If you want to join in on all the fun at the Carnival of Venice, you need to dress to impress! You've seen it in movies, TV series, documentaries, or even travel brochures, right? The Carnival of Venice is an extravagant event where everyone dresses up in the most fabulous costumes. Think big billowing gowns, lots of sequins & embroidery, and of course, the incredible masks! If you're already in Venice for the Carnival you don't have a thing to wear, shop at Atelier Antonia Sautter, Ca Del Sol, Sogno Veneziano Atelier, or Tragicomica. These are the best places to find the right costume!
Atelier Antonia Sautter
Make no mistake! What Antonia Sautter creates aren't just costumes, they are alta moda at their finest! Although what Atelier Antonia Sautter offers is mostly period clothing, they're not the type you'd simply were on Halloween. From the beautiful brocades to the intricate handiworks, they're fit for a Hollywood period film! It's even a surprise that Tinsel Town hasn't hired Stautter to make costumes for any of its productions. In any case, her creations are what make the Carnival of Venice such a fabulous event. You can bet that you'll be the ballet of the ball if you wear an Antonia Sautter creation!
Atelier Flavia
Located on Via Volturno, the Atelier Flavia boutique offers the most fabulous garb for the Venice Carnival. They're also so well-made that you almost don't want to wear them. Especially since they're quite accurate. From the romantic ruffs for the gentlemen to the swaying bustles for the women, you'll really feel like you're transported back in time when you wear Atelier Flavia costumes. Even the parody garments, such as papal wear, look and feel so real that it almost feels sacrilegious to wear them to the carnival. But that's part of the fun and frivolous tradition of the event, after all!
Nicolao Atelier
Nicolao Atelier has quite the resume when it comes to costume design. Apart from dressing up the attendees of the Venice Carnival, this brand has produced costumes for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the New National Theater of Tokyo, and more. They being a whole new meaning to international standards of costumes and they're not even an
Italian luxury label! The folks who run Nicolao Atelier simply make incredible period clothing that anyone would feel proud to wear. Though you can bet that they'll be restricting garb, at least you'll look absolutely fabulous as you party all throughout Venice.
Tragicomica
The tradition of the Carnival of Venice is alive and well thanks to Tragicomica. Although what you probably always see are fabulous gowns and romantic suits paired with extravagant masks, the carnival is also a time when people can play. A commoner can dress up as the Doge while a layman can look like a priest. It's basically just Halloween but without the gore and more of the glitters. And that's what Tragicomica's costumes are all about. Apart from the usual frou-frou dresses and ruffled collars, this place also offers clown, priest, wizard, and many more specific costumes.
La Bauta
Atelier La Bauta is really more of a craft store than a typical costume shop. In fact, more than just renting their clothes, they even allow you to take part in making the masks and costumes too. At any other time of the year, La Bauta opens workshops for those interested to learn and experience the craft of mask and costume-making for the Carnival of Venice. It's become a fun way to spend your time in the city, even if you can only spare
a day in Venice. You can also invite all your friends and family to make a quality bonding time!
Ca Del Sol
Like La Bauta, Ca Del Sol also offers workshops on mask-making to those interested to learn the craft. They even made it into a 15-hour course spread throughout five days so that you can still join the workshop without sacrificing too much of your time exploring the different
neighborhoods of Venice. As for their costumes, they're pretty spectacular. Even when you look at the boutique from the outside on Fondamenta de l'Osmarin, you can already tell that it's a treasure trove of fabulous period clothes inside. Make sure to visit this shop early because there's a good chance you might spend too much time choosing between costumes here.
Sogno Veneziano Atelier
Perhaps what separates Sogno Veneziano Atelier from all the other costume shops in Venice is that they make party clothes. This isn't to say that their costumes are lower in quality compared to all the others. In terms of craftsmanship and handiwork, particularly with their masks, Sogno Veneziano Atelier can go head-to-head with the lot of them! But while this shop upholds high-quality costume design, they don't sacrifice the wearer's agency. After all, the Carnival of Venice is all about having fun all throughout the city, right? It's important that you can still move about even when you're wearing a big, fabulous costume.
Magic Venice Carnival
You might be confused with the Magic Venice Carnival shop on Salizana S. Provolo at first glance. Yes, the store mainly makes dolls and puppets dressed in quintessential Venice Carnival fashions. But don't worry! They dress people too! You can still rent costumes from this shop and you'll look as glorious as their well-made dolls. You might even be tempted to buy one! But instead of doing that, just focus on their masks. Magic Venice Carnival makes some of the finest carnival masks in all of Venice. They're so bright and colorful, they're almost blinding!
Dressing up is the name of the game at the Carnival of Venice. But if you didn't buy your own garb, there's no need to fret! There are many costume shops in Venice that you can go to for a fabulous look!
