Kids' fancy dress ideas

By Jen Barton Packer on 1/10/2019

These kids' fancy dress ideas go far beyond the typical princess or pirate and offer something more unusual than the ultra-shiny supermarket fancy dress looks you've come to expect.
Remember: fancy dress for kids is about so much more than a specific occasion (although, for those that want one, World Book Day and Halloween are always a good excuse for a fancy dress costume). For kids, fancy dress is all a part of pretend play, which helps children with their social, emotional, language and problem-solving skills. So next time your child wants to leave the house dressed in a cape, you might think, why not? Especially once you see these creative and stylish kids' fancy dress ideas from brands you may not know about (yet).

Best DIY fancy dress: Selfie Clothing Co.

Selfie Clothing Co.'s colour-in tops, pyjamas, caps and capes team crafting with fancy dress: this Superhero City colour-in cape (£25, pictured), comes with seven fabric pens and a practice sheet to perfect your artwork before you start on the final product. Batman's got nothing on you.

Best fancy dress that doubles as regular clothes: Wauw Kapow by Bang Bang at Alex & Alexa

Scandi brand Wauw Kapow has perfected the stylish-meets-kooky art of kids dressing that can go into fancy-dress territory effortlessly. We particularly love this swan dress (£46.20, pictured) – the arms double as wings – and the brand's snake dress and swan frill dress. In fact, do these come in adult sizes?

Best fancy dress to truly take you to another world: Numero 74 at Smallable

Spanish brand Numero 74's version of fancy dress is about creating a striking piece, like this grey princess dress (£98), which can easily do summer wedding or birthday party. We lover the extra-special touches, like a swooping removable chiffon cape that gives them the aura of a Roman goddess. You can also stock up on fancy dress options from Numero 74 like Merlin hats, velvet and woodland capes, superhero get-up, butterfly wings, wands and more. Perfect for nailing that fairytale, woodland fancy dress look – and those super-Instagrammable snaps –brilliantly.

Best fancy dress for cool real-life aspirations: Melissa & Doug

Melissa & Doug's role play costumes offer a really cool range of professions for kids to step into: veterinarians, doctors, astronauts, police officers, pilots, paediatric nurses and fire chiefs (pictured, £23.99 at John Lewis), among others. Disclaimer: no judgement if you're the kind of parent who plans to post photos of your mini Melissa and Doug-clad MD to Instagram, declaring it to be the moment you knew they'd be a future neurosurgeon...

Best fancy dress with a historical bent: Time to Dress Up

When is a princess more than just a princess? When she's got a cool backstory that's somewhere between 18th century royal and rococo. This children's floral princess dress-up costume (£30, pictured) has so much more to offer than your typical saccharine Disney princess look and is a fancy-dress investment the kids will keep coming back to. Time to Dress Up also has Tudor queens, Crusading knights and ancient Greeks - perfect for the child who's been watching Horrible Histories.

Best fancy dress with a bit of sparkle: Meri Meri

Best fancy dress for an accessory that transforms a look: Meri Meri

Meri Meri has quickly become a go-to brand for adding a bit of sparkle to an outfit: a simple accessory, like a pom-pom crown, lion mane, star headdress or laurel wreath can instantly change the mood of an outfit. They also have a great selection of unexpected dress-ups: swan and flamingo capes and masks, sparkly dragons (pictured, £45), superheroes-in-tulle and confetti tutus (with sequins that move around) will all soon be top of your child's wish list.

Best fancy dress cape and mask sets: Wild Things Funky Little Dresses at NOHS

Best fancy dress cape and mask sets: Wild Things Funky Little Dresses at Not On The High Street

Playful and fun, the designs from Wild Things Funky Little Dresses at Not On The High Street are sure to ignite a child's imagination: animal-themed rompers, psychedelic superhero dresses, capes and masks and weather-themed dresses are just a few of our favourites (they've got your kid's summer festival wardrobe sorted). We love the owl cape and mask dress up set (£36, pictured), which works across a range of ages (18 months to eight years), are suitable for boys or girls, and take a T-shirt and jeans into ultra-cool, stuff-of-their-wildest-dreams territory.

Best fancy dress for babies: Dress Up By Design at Childrensalon.com

From ride-in rockets and reindeers to baby tigers, strawberries, hungry caterpillars and Elmers, Dress Up By Design (at Childrensalon.com) has some of the cutest kiddie costumes we've laid eyes on. We love this patchwork Elmer the elephant (£20, pictured) which is colourful and bold... and can almost double as a sleepsuit. Any excuse to wear it mid-week for no reason, right?

Best fancy dress with a dark side: NUNUNU at Alex & Alexa

NUNUNU's minimalist palette (mostly black, white and silver) and tough-kid stylings (skulls, skulls, skulls), prove that fancy dress can be stylish without being sweet. This cape (pictured, £95), is part of a special collection between NUNUNU and Tutu du Monde and has the most gorgeous beaded embellishments. Look out for tutus from the range, too.