Although New Orleans is one of the cities best known for its lavish mardi gras celebration complete with a massive parade and city-wide party. As a kick-off to the season of Lent leading up to the easter holiday, Venice throws their own equivalent known as Carnevale (translated from the Latin for "farewell to meat," commemorating the Catholic practice of swearing off meat on Fridays during Lent), complete with ornate costumes, masquerade balls, floats, and street plays.

As an alternative to the traditional purple, green, and gold of New Orleans mardi gras, the Venetian version offers a number of similarly bright colors in rich tones, accented with all manner of feathers and sequins. Another popular Venetian Carnivale color scheme relies on stark, striking tones of black and white decorated with ornate rhinestones and dashes of a single color, usually jewel-toned red. Many Venetian costumes are fashioned after 18th century styles of the Italian city. A number of men's Venetian masks come with an attached tri-cornered hat decorated in sequins while covering the face with a classic masquerade-style mask. Beautifully detailed masks attached to sticks are a popular item for women, giving the feel of being taken back in time to a classic masquerade ball in the courtly days of Venetian society. With an almost endless supply of Venetian Carnivale costumes and masks, you're bound to find something that strikes a particular chord with your costuming needs.