Fascination: Costuming

source: http://www.bellaumbrellablog.com

 
Hello everyone! =)

Today I was thinking about which topic I should blog and millions of ideas popped into my mind. I was thinking about fabric suggestions, more musical stuff, costumes for children, etc. but in the end I decided on a rather simple, but 'close' topic.

What is so damn fascinating about costuming?

To be honest: I actually don't know. I could speculate about possible reasons. Some may say escape from reality (which I think is nonsense), others might say it is more like kind of a game. But these are all very vague explanations. When I think about costuming the first think I remember is warmth. Or rather: being loved by my parents. Both my mum and dad put so much effort in creating a nicer world for me, when I was a child. Sounds magical? Well, for me, it was. When I was little, my dad always asked friends of his to disguise themselves as Saint Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht. And everytime I was enjoying this special day, the sixth of December. Knecht Ruprecht was really scary, dressed in a black robe with his old and dusty rod. Nicholas was always kind-hearted. He reminded me a lot of my grandpa. Thinking back I imagine it was quite a procedure to organise this day every year again and again. But this indicates that they cared for me.
When I was old enough to attend the kindergarten my mum began to sew costumes for me. I could be just everything or everybody I wanted to be: a lion (oh, how I loved Simba the Lion King back then!), a fair princess or an evil witch. She spent weeks working on my costumes, but I treasured them. Watching old photos of those dresses and costumes still makes me feel nostalgic. I think that gives a pretty good impression why 'warmth' is the first thing for me when it comes to costuming.

Nowadays I grew too old for this stuff. Today I can make my own costumes for German carnival, Halloween and other festivities. It is a great opportunity to work creative. Sewing is something else than just drawing a design. When you draw something it is caught on paper - but when you sew a dress or a costume, it really bursts into life. You have the power to create something new with your very own hands. For me that is the most fascinating part.

I know that there are millions of other reasons to start costuming, sewing or crafting, since there are millions of different people carrying millions of different emotions. So please tell me, why did you start?

Love,
J.