Use of "déguisé"

Question

I don't understand why "déguise"  is used in the translation of "Grandma always wanted us to be dressed up for the occasion". The suggested answer given is "Mamie voulait toujours qu'on soit déguisés pour l'occasion". All the references I look at imply "make unrecognizable/camouflage", so I'm wondering why "déguisé"  is preferred to something like "habillé" in this context? Is it an idiomatic expression?

Accepted Answer

Hi Frank, 
The two options given for to be dressed up is être déguisé or être costumé.
Mamie voulait toujours qu'on soit déguisés /costumés = Grandma always wanted us to be dressed up
You cannot use 'être habillé ' which just means to be dressed rather than undressed if you see what I mean!

Answer

The clue to the vocabulary is "to be dressed up (costume)" - this falls within the meaning of (se) déguiser - to dress up (in costume ie 'disguise') for a celebration/fête; and yes, it is regularly used in this context.

https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/d%c3%a9guiser/22834

https://www.wordreference.com/fren/d%C3%A9guiser

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-french/dress-up