I was referring to the teams mentioned earlier by Phil, where the black face is part of an overall outlandish costume- not likely to be associated with minstrelsy etc.

This creates a different effect to (for example) "the Shropshire Bedlams", where the team is dressed in jeans, trainers and rag jackets, with only their faces blacked. Certainly watching them as part of festival parades, I have felt there were visual parallels with a minstrel show that I found disquieting.

What visual parallels, though? Minstrels didn't wear tatter coats (and they certainly didn't wear jeans or trainers). They typically wore costumes based on evening dress, with variations & accessories like bow ties & top hats. (If anything, Black Pig's frock coats & top hats are actually closer to the minstrel look!) Minstrels also - invariably - painted their faces with white lips and eye sockets, something border sides never do.

I believe the only reason tatter coats, etc seem to be "associated with minstrelsy" is that, when we see a Morris side, we're already primed to watch out for anything that might be a bit reactionary. A border side's normal get-up is quite 'outlandish' enough that any comparison with minstrels wouldn't arise - unless we're looking for it.