Rio de Janeiro's Carnival Costumes Throughout the Years

Feb. 08, 2013 — -- intro: We all associate Rio de Janeiro's Carnival with teeny weeny bikinis covered in sparkles, but was it always like this?

The tradition of Carnival was first introduced by the Portuguese. By the 1850's socialites used it as a way to dress up in masks and costumes and parade through the town among the commoners.

Fast forward to today and the festivity, which this year takes place February 9 to February 11, has evolved into one of the biggest parties in the world. A lot of samba dancing, a lot of beer drinking, a lot of tourists trying to speak Portuguese and a country that stops for almost a week to enjoy it all.

Which brings us back to those outfits. They didn't start out like that, and what they've morphed into over the years is both jaw dropping and incredibly ornate. Here's how they ended up that way.

quicklist: 1title: The Heat of the Early 1930's text: Prior to 1930s costumes were really elaborate but because the price of materials went up, masks and ornaments started to decline in 1930. What people did manage to afford was generally made in light colors to fight the insane summer heat. Two years later, in 1932 the first official parade took place in Rio de Janeiro.

media: 18420939

quicklist: 2title: 1950's Led to 'Less is More"' text: Slowly (but surely) costumes began to grow skimpier. Men started going bare chested and women began to wear lighter costumes until finally adopting two-piece bikinis.

media:18420950

quicklist: 3title: In the '70s the Sambodromo is builttext: In 1970 the sambodromo – a parade area--was built and officially designated as the setting for the main Carnival party. Other parties and parades, also known as 'blocos', take place on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, but none compare in magnitude to what happens in the sambdromo. It was during this period that samba schools got organized and became the sophisticated industry they are today. That industry certainly helped dictate the amount of money and the ornate nature of many costumes.

media: 18420962

quicklist: 4title: The '80s Brought Some Changetext: The eighties were the eighties everywhere in the world. Rio's costumes were big, colorful and full of sparkle. This decade also marked the change of address for the sambodromo to where it is now located at Av Marquez de Sapucai. In 1984 the parade was also split into two days so party goers could keep up with the samba dancing and watch all the samba schools. Even today the Carnival takes place on Sunday and Monday.

media: 18420994

quicklist: 5title: Who Said Men Can't Show Skin?text: The glitz and glamour is not just for women. At this moment in the event's history it became openly acceptable for men to dress however they wanted, and that included cross dressing just for fun. As they say in Las Vegas: What happens at Carnival, stays at Carnival.

media: 18421004

quicklist: 6title: Breaking Boundaries text: Today Carnival goers are not surprised to see bare breasts and miniscule thongs on beautiful dancing women. But someone had to do it first. By this point, gone were the masks and light-colored outfits worn to the parade. They were replaced with pasties, body paint and panty-like metal covers.

media: 18421015

quicklist: 7title: The Industry Behind Carnivaltext: About 700,000 people visit Rio de Janeiro during Carnival, which generates an estimated $500 million in revenue and employs more than 600,000 people. The country essentially comes to a grinding halt during the week of Carnival except for hotels and samba schools which work until the last minute to have the best costumes. media: 18421025

quicklist: 8 title: The Bigger, The Bettertext: As costumes got smaller, floats got bigger. Approximately 4,000 people partake in each 'escola' or samba group. This number does not include those putting together costumes, organizers (seen wearing white in the image), or committees. Both floats and people that take part in the parade have about two and a half hours to show off their samba moves.

media: 18421036

quicklist: 9title: Sexy Does Not Mean Nakedtext: Although costumes have been getting smaller and more revealing with each decade, there is still a rule against full nudity. Those who don't comply – and it happens – get their samba school in trouble and might even be disqualified.

media:18421048