good dress-up sets/places to get them?

[nicknack]

So Maeve will be 2.9 at Christmas and I've been thinking she might start to get into some dress-up soon. Any suggestions? I don't want to go CRAZY with the spending on it, but I also don't want to buy total crap and have it fall apart.

Didn't Costco or somewhere have a chest full of girl dress-up one year? I guess I could always make one myself...maybe I could get a few things for xmas and add more for her bday to see if she's really into it yet.

Thoughts?

[brittone2]

My suggestion would be to buy 2nd hand when possible (fancy holiday dresses, 1st communion/flower girl dresses make a good bridal dress, used purses and hats are pretty easy to find, etc.). If you buy real clothes, IME, the quality tends to be better than garments made as dressup clothes, kwim?
Also, last year the day after Halloween I hit Target (not much selection in my area was available), and TRU (jackpot!). Most costumes at TRU were marked down 75-80% off and I was happy that I could find quite a few that weren't commercial characters (I found a Dorothy/Wizard of Oz costume, a cheerleader costume, a pirate costume, a fairy costume, etc.). DD will be getting some for her 2nd bday or Christmas (she's already into dressup). I've also made no-sew tutus (very easy...just buy a roll of tulle and you basically tie it around some elastic ) for DD

I've seen tutus (just simple cheapie ones), chef hats, etc. at AC Moore and Michaels. You can use a 40% off coupon (recently they had a 55% off coupon) and it becomes very inexpensive. I think I'm going to get DD a feather boa :) Their costume stuff is definitely not high quality from the look of things, but you may find some fun items. I know i've seen headbands with ears (like kitty ears) in their around Halloween, so if they are discounted after the holiday, that could be fun for a 3 year old too.

Playsilks can be dyed and used for dressup as well. They are open-ended enough to be used for other play. They aren't cheap to buy usually, but they aren't hard to DIY.

[fauve01]

i just saw some dress up clothes (mostly fancy skirts) in the halloween section at the 99 cent store this morning.

HTH~

[misshollygolightly]

I agree with one of the PPs--"real" grown-up clothes were always my favorite dress-up clothes! I especially LOVED the dance recital costumes and old prom dresses my mom and I found at garage sales. Several folks at church new about my obsession with dress-up and periodically gave me bags of fun clothes and accessories they no longer wanted. Maybe you can check Goodwill or Craigslist if you don't want to go garage saling. You might want to find a box of some sort to put all the clothes in before giving it to DD--if she's anything like I was, she'd be delighted to open a special dress-up chest (even if it's just a pink rubbermaid container you've decorated with rhinestones and her name) and find it filled with mardi gras necklaces, tutus, a lace apron, colorful scarves, and the like. You could always throw in a tiara from the dollar store and maybe a straw hat (to which you've glued some large silk flowers and ribbons, of course) for good measure!

[QTMichele]

I bought a dress up chest full of clothes and accessories from Sam's Club a few years ago - they're still holding up! The chest was $30. I was at Sam's recently and saw they still sell it.

[traciann]

Currently my dd's favorite dress up stuff are dancing outfits. My mom bought her a cheap leatard that had a skirt attached that she loves, as well as tutu's and leatards from a resale shop. That and tiaras are her favorite thing to wear right now.

[annasmom]

I would check out the sales after Halloween, and also the sets at Costco, BJs, etc.

I bought a dress-up set from Lilian Vernon a few years ago, and it was pretty much a waste of money. We own a TON of dress-up now, but that stuff has never gotten played with. My dd who is now 5 still asks for dress-up for every holiday!

One word of advice - stay away from the hard plastic dress-up shoes. We have a ton of them, and the kids love them, but really it is a broken ankle just waiting to happen. They scare the daylights out of me. My 2 y.o. is really into them right now, but for the longest time they only got played with when we had friends over - and EVERY single time afterwards I swore I would throw them out.