A-Kon 27 Masquerade Rules PDF

A-Kon 27
Masquerade Rules
General Information
The masquerade is a formal event.
A convention badge is required at the door of the event. You must be age 13+ to enter.
Food and drinks may not be brought into the ballroom; however, water will be available near the dance floor.
Listed in full below are the rules for the Masquerade Dance. Prior to entry, outfits and masks will be checked at
the event to make surethey meet these guidelines. If they do not, we may either ask you to change part of your
outfit or not allow you to enter the masquerade. A valid A-Kon badge is required for, but does not guarantee,
entry.
All outfits worn must be formal in finish as well as in cut. Garments that are ripped, shredded, blood-splattered,
visibly dirtied, or unfinished, even if they are formal in style, are not acceptable. Duct tape is not an acceptable
material for formalwear. You are welcome to wear either purchased or handmade outfits, but garments will be
held to the same standard regardless of how it was constructed. If we can see lots of hanging loose threads or
unfinished edges, your outfit will not qualify as a finished garment and will not be considered formal.
If you have any questions or uncertain about your outfit, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Last updated: 2/21/16
Masks
All participants are required to wear a mask.
Make sure whatever mask you choose covers at least one eye, but try not to impair your field of vision.Masks
worn to our Masquerade Ball should be masquerade-style masks.You may attach your mask to your face with
ribbons, elastic, body adhesive, spirit gum, etc., or it may be a stick mask that you hold in front of your face.
Masks are traditionally intended to hide your identity, so please wear your mask at all times during the ball!
Regarding character masks: distinguishing masks worn by a specific character that is NOT a masquerade-style
mask are not allowed. For example, Batman, Spiderman, and Guy Fawkes masks/cowls are not acceptable
because they are not masquerade-style masks. However, a Zorro mask would be okay because it is a
masquerade-style mask (as seen below). You may, however, wear a masquerade-style mask decorated in a way
that is inspired by a character (painting it with a character’s costume colors or patterns, etc.).
Acceptable Masks:
• Masquerade-style (harlequin-style, domino-style, etc.)
Examples of acceptable masks:
Unacceptable Masks:
• VKei/J-Fashion/painters’ masks that cover just the nose and mouth
• Gas masks
• Goggles
• Wrestling masks
• “Character masks” –see above
• “Halloween masks” – character masks, rubber full-face masks of monsters, politicians, animals, etc.
• Helmets
• Masks that cover your entire head
• Masks that are painted onto your face
Examples of unacceptable masks:
Footwear
All footwear should adhere to the formal rules. All parts of the footwear must be formal in style; athletic shoes
or boots and footwear with rugged or athletic soles will not be allowed. Footwear must also not be dirty or
scuffed.
Acceptable shoes:
• Dress boots
• Men’s dress shoes
• Dressy ballet flats
• High-heeled
heeled pumps/strappy heels
Wear shoes like these:
Unacceptable shoes:
• flip flops/thong sandals/espadrilles
• heavy boots
• clunky platform boots
• slippers/house shoes
• sneakers/tennis shoes
• no shoes at all (bare feet)
You will NOT be allowed in if you wear shoes like these:
Black tennis shoes and work shoes are not considered dress shoes and will not be allowed.
If you choose to make shoe or boot covers to match an outfit that you have made, make sure that they look
finished and neat, without any loose or fraying edges.
Please remember that this is a dance, so you will probably be moving around a lot. Try to choose shoes that you
will be comfortable dancing in.
Traditional Western Dress
Women
For those planning to dress in female formal attire, fancy dresses, prom dresses and evening gowns are
acceptable. Tailored suits are also acceptable.Excessively tight clothing or anything you would wear to a
dance/club/rave is not acceptable. Skirts must be at least knee-length, see “Skirt Length” below.
Unacceptable Women’s attire:
Dresses that are too short or revealing (see Skirt Length).
Dresses that are too casual.
Men
For those planning to dress in male formal attire, a tuxedo would be delightful and encouraged.
However,youmay wear a suit or, at the very minimum, a nice button-up long sleeved shirt with a tie, slacks, belt,
and dress shoes. Vests and/or jackets are also highly encouraged.
Fancy Highland dress may also be worn. Kilts do not necessarily need to be traditional wool, but they should be
tartan and of a more traditional cut. Utility or ultra-casual pocketed kilts are not formal enough, and will not be
allowed in. For more traditional styles, you are more than welcome to wear a jacket, but more “fantasy” looks
will also be allowed, with a poet-style shirt. Please wear kilt hose, flashes, belt, and sporran with both, and
please do not bring sgian dubh or any other form of ornamental weapon, as this is prohibited by A-Kon’s
weapons policy. Footwear rules still apply; you may wear ghillie brogues or some other type of dress shoes.
