• Masquerade costumes, which include colorful masks and gorgeous ball gowns, became popular during the 15th century in Venice, Italy. They are currently worn around the world during masquerade or costume parties and events such as Mardi Gras, Halloween and carnivale parades.
  
  

Classical Egypt Cleopatra

• The Classical Egypt Cleopatra masquerade costume consists of a full-length satin gown, a waist sash, a gold apron, a sequin collar, a long cape and a beaded headpiece. You can find this kind of masquerade costume for rent or sale at amasquerade.com, which offers a classical Egypt Cleopatra costume rental for $45.00 and purchase for $108.00, as of 2009.
  
  

Caribbean Pirate

• A great masquerade costume for a young child is Caribbean Pirate. This simple costume consists of a white shirt, a vest and a waist sash. A scarf to tie around the head, eye patch, and toy sword are great accessories for this type of masquerade costume. As of 2009, you can find this kind of costume for sale at newyorkcostumes.com, which offers a Caribbean Pirate costume in the colors of brown and white and in the sizes of small, medium and large.
  
  

Hercules

• This legendary costume consists of a tunic, body armor, a cape, arm bands, cuffs, leg guards and a headpiece. Accessories for this type of masquerade costume include a fake sword and wig. Zoogstercostumes.com offers a Hercules costume for sale in the colors of white and black and the sizes of medium, large, and x-large, as of 2009.
  
  

Victorian Gentleman

• The Victorian Gentleman costume (circa 1837 to 1901) consists of a tailcoat, a vest, a string tie, pants and a top hat. You can find a masquerade costume such as this, as of 2009, for rent or sale at amasquerade.com, which offers this costume in the colors of baby blue, white, and black and in the size of extra large.
  
  

Medieval Queen

• The Medieval Queen costume consists of a full-length velvet gown and a crown. Newyorkcostumes.com sells this type of costume in the colors of royal blue and white and in the sizes of small, medium, large, and extra large for $89.00, as of 2009.
  
  

Sexy Matador

• Teenage girls and adult women may choose the Sexy Matador masquerade costume. This detailed costume consists of a bolero style jacket, a bull appliqué, a jumpsuit, a waist band, a matador hat and a cape. A dagger or sword would be a suitable accessory. As of 2009, you can find this type of masquerade costume available for sale at zoogstercostumes.com for $24.99, in the sizes of x-small, small, medium, and large.