oomp culture and diversity is a wonderful thing in the real world,
but as a dub i was taught that we are 'no part of this world' and 'not to make idols of men' let alone costumes .
and yes the costumes were usually beautifully turned out and certainly made a change from looking at the normal boring garb, but can be construed as 'patriotic'and gave the wearers a celebrity status.
can remember the queues to have pics taken with the costumed pepes, (heck my mother probably still has the one of us with the tall guy in the stunning orange dress) i seriously dont imagine for one moment we'd have been standing around having a picture taken with a bloke in a suit that we didnt know from adam? hmmmm
i can't help but wonder if they'd have got so much as a second glance if they hadn't been dressed up and blended in with everyone else. so i'm guessing yknot hit the nail on the head.