Themed Masked Ball Ideas

On twitter, I spotted a lady who was asking for ideas for themed masked balls. She was having a birthday party and had no idea of what she could do, so I threw a few ideas her way and at the same time, it gave me a great idea for a blog post!

Hope it’s of interest to you and if it is, please feel free to comment and share it with your friends.

Burlesque

This theme isn’t reserved just for mini top hats (although they do look great!). Masks can be adorned with feathers in gorgeous colours such as hot pinks and lime greens with elegant black. You can accompany the masks with feather fans or feather boas, and mask styles can include: feathered stick masks (which are great for flirting with!), burlesque black or red lace masks, or go for something truly outstanding and have a bespoke mask made to outshine all the others!

Colour schemed i.e Black & White.

This is a simpler and cheaper way of setting a theme for your masquerade party. Colour schemes can work well and the masks available would cater for all price ranges. Classic theme is black and white, and as most of us having something in the wardrobe of that colour, it means that those on a budget don’t miss out. White masks decorated in Swarovski crystals, black masks covered in vintage diamante jewels and ostrich feathers would look simply stunning. For the men, you could cover both by having a Venetian Mask painted in both colours.

Traditional Venetian Masked Ball:

The most elaborate, expensive and opulent of all the themes is the Venetian masked ball. Authentic Venetian Masks, elaborately decorated or simple designs in a traditional paper mache, compliment 18^th century dresses and wigs associated with this era. Dresses are usually available to hire either from fancy dress shops (although these are generally the cheaper versions) online stores (who will ship the item to you – see Complete Costumes, dresses start at £33 hire) or for more authentic and realistic costumes, you could try theatre costume suppliers (majority tend to be based in London but there are a few dotted around the country). Styles would include dresses typically worn by Marie Antionette (see the film with Kirstin Dunst for inspiration) and a big white wig. If your party is Venetian themed but perhaps less traditional, then there are companies like SMIFFY’s who do costumes like the Fever Boutique Baroque dress which is a very short alternative to an 18th Century costume!

Mask wise, see my blog post on the Vampire Diaries Masquerade Ball which has links to You-Tube videos of the the masked ball episode, as well as one featuring the Gossip Girl episode with period costumes and the wigs for ideas. Most of the masks (including feather masks, masks on sticks, lace masks and venetian masks) would all be suitable for this theme.

Carnival

Probably the cheapest masquerade theme you could go for. Costumes can be anything from colourful everyday wear, to full showgirl or burlesque costumes. If guests don’t have appropriate clothing, then the theme could just be set in the masks themselves, i.e Striped venetian masks, stick masks with bright colours (think Brazil/Mardi Gras – with lots of feather masks, sequined masks, glitter masks and huge outrageous showpiece masks).

Gothic Vampire

Fun, sexy and not just for Halloween! A gothic themed masquerade party can also accommodate cheaper budgets giving rise to homemade costumes or getting good use out the annual Halloween costume. A fun mask could be a full face one on a stick with painted on fangs! There is no limit to your imagination here and there are lots of Halloween themed Masquerade Masks you can buy, ready made, or alternatively have a bespoke one made to match your outfit. If you’re going for a Victorian style party, then masks should be more elegant, along the lines of some of the burlesque masks or Gothic elegance such as the Gothic Black Rose Mask as pictured above. Other designs could include masks featuring Spider’s Webs,

 

 

Murder Mystery

An expensive, but highly entertaining option for a masked event. There are theatre companies about who will put on a ‘Masked Ball Themed Murder Mystery’ for you to entertain your guests, or try hotels such as Picton Castle who hold Masked Murder Mystery Evenings. Guests can also become part of the act which will help them be more involved in the evening. The murder mystery can be set in a particular era to compliment your desired theme (such as venetian or marie antionette etc), enhancing the overall effect and giving rise to any number of mask types as listed above.