In photographic portraits the choice of clothing can signify the social and cultural background, status, class, political affiliation, and ethnicity of the depicted person as well as their personal attitudes. Clothing had meaning and was therefore carefully selected. The performance of being photographed included the aspect of self-enactment and the self-fashioning of identity. In certain instances the camera also allowed the portrayed to perform a transgression of norms and rules, which would not have been acceptable in the public. In late 19th-century Iran the advent of commercial photography introduced staged and costumed photographs, where sometimes the same actors played different ethnic or gender roles, indicated by costume and accessories. These photographs would often be reproduced with different captions, thereby changing the interpretation of the photograph. In the global, connected, and mobile world of the 19th century and early 20th century the reproduction and interpretation of the photographs or prints made after the original photographs in the foreign press and in books then also impacted the image and the self-image of the Iranians of that time. In my paper I will discuss these different groups of images and the importance of dress and costume in such photographic portraiture alongside written and other visual sources, specifically emphasizing instances of creation of new identities through dress.