Tell me what you dress up as and I'll tell you what you are like
A Catalan proverb says: “Per carnaval, tot s’hi val” (In carnival anything goes). A proverb that shows that carnival is a date where social norms disappear, where one can become a different person for one day, letting out their craziest and most unbridled self. Therefore, the costume we choose will explain many things about how we are.
“The outfit we choose is related to what we would like to be if we didn't have the limitations of everyday life,” explained Manuel Nevado, vice president and psychologist of the Psychology Without Borders association, in an interview with EFE.
To find out what your costume says about you, costumes can be classified according to what they convey. To find out what you are like or what the people around you are like, we leave you this list of 10 costumes that say a lot about the person who wears them.
The one who chooses a sexy costume
People who choose to become a Playboy bunny, sexy nurse or hunky cop, want to highlight their naughty side that they normally don't show, or don't show in all its glory. "They want to highlight that facet that is usually more repressed in their day to day," says Nevado.
These people live under social norms and "take advantage of the carnival to bring out the mischievous side that we all have inside," he adds.
They are people who, even though they are attractive in their day-to-day lives, do not allow themselves to bring this facet of themselves to light in public.
The one who seeks originality and exaggeration
Did you choose the Satisfyer costume this year or did you choose an exaggerated and hilarious inflatable costume? If so, you should know that you are a histrionic person.
If you choose costumes that are very original, exaggerated, make people laugh out loud or even turn you into a new person when you put it on, this means that you have a muted theatrical side inside of you.
According to the expert, “these costumes are related to more histrionic personalities where they want to bring out the theatrical part that we all have”.
If this type of costume is the result of a group decision, originality can be used "through the elements of cohesion to bring out the repressed part that we have, taking advantage of the fact that you are not the culprit of this change, but that the responsibility falls on the group or collective.
Historical, period or political costumes
Is your costume a suit with a tie and a Donald Trump mask? Do you prefer vintage Venetian dresses? Do you like to dress up as a Roman or a Viking for carnival? If you have answered yes to one of these questions, it means that you want to be a powerful person.
“In a certain way it is related to power, the dream of power and greatness that each one has”, says the specialist. With these costumes "we take advantage of the carnival to bring out the part of authoritarianism that in a certain way we would like to have."
These types of costumes are not just a costume but a way to play a role that you want to have.
Costumes that hide your face
If for carnival you like to go with a mask that completely covers your head, with masks that hide your face or even with masks that cover your gaze, you are looking for anonymity to be totally oblivious to social judgment and feel free.
The expert explains that "hiding your eyes is hiding your interior, because our gaze is the part of the body that says the most about us." When we cover the vast majority of our faces, we can "act clandestinely and anonymously", showing ourselves totally oblivious to the social judgment of people who may know us.
The one who chooses to become a superhero
Is your costume Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain Marvel or Wonder Woman? This costume explains that you are a self-caring person, a bit vain, and longing to be powerful.
They are usually chosen by individuals with a personality very similar to those who choose costumes of historical figures, but more exaggerated. "He is open to the world but also concerned about his ego and vanity," explains the psychologist. In addition, they are also usually people who take care of themselves, "a cult of the body that allows them to wear the costume."
Those who choose to regress to childhood
For an adult to decide to dress up as a boy/girl or a baby is a sign of an outgoing and theatrical person.
Whoever chooses an outfit of this type, wants to "look for the child who has ceased to be and meet him for a few hours." They also resort to it "very extroverted people who use this way of dressing up to mark even more that histrionics and fun that they can have in their day to day," Nevado emphasizes.
Sex change
If you are a boy who dresses up as a woman or a girl who dresses up as a man, you have the need to express that masculine or feminine part that you carry inside but you do not show in your day to day
This costume is usually chosen more by men than by women. "Feminine behavior in men is much more reprimanded and socially punished and then it means that in carnival you can allow yourself to bring out that femininity that all human beings have and that is kept hidden on a day-to-day basis", explains the specialist.
In addition, for a woman to wear typical male clothing is common, but the opposite is not the case. "It is not strange to see girls with a tie, pants, shirt, but it is a man with a skirt on the subway in the morning." Carnival allows you to dress in clothes that are not usually used.
Apart from femininity, women's clothing gives much more play than men's. Many men choose costumes with an exhibitionist nature or because they want to attract attention.
Of animals
Animal costumes hide a great symbology and the meaning will depend a lot on the animal that is chosen.
For example, those who choose the bear are loving and affectionate people. "The bear is par excellence the symbol of love." But, if the monkey is chosen, which is "the king of the jungle" its symbology expresses power.
Famous for a day
If for carnival you choose to dress as Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, the Queen of England, Elvis, Prince, Freddie Mercury or Lady Gaga, you want to imitate the personality of the chosen character
“We can deduce that what each of us finds in those characters we want to imitate, be it power, leadership, attraction, seduction, is what we would like to be, what we idealize or yearn for”.
Those who refuse to dress up
There are many people who don't dress up because they don't have the opportunity or because they don't celebrate carnival. But, if you are a person who goes to a carnival party, surrounded by your entire group of friends who do go in costume, and you refuse to wear something out of the ordinary, this shows that you are a rigid person and afraid of ridicule. .
“This type of person would be very conservative, authoritarian, with a significant fear of being ridiculous and with fixed and pre-established ideas thinking that their personality or their traits are not going to change because most people decide that that day you have to dress up”, emphasizes Manuel Nevado.
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