Costumes are worn by people to celebrate special events, and this has not changed throughout history, even though the nature of the special events has changed. In early times, they were worn for ceremonial purposes, while today they�re often worn on stage and during holidays. The following links will help those interested in learning more about the history of costumes.

Ancient Civilizations: Mesopotamia contains information on costumes and clothing worn during the Babylonian period and links to other resources.

Historic Costume Bibliography lists references that discuss ancient costumes more in depth.

Pre-historic Costumes links to articles that discuss ancient costumes with pictures.

Fashion and Style: Dress and Costumes information on the costumes and clothing used in ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian Costume History has descriptions of clothing and costumes dating back to ancient Egypt.

Ancient Greek Female Costumes shows types of costumes worn by women in ancient Greece, with links to drawings and sketches.

Bissonette on Costume has pictures of costumes worn in Greece.

Roman Clothing discusses clothing, jewelry and accessories worn by the Roman people, with pictures.

Roman Dress has drawings, pictures, and information on the clothing and costumes used during ancient Rome.

13th Century Europe shows pictures and a timeline of costumes and clothing worn in Europe during this time period.

Footwear of the Middle Ages lists the types of footwear worn during the Middle Ages, from the 13^th century to the beginning of the 16^th century.

14th Century Europe shows many pictures of clothing and costumes used during this century.

Costumes of the Middle Ages has information on the costumes worn during the Middle Ages, from the 10^th century up to the 14^th century.

15th Century Northern Europe is a timeline of clothing worn in Northern Europe.

15th Century Southern Europe is a timeline of clothing worn in Southern European countries.

La Couturiere Parisian has pictures of costumes from over 400 years.

Dress in the 16th Century shows drawings and images from the 16^th century and the people who wore them.

Women�s Fashions of the 17th Century has information on the clothing worn during the 17^th century, with an emphasis on female dress.

17th Century Clothing History shows thousands of pictures that detail the clothing and costumes used during the 17^th century.

18th Century Proletarian and Peasant Dress has sketches of clothing worn during the 18^th century.

18th Century Clothing shows pictures and descriptions of clothing worn in the US during this century.

18th Century Reproductions has reproductions of costumes used in this era.

Timeless Stitches has patterns and sketches of costumes worn during the 19^th century.

19th Century Fashion has information on the clothes and costumes used.

19th Century Fashion Plates shows plates used from the 19^th century to show actual clothing worn.

The Internet makes it easier than ever to source quality period costumes for school plays and theatre groups if you don't have the time or skill to make your own. Hopefully these sources will help you in your quest to understdand the role and history of costumes around the world.