Dress Up

Dress up is a children’s activity and fun game that, much like the name suggests, involves dressing up as someone and/or impersonating someone. The game is very popular among children and is popularly believed to help improve children’s thinking capacity and growth. As dress up is a type of role-playing game, and helps simulate children’s imagination and creativity, children are often encouraged to take part in dress up games.

Dress up games also help inculcate team spirit among the children and introduces them to the notion of dressing well and appropriately. The game also helps children know and understand the many body parts and increases their awareness of the things around them and the world in general. The game is most played by girls who are usually between six and eight years of age.

A usual round involves a group of children who dress up as someone and try to impersonate the person they dress up as. The costumes that the children or the participants can use may be specific and special fancy dress ones or ordinary day clothes jazzed up with some modifications. In addition to costumes, jewellery and make-up (including face paint) may also be used. Party supplies that one requires for a dress up party or game, such as costumes, make-up, hats, boots, face paint kits, etc, can be hired or can be purchased outright. These can be found in novelty or party supply stores or purchased from online barter and trading sites.

Popular themes for children’s dress up games includes doctor, school, house, family, celebrity, fireman, hunter, farmer, tea party, Barbie, Royal Family, etc.

The dot-com boom of the late 1990s saw many websites come up which offered virtual interactive dress up games. These involved dressing up a paper doll-like image using drag & drop "clothes." Some advanced offerings also included a 3D environment and doll and dedicated themes. Some of these sites are still functioning and are regularly updated so as to ensure maximum variety and to capture the latest in fashion trends.

Furthermore, one can also consider themed parties to be a sort of massive "dress up" game. Dress up games are very popular during children’s parties. Disney fancy dress games are extremely popular among children, and so are dress up games involving Hollywood celebrities. One can also organize a Halloween costume party on their children’s birthdays, as these too are highly liked by children.

Though often considered a children’s activity game, these kids’ dress up games are also played by adults and are deemed appropriate during a dressing up or a themed party. A ladies fancy dress party is a popular way to spice up one’s social life.