From: http://www.mummers.com/
These pictures show a little taste of how far a person will go to look good in the parade.
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The
two costumes shown here are pretty self - explanatory of how much money is
spent in making the costumes for the parade.
Mummers used to sew their own costumes, but it has become the norm to
turn your idea over to a professional.
Many costumes end up being covered in sequins or they consist of huge
head and back pieces that make them look like peacocks strutting down the
street. |
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Money
is no object when it comes to being the best. Yes, there is prize money, but none even coming close to totaling
the $20,000 one club borrowed from a bank to have their costumes made. One man even cancelled his scheduled trip
to Hawaii to pay $1,500 on a costume that he called “Aurora Borealis, Northern
Lights.” |
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Costumes
for the fancy brigade once became so elaborate that a train on a costume
might stretch for a block. Rules had
to be made because these costumes slowed the parade. Now costumes may not reach a block, but they
may be in the form of a float that practically needs to be built by a
carpenter and a tailor. |
From: http://www.wb17.com/misc/mummers2000/history.htm