"The costumes worn by Molly dancers are very individualistic, but largely based upon working outdoor clothes and hobnailed boots. Dancers may have their faces blackened or otherwise disguised as in the photograph below. Disguising the face in this way is well-known in English social history: men wishing to pursue proscribed activities would black their faces to avoid recognition: such activities could include both smuggling and morris dancing!"

Ray

Blacking up has clearly a completely different historical origin to that of the Black and White Minstrels history which denigrates black people ~ I said somewhere why not use different colours and patterns ~ I see no problems with this approach