The Toy Factory: very unusual fancy dress options

It's rare these days that you see a fancy dress costume that strays outside a few well-worn themes. Let's see now, there are fairies and princesses, pirates and doctors and nurses, and the various pumpkins or Santas associated with holidays. On a good day you might find something ambitious like a dinosaur.

That's why I was particularly impressed with UK site The Toy Factory. Maggie Toy (from whom the site's name derives) makes outfits on demand, and has developed a particular line in creating costumes you just won't see elsewhere. If you want to teach your child a little about your job, she suggests that giving them their own miniature version of your working clothes might be a help. Thus, there are magistrates' robes, soldiers' uniforms, chefs' kitchen whites, and even a black-clad architect's costume.

The site is definitely worth a look if only for its novelty value. Oh, and if you doubt Toy's credentials, take a look at her homepage. Perhaps the news that she has clad both Gordon Brown and David Cameron's children will sort that little matter out.