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By Anslem Samuel | Published February 21, 2012 | Full size is 620 × 480 pixels

COSTLY COSTUMES Beads and floats aren’t the only things needed for a spectacular parade. Costumes are too. Each krewe has a royal court and they must dress the part. The women don’t wear average store bought gowns, they seek couturiers throughout the city for a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. The dresses are embroidered and beaded with so much detail that the tailoring can take anywhere from 20 to 100 hours. Local designers charge for their hard work, with prices ranging from about $6,000 to $12,000. The parades are put on for tourists and locals, but the actual cost of the parade is covered by the krewe. “You have to pay the seamstresses to make the costumes, the jewelers to create the accessories, the float makers, the invitation makers,” Jennifer Day-Sully, Director of Communications for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, told IBTimes. “There’s a whole side of expenditures that the tourist might not necessarily think about.”

COSTLY COSTUMES

Beads and floats aren’t the only things needed for a spectacular parade. Costumes are…

(Image: Getty)