Children’s dress-up is one of the most important sectors within the party industry, with role play activities, fancy dress birthday parties and popping to the shops as a superhero all part and parcel of daily life with a young child. Bristol Novelty’s marketing manager Fran Hales took an overview of the sector which covers everything from Book Week and beyond.
How has the children’s dress-up sector performed over the last 12 months?
“The children’s dress-up sector has been consistently strong for us over the past 12 months and is growing year-on-year. This is partly thanks to the popularity and increasing demand for Book Week. We’ve witnessed the impact and once again we are on course to see an uplift in orders for our children’s range in 2018. We are all very excited about our new and exciting ranges planned for this year.”
Why is children’s dress-up so popular with non-party specialist retailers?
“It’s the variety and quality on offer nowadays which enables parents to have more choice for gift ideas all year round. Costumes are readily available as an extension of a favourite film, cartoon or book for their little one. Parents are also keen to buy fancy dress as it’s been proven that dressing up is beneficial for the early years of a child’s social and emotional development. By encouraging their imagination, fancy dress is a channel where children can freely express themselves, allowing them to engage with other children and giving them the confidence to speak to adults.”
How important is licensed product to this sector?
“Licensed products will always be popular in the children’s sector with the options they provide. Kids want to dress up as their favourite superhero or popular book character, so official licensed products are in demand. Children are naturally very creative, they want to have a certain freedom to experiment and express themselves through their outfits. This freedom to create an outfit or wear a classic fairy tale creature or animal often has more appeal than a licensed product – especially with the younger age groups. Our range of children’s costumes proves very popular as they are expansive and cover a wide range of generic designs, at an affordable price.”
How does dress-up reflect current trends and fashions?
“We are seeing more fashionable design ranges coming through for children, especially in line with apparel ranges which have mass appeal. Prioritising comfort, style and quality is key as you can’t have a fabric that is itchy or a dress with a lining that isn’t appealing. Millennial parents for example, have more disposable income and are looking to dress their children in higher-end clothing. Young parents want their children to reflect their own aesthetic choices, especially when it comes to dressing their children. The way their child is dressed-up is also an outlet to express their own creativity and style. Parents are willing to spend more on their children, which creates constant demand for new costume lines, resulting in high profitability and turnover in this sector.”
What’s new for the children’s dress-up market in 2018?
“Generic animal children’s costumes have always been a core part of our business and it continues to be a strong point for us.
The play aspect of our costumes is what customers love, and the tabards and mascot costumes always do well. For adults too!”
What is your hero dress-up product or range for 2018? What is so special about it?
“We have been focusing on the children’s mascot style costumes, we have really increased our range of these in the last couple of years. This also encompasses the unicorn/mermaid trend of 2017, with accessories and kits also being included.”
