History of Halloween Costumes [Infographic]

Matthew Gates http://notetoservices.com 2m 538 #halloween

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Halloween, also known as All Hallow’s Eve, is a tradition that occurs in nearly every country around the world. Up until about a century ago, it was celebrated by just a few countries, specifically with pagan backgrounds. It is often celebrated with candy, treats, tricks, and costumes. It has also become big business for many stores to sell candy, decorations, and Halloween costumes throughout the month of September and October in preparation for Halloween.

These Halloween costumes often reflect just about everything the imagination can represent. Some people prefer to make their own Halloween costumes, while others buy them at a local Halloween store or even Walmart.

Traditional Halloween costumes usually include Mummies, Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolves, etc. More traditional Halloween costumes reflect the society of today, specifically recent or popular movies, with children dressing as their favorite characters, such as Wolverine, Spiderman, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, or any other characters from the Marvel Comics and Marvel Movies.

There are also plenty of other more revealing costumes, with young girls usually wearing more sexier revealing outfits, portraying nurses, librarians, teachers, etc. As people grow older, some may lose the desire for dressing up in Halloween costumes or for the holiday altogether, while others still embrace the tradition to dress up for parties or even to go trick or treating, usually with their children, who they might just be using as an excuse to go trick or treating!

This infographic, courtesy of neomam.com, explores the history of Halloween costumes.

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A HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

FROM SPIRITS TO SUPERHEROES, HERE’S HOW HALLOWEEN COSTUMES HAVE EVOLVED OVER THE CENTURIES.

8^TH CENTURY

NOV 1 WAS DECLARED ‘ALLHALLOWSMAS’, COMMONLY CALLED ‘ALL HALLOWS’ DAY’. THE NIGHT BEFORE IT BECAME KNOWN AS ‘ALLHALLOWE’EN’, WHICH WHAT WE NOW CALL HALLOWEEN.

ANGEL | DEVIL | GHOST

1880s

WITH MILLIONS OF IRISH PEOPLE IMMIGRATING TO AMERICA, HALLOWEEN BECAME POPULARIZED NATIONALLY.

DEMON | GHOST | WITCH

1920s

THE FIRST REPORTS OF TRICK-OR-TREATING APPEAR.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN | PIERROT | HOBO

1930s

THE BELLHOP COSTUME WAS POPULAR DUE TO PHILLIP MORRIS ADVERTISING. THE FIRST MASS-PRODUCED HALLOWEEN COSTUMES APPEAR.

GYPSY | JESTER | BELLHOP

1940s

NOTABLE EVENTS:
SUPERMAN COMICS FIRST PUBLISHED, 1938
THE MASK OF ZORRO FILM RELEASED, 1940

SUPERMAN | ZORRO | DAVY CROCKETT

1960s

NOTABLE EVENTS:
AQUAMAN COMICS FIRST PUBLISHED, 1962
SPACE GHOST CARTOON FIRST BROADCAST, 1966
THE ADDAMS FAMILY FIRST BROADCAST, 1964

AQUAMAN | WEDNESDAY ADDAMS | SPACE GHOST

1970s

EVEL KNIEVEL AMERICAN DAREDEVIL
STAR WARS EPISODE IV RELEASED, 1977
SUPERMAN FILM RELEASED, 1978

EVEL KNIEVEL | PRINCESS LEIA | SUPERMAN

1980s

THRILLER MUSIC VIDEO RELEASED, 1983
SPLASH FILM RELEASED, 1984
RUBIK’S CUBE POPULAR 80’S TOY

MICHAEL JACKSON | MERMAID | RUBIK’S CUBE

1990s

STAR WARS EPISODE i RELEASED, 1999
SAILOR MOON ANIME TV SERIES BROADCAST, 1992
TOY STORY RELEASED, 1995
101 DALMATIANS RELEASED, 1996

JEDI | SAILOR MOON | BUZZ LIGHTYEAR | CRUELLA DE VIL

2000s

THE MUMMY RELEASED, 1999
1^ST HARRY POTTER FILM RELEASED, 2001
SPIDERMAN FILM RELEASED, 2002

MUMMY | HERMOINE GRANGER | SPIDERMAN

2010s

TIM BURTON’S ALICE IN WONDERLAND FILM
CAPTAIN AMERICA RELEASED
ROYAL WEDDING
GREEN LANTERN FILM RELEASED
FINAL HARRY POTTER FILM RELEASED

ALICE IN WONDERLAND | CAPTAIN AMERICA | PRINCESS | GREEN LANTERN | HARRY POTTER

2013

… WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DRESS UP AS? HERE’S SOME INSPIRATION FROM POP CULTURE THIS YEAR.

KATNISS EVERDEEN | CATWOMAN | THE DOCTOR

Giraffe^™
childcare & early learning

Matthew Gates is a freelance web designer and currently runs Confessions of the Professions.

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