Circus                      Master Ring

 The ringmaster is since 1913, a master of ceremonies that introduces the circus acts to the audience through the experience, directing their attention to the various areas of the circus arena and helping to link the acts together while equipment is brought into and removed from the circus ring.                                                                                 A ringmaster may interact with some acts, especially the clown acts, to make the various acts part of a seamless circus performance. 

In smaller circuses, the ringmaster is often the owner and artistic director of the circus.​

The ringmaster's traditional costume consists of a bright tailcoat, often red with gold trim, and a waistcoat and black top hat; occasionally with a bow tie, tie or cravat. The dress is designed to resemble an 18th-century gentleman's riding attire and often includes a whip, a relic from when the ringmaster ran the show, not as announcer and host, but as director of the many equestrian acts.

This costume was first adopted by George Claude Lockhart on the orders of Bertram Mills in 1928, when Lockhart was working as ringmaster for his circus at Olympia, London.

A female circus leader is known as a circus mistress and often wears a black skirt or leggings with knee-high black boots and the same style coat and tails as a ringmaster or a red blouse.