. For example, someone can safely dress up as a dominatrix for a Halloween party and play up the role for hours and then go back to their normal life the next day with no fear of anyone thinking anything different about them the next day. In some professions, if photos of someone dressed in such a way in a serious context were “discovered” it could result in ugly consequences or social fallout. Whereas wearing the same thing to a Halloween party or costume event is defensible, it’s not seen as a reflection of the person and their personality or morals, it’s just having fun. These costumes let people be someone else, even briefly. Masks and costumes provide a “safe place” to explore, and maybe the costume you try out today leads to something else more than simply recreational later on.

While LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) usually centers around an event, game, or set time frame, there are other “costumed identities” that become a much larger part of the participants’ lives - often a defining part of their personal identity. The Society For Creative Anachonism (SCA), Furry Fandom and Burning Man are some examples where people may have a fully developed identity to go with the costume, or more appropriately a costume to go with the identity. SCA members are required to become someone who could have reasonably lived between 400ce -1600ce, all clothing and items they bring to events must be historically accurate, nothing modern or fantastical. Some assume this is mere historical reenactment but as people are not replicating actual historical figures or events, but rather creating their own alternate reality, and some members have decade long friendships and still know nothing about each others’ “real” lives - some going as far as having SCA specific marriages. A Furry Fan’s “Fursona” or a Burner’s “Playa Name” can be similarly independent and distinct from who that person is in other parts of their life. In all these cases, the manufactured character allows the person the freedom to embrace a part of their personality & interests that they couldn’t fully explore under other conditions.

In many ways, these costumes are the gateways to communities of shared interests. 

In Japan, as evident by countless Miyazaki and Yoshida films, it’s very common to play with the psychological veil between reality and the supernatural without being too hung up on it. In the west, you’ll see a much firmer distinction between the superstitious and the skeptic, with people associating strongly with one or the other. You either believe in ghosts or you don’t, it’s not something you can do sometimes. But wouldn’t it be more fun to suspend disbelief when visiting a Halloween Haunted House? What if, for the moment, you embraced the notion that a very real zombie had just jumped out of the shadows and was trying to eat your brains rather than telling yourself it’s just an actor covered in fake blood? How would that change your experience? Here in Japan the year is full of seasonal events were attendees and participants do just that - in the moment the spirits and otherworldly entities (even when represented by other people in costume) are very real, but before and after everyone is able to accept that it’s all imaginary and just have fun with it. In a way, this is very similar to Anton LaVey’s notion of religious ritual as personal psychodrama - knowing it’s all a fantasy in your head, still fully embracing it in the moment, and then returning to the “real world” afterward.

Halloween is our favorite time of year for many reasons including it’s our anniversary. Our officiant wore an Optimus Prime mask and later had a combination wedding reception / costume party. (BTW, happy 11th to us!)

Tara Tiger Brown, Alix Han, Sean Bonner. Runyon Canyon. 2008

Tara Tiger Brown, Alix Han, Sean Bonner. Runyon Canyon. 2008

Tara Tiger Brown, Sean Bonner. LA. 2008

Tara Tiger Brown, Sean Bonner. LA. 2008

As a lifelong fan of dressing up, this interest is more than just academic for Tara. She reflected on her costume choices over the years to see if there was some subconscious pattern to be uncovered. Let’s wrap this up with a look at what she found:

The only conclusion I’ve come to is that, true to my personality, I like a variety of things and topics and definitely don’t plan my costumes very far in advance. 

In some of my social media avatars, I’m wearing a black sickness mask and a black hood. If you live in Japan it’s normal to wear these face masks, but if I walk around like this anywhere else, I might be considered up to no good. The reason that I like the photo of me is that it’s a reminder that I can be anything I want to be behind that mask and hood (even a ninja). I don’t need to conform to what is expected of me or to fit into societal norms.

So what are you dressing up as for Halloween this year?




Sean Bonner