When I was little, I remember the joy of racing down my best friend’s stairs to her giant trunk of dress up clothes. Whether we were being princesses, fairies or firemen, there was always a whirlwind of action and imaginative play in her basement.  With the right hat on, we could protect our baby sisters from the bad guys, fly to the moon or rule the world.

In the past few weeks, Colin has begun to show a sincere interest in imaginative play.  He is starting to create real “meals” in his kitchen (specifically salad – if only he would eat that in real life!), rather than just banging things around and chewing on the fake food.  He likes to ride his little trike around our house with his fireman hat from Halloween to “drive the fire truck.”  It. Is. Awesome.

The beauty of dress-up clothes is that it is a stash that you can build and grow over time.  So as we slowly acquire our collection, I want to find pieces that are:  1) Easy to put on and take off, all by himself, and 2) Not too, too big, but not so fitted to right now that they are useless in a year.  I’ve been doing a little bit of searching, and here are some great inspiration pieces:


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1) Melissa and Doug Fire Chief Set:  The bullhorn that comes with it might have to be hidden before opening for our sanity, but this is an awesome collection with a jacket, hat and extinguisher.  Melissa and Doug also makes policeman, train engineer, construction worker, veterinarian and doctor sets that look great too (not pictured).

2) Melissa and Doug Top This! Role Play Hats: I feel like this is becoming an homage to Melissa and Doug, but wow – nearly all the well-reviewed options out there are by M&D.  I love the idea of hats, since they are easy to put on and take off, and such a simple change can open up a world of play.

3) Chef Set: Depending on if C’s interest in the kitchen grows, I think it would be great to roll with it and get him a chef’s coat and hat for him to wear while he whips up salad and soup at his stovetop.

4) Wizard Hat: If you don’t believe in magic as a little kid, when will you ever, right?  This is so affordable and simple, yet could spark so much fun.

5) Construction Vest : Imagination isn’t just about the clothes, and I think that playing “construction worker” could lead to all sorts of enhanced imaginative play with blocks and building forts and more.  Again, cheap and simple!

6) Super Hero Cape and Mask: I like a simple cape with no logos or affiliations to specific hero, so that it is open ended.  This option is inexpensive and easy for a little kid to use.  If I was remotely capable, I would probably try to make something like this myself, but alas, I have zero sewing ability.  And when you have a cape, of course you need a mask too.

7) Plush Tail and Ears: We are already pretending to be a doggie over here (climbing into our crate and everything), so I think Colin would get a real kick out of putting on a tail and ears one day.  This seller on Amazon makes these sets for $9.99 for all sorts of animals – these would be great for an inexpensive impromptu Halloween party too!

8) Bengals Football Helmet and Jersey:  I am fairly certain that this would blow my child’s mind.  Like, seriously. Colin pretends to be a “player” all the time, pitching and kicking and throwing and more.  If he could dress up in an actual football helmet when he plays, he would likely never take it off.

9) Wings: Whether they are wings to fly, as an angel, a bird, or a kid with magic powers, every kid who is into dress up ought to eventually acquire a pair of wings.  I like this set, because it isn’t lined and shaped with wire, so it would store in a compact fashion.  Colin is obsessed with the color purple, and love love loves butterflies (we spend a lot of time at our local butterfly room at the Nature Museum).  I could imagine quite a bit of zooming around and flapping arms with a set like this.

Since I want to keep this collection fairly open-ended and neutral, the big hole I am not filling right away is that of the princess dress.  I am all for gender neutrality, but as much as I am not ready to buy a princess dress for C (unless he asks), I am also avoiding sets with weapons and overly stereotypical boy items.  I know this is not a finite list, and as he grows older, each Halloween will lead us to new costumes based on his evolving interests – wherever that leads us.