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MASQUERADE: WHAT IS YOUR MASK?
By Cornelia Powell | June 23, 2008
I’ve just returned from New Orleans — the city of masks and disguise and carnivale. Along with museum curators, teachers, collectors and designers, I attended the annual symposium of the Costume Society of America.
Our delightful keynote speaker from New Zealand, James Acheson (costume designer for films such as The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons, and the Spiderman trilogy) focused on “the dilemma of disguise.”
This reminded me of the “disguise” (and the “dilemma” as well) of wedding attire for brides. Is this part of the appeal of a woman becoming a bride — dressing up like a “princess,” being in the ceremonial spotlight, delighting in the magical freedom of masquerade? I’ll share parts of an article I wrote after another visit to New Orleans years ago.
Clothes can transform you — inside and out. History shows that one’s character changes during the ritual of dressing for a ceremony: a military man putting on his garb for a presentation; a geisha artfully layering herself for an evenings’ entertainment; a bride being dressed for her wedding.
The fit and feel of clothes determine your outward presentation: how you perceive yourself as well as how you are perceived; your freedom of movement or lack of it. (This is part of the popularity of those ubiquitous strapless wedding gowns, but that’s another story!)
You take on a different persona in ceremonial garb. Is it play-acting or is it closer to your true nature? Is it a way you prepare to receive the revealing spotlight of attention, like a protective shell?
Colleagues of mine who are expert in the masquerade traditions — Carnivale and Mardi Gras — speak about the freedom that comes with the “masking” effect of costumes:
“Masking often results in transformation, if only temporarily. A new face and different attire allows a masker to transcend his or her everyday life and construct a new self, an altered psyche. It is this ability to escape the prosaic that bestows the magic and power of carnival.” (From a 2004 exhibition at Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans.)
Recognizing a brides’ power and appeal to the supernatural worlds, some old ethnic cultures still use the tradition of completely covering the bride in an opaque veil to keep her “out of harm’s way.” In our modern society, a bride’s entire costume could be considered a “mask” or buffer to sheathe her as she moves through her rite-of-passage, and as in ancient times, a way of keeping her apart, safely cocooned.
A bride dresses in clothing not like everyday life; and even if she is unaware, she’s dressing for the pageantry of a transformational ritual. Her special costume, the wedding pageantry, and the attention focused on the bride all combine to create an otherworldly effect. This masquerade quality generates a sense of freedom, an empowering feeling of portraying the heroine, the magical sense of being a princess.
Are these the underlying characteristics that keep pomp & circumstance wedding ceremonies popular and the mystique of the bride in tact — even in our modern, over-exposed culture?
Looking for an organizational slogan, my elegant fashion colleague, Kay King of Houston, declares: “Clothes have clout!” And wedding costumes have power and magic that continue their mysterious masquerade.
You may not be dressing for a rite-of-passage or formal presentation today, but when you’re dressing, pay attention to what changes in your posture, in your thoughts as you put on (or take off!) layers of clothing, as you add make-up or jewelry. Just notice. Notice if there is a bit of masquerade about you today….and how much of your true nature indeed shines through.
Love. Listen. Let go.
… with love from Cornelia
Topics: Costume, For Brides, Remembrances, Women's Notes |