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I don't remember parties like this in the 80s.
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I don't know whether to say that my community was more worldly or less? I attended Luau and Fiesta parties into the 90s. These sometimes included costumes like grass skirts/leis or sombreros and Mexican embroidered blouses. (Definitely not fake mustaches or "gang" attire.) Earlier, in my '70s childhood, some moms like mine threw themed birthday parties that might be "Oriental," complete with parasols for the kids, egg rolls, yada yada. I dressed in various ethnic garb on different Halloweens; my parents were well traveled and proud to dress us up in a real Indian sari (plus hairdo and red dot), a real Japanese kimono, whatever. I had some kind of robe with jingling coins on it that they got in Egypt. We thought we were far more cosmopolitan than the kids dressed up as witches and superheroes. We would never do any of that nowadays.
In the Southern Belle Primer, when they're talking about rush parties, it's mentioned in passing that one party is Japanese themed and everyone takes their shoes off at the door. I don't know if that was just a one-time deal.