Fit(ted) for a king

There it was - Argy's first invitation to a party. An invitation in his own right. He wasn't invited because he was related. Or because we knew the parents. No, this was a special invitation at the behest of the birthday girl. The invitation paper was all pink and purple and silver and stated simply that the theme would be "Princesses and Kings".

There was great anticipation on Argy's part. But for me, a dilemma: just how fancy is fancy dress for 4 year-old parties? As I didn't know the mum - other than to nod to on the kindergarten run - I (foolishly) felt too shy to phone and ask.

So, would this be a homemade cardboard crown affair or full fancy dress? What would the other children be wearing? Its just as bad to look ridiculously overdressed as under. As the party date steadily advanced, I vacillated between the options.

Finally yesterday I decided err on the side of caution (read: panic-and-do-a-lot-of-last-minute-sewing). I was brought up to believe that dressing-up was a compliment to your host; so dressing-up it was. I raced to my local fabric shop and picked up a McCall's pattern and some lengths of regal fabric.



In the end Argy went off in a faux fur and gold braid trimmed medieval red velveteen and white satin robe.



As I type, the costume is probably lying trampled on the ground somewhere, while he runs around with a group of happy children wearing cardboard crowns and tiaras.

Medieval king robe
McCalls 5907 (View A)
My review of this pattern can be found on PatternReview.com