Noun

Singular costume

Plural costumes

costume (plural costumes)

1. A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.

   The dancer was wearing Highland costume.

2. An outfit or a disguise worn as fancy dress etc.

   We wore gorilla costumes to the party.

3. A set of clothes appropriate for a particular occasion or season.

   The bride wore a grey going-away costume.

Synonyms

• outfit

Derived terms

• costumal
• costume drama
• costume jewellery
• costumer, costumier
• national costume

Related terms

• customary
• custom

The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances represented or described, or to a particular style of clothing worn to portray the wearer as a character or type of character other than their regular persona at a social event such as a masquerade, a fancy dress party or in an artistic theatrical performance.

Major categories

Theatrical costume

One of the more prominent places people see costumes is in theatre, film and on television. In combination with other aspects, theatrical costumes can help actors portray characters' age, gender role, profession, social class, personality, and even information about the historical period/era, geographic location and time of day, as well as the season or weather of the theatrical performance. Often, stylized theatrical costumes can exaggerate some aspect of a character; for example Harlequin and Pantaloon in the Commedia dell'Arte.