If you are planning to attend a costume ball, your choice of what to wear depends on the occasion for the party, who is throwing the party and what you can afford in terms of costume. Most balls are given to promote some charity. Your selection of the elaborateness or the simplicity of your costume should reflect your donation to the charity in question. If on the other hand you are invited to celebrate someone’s birthday or anniversary and the invitation specifies “masquerade party” your choice of costume should not detract from the honorary person for whom the party is given.
Etiquette in terms of proper dress still follows the old rule by which you can use to gauge your choice of dress for other parties and events. The rule was that no one but the bride should wear white to her wedding celebration. The symbolism of white at the wedding was really community moral practices. The bride wearing white would be saying that she was still a virgin. That rule of following community practices also applies to balls and to balls where costumes are expected. Wearing a costume of Uncle Sam at a charity ball for Russian orphans might not be appropriate and might offend some people.
Your choice of costume should reflect your common sense about the place and the occasion. If you really are not up to spending a great deal of money on renting or buying a full costume, you can indulge in a masquerade mask. Outlets for masquerade masks are easily found online and in specialty stores at malls and plazas all over the country. Some masquerade ball masks are more detailed than others. A mask of a beautiful woman with jewels embedded in her eyebrows and flawless make up can cost more than a drama mask or a comedic mask. Wear what makes you feel like the person or thing you would like to be but aren’t.