Acceptable Men’sattire:
Unacceptable Men’s attire (too casual):
Traditional Eastern Dress
Those wearing formal Eastern dress should be dressed just as nicely -formal kimono, haori and hakama,
cheongsam, hanbok, aodai, etc. While sandals are not allowed with other outfits, you may wear nice-looking zori
or geta with Japanese formal attire. Sari and formal shalwar kameez are allowed.
Military Dress
Formal fictional military uniforms (i.e. formal SeeD uniforms from FFVIII) are ok, but all parts (footwear, mask, fit,
etc.) must adhere to the rest of the rules. Military personnel are welcome to wear dress uniforms.
However, regarding historical military uniforms or costumes that closely resemble them: no Axis uniforms, no
Confederate uniforms, no Hitler Youth uniforms, no Apartheid-era South African uniforms, no Burmese junta
uniforms.
Acceptable fictional military dress:
Cosplay Dress
While cosplay is welcome, we ask that all cosplayers choose attire that fits the rules. If there is a character you
absolutely love, but their outfit doesn’t fit the rules, you can either convert their outfit to fit the rules or plan to
bring a different outfit. Anime Boston has a fantastic guide
(http://www.animeboston.com/programming/formal_ball_guide/) for those who choose to convert characters
to formal dress. Crossplay will be allowed if it is done seriously and if the attire adheres to the rules.
Please see the section on Props, Wings, etc. for more information related to cosplay.
“Alternate/Street Fashions”
Alternate fashion outfits based on fantasy/sci-fi/historical costume are all welcome as long as all parts of the
outfit are formal and meet our guidelines (see Traditional Western Dress, Skirt Length, Props, etc.).
Those wishing to wear Lolita fashion must follow all existing rules as seen in Western-style formal wear,
including those regarding skirt length. Outfits must be appropriately formal in cut and fabric, for example: gothic,
classic, and other styles in heavy cotton, velvet, chiffon, and other formal fabrics are recommended; OTT sweet
and deco styles will be considered too casual for this event.
Skirt Length
Skirts must be at least knee length. For dresses with lace or transparent overlays, the opaque skirt underneath
must be knee length or longer. For high-low dresses, the shortest part of the skirt must be knee length or longer.
Slits in skirts must be no higher than mid-thigh; dresses with higher slits will need to be pinned or sewn by the
wearer in order to be allowed in. Short pants (knee length, as in ouji/kodona or boy-style Lolita fashion) will be
allowed if the rest of the attire fits the rules.
Props, wings, etc.
While we would love to allow large props and wings, we ask that you do not bring them to prevent damage to
them or injury to yourself or others.For safety reasons, large and bulky costumes such as mascot suits or mecha
will not be allowed, even if they are wearing formal attire. Fursuits or any other costume with a mask that
covers your whole head thereby impairing your vision (including kigurumi and zentai suits/morphsuits) will not
be allowed for the same reason. Canes may be carried if required for mobility assistance.
We ask that you do not bring weapon props into the Masquerade Ball. If you have weapon props attached to
your costume, please remove them before attending our event.
Capes may be worn, as long as the attire worn underneath them meets all the rules and the capes do not drag
on the floor or otherwise present a tripping hazard.
Body paint other than on the face or neck is acceptable ONLY if it is thoroughly sealed and will not smudge. For
safety of others’ formal attire, we recommend instead wearing a bodysuit or armsleeves (tutorials are available
online) in the appropriate color.
Wigs in all colors are permitted as long as they are neat and tidy, as would be expected of real hair.
Personal Hygiene
This can be a taboo subject for many a con-goer, but thisis a fancy occasion. Please put EXTRA effort into
personal hygiene. Take a shower before you get dressed. Brush your teeth. Use mouth wash, gum, or a mint.
Use lots of deodorant! However, do not drench yourself in body spray, perfume, or cologne. Use it sparingly if
you have to at all – others may be allergic or sensitive to strong scents.
Press
If you would like to take pictures and you are already attending the event, go ahead! Photographers with press
badges may enter without costume as long as they are documenting the event. Anyone else, even with a
camera, must wear appropriate attire to be allowed into the dance.
If you have any questions about any of the rules, feel free to email us at [email protected]. If you have specific
accessibility requests or considerations you would like us to make, we encourage you to email us prior to the
event if possible.