Little Capers: Superhero Costumes Your Kids Can Wear Anywhere

Breathing fire (image: Matt Blum)

There are only two things I can think of that would make Little Capers’ products more appealing: if they cost less, and if they had come out several years ago. The former is because their prices are, while not unreasonable for the products’ quality, not inexpensive, either; the latter is purely selfish, because my son is nearly ready to outgrow them.

Little Capers makes and sells shirts and a few tank dresses with superhero-style logos on the chest, false belts near the waist, and silvery capes velcroed to the back. They sell a wide variety of styles, some more classically “hero-esque” than others. Each is designed to immerse its wearer in superhero pretend play, and, if my eight-year-old son is any indication, they work very well. They sent me the Orange Dragon Hero shirt, and he really got into it, pretending to breathe fire (as any dragon-styled superhero should, of course) and rescue his six-year-old sister. You can see for yourself in the included pictures, where I’ve pixellated their faces a bit for privacy, but it should be clear how much he enjoyed the shirt.

The great thing about the Little Capers products is that they’re not really costumes—they’re clothing with capes attached. My son wore his shirt, cape still attached, to LEGO Club this past Saturday, where it was the object of many admiring remarks. I’m not sure I would advise wearing the cape everywhere, though as it’s attached only with velcro there’s not much risk of injury should it get caught in something.

Rescuing his sister, the movie star (image: Matt Blum)

I could, as I mentioned, wish the shirts and dresses cost a bit less. The shirt my son tried out sells for $35, and the tank dresses sell for $38. A few of the long-sleeve shirts are on sale for less. I understand why the prices are as they are, since the shirts are well-made, the capes have to be fairly expensive to make, and the precision involved in aligning the velcro pads must add to the cost as well. But the prices are high enough that it would be difficult, to my mind at least, to justify buying more than one per child.

Sizes of most shirts run from 2 to 8, and the dresses run from 2 to 6. There are several designs (capeless, for obvious reasons) available for babies for lower prices. Several long capes can be purchased separately as well.

Wired: A simple idea, very well-implemented. None of the shirt or dresses has a licensed logo on it, which I consider a plus because it encourages more creative play.

Tired: A bit on the pricey side.

Overall recommendation: Definitely recommended. Little Capers would make excellent gifts for most kids small enough to fit into them, and will almost certainly make you wish they’d existed when you were a kid.