Fancy Dress Outfitters

‘You get on floor mummy, you horse.  You my horse.’

And so began our first morning together, me and Mr G, his big sister having started school. I dutifully played horse for all of about ten minutes, before realising this was setting a dangerous precedent for the next two years together.  Horsing around is not good for the back or my favourite jeans. It's also, as anyone who obtained their equity card as the back of a panto horse will tell you, not a terribly challenging role.  I needed to find roles that would work for both of us.

Fancy Dress Outfitter, Sir?

Then Fancy Dress Outfitters asked if we would like to review some costumes for Halloween. Anyone who has tried to explain Halloween to a pre-schooler will know it can be a weird and scary concept for them to grasp.  Mr G still hasn't recovered from me putting on a witches mask I found in a friend's dressing up box over the summer  (I'm a drama teacher, put me in a costume or mask and I do get carried away).  But after quick look on the Halloween section of Fancy Dress Outfitters,  I fell in love with the idea of gothic pirates.

Mr G and I spend much of our time at home dressed as pirates.  It turns out that most household jobs can be achieved 'in role' as a pirate.  Scrubbing the decks, making pirate sandwiches, cleaning and tidying the pirate ‘boat’ all interspersed with finding costumes, making maps and telescopes, digging for treasure, a quick sword fight and hiding from sea monsters. 

So thanks to Fancy Dress Outfitters Mr G has a proper pirate costume and I have a hat, which, I like to think, gives me status, which in turn helps keep everything here at the Alexander Residence ship shape.  Except Mr A is sulking because we didn't get him the Jack Sparrow costume.


Here are Miss L and Mr G doing the gothic pirate look.  I bought both of them ages 4-6 (they're nearly 3 and 5) and they were a good fit, as always good to buy big so they last longer!

Give me your best pirately poses

The hat of power

The great thing about the costumes is they are lightweight and easy to put on. We love our old fashioned dressing up box too and fashioning homemade outfits, but sometimes you can't beat the feel or the impact of a proper costume. The range is absolutely amazing, for both adults and children. Fancy Dress Outfitters is rather like an online version of the shop in Mr Benn.  

There are some great value costumes and accessories to be found, perfect not just for Halloween but for any dressing up event, or school plays.  Mr G's hat cost just £1.50 and whilst my hat costs £6.99 I think it is great quality and would also look great on stage.  (I am available for panto this season, just don't expect me to be the horse).

Image from the legendary Mr Benn by David McKee.