Great Pretenders

Feeling disconnected from an industry that lacked imaginative, open-ended play, Founder & CEO Joyce Keelan set out on an ambitious journey to launch a brand that would deliver on her vision of innovative high value lifestyle toys. 35 years later, with a team comprised of over 75% women, Great Pretenders is proud to have shipped products to boutiques, concept stores, gift shops, and some of the best toy stores across the globe, all while introducing innovative new designs and trend-setting categories from our hometown of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Dress-up is so much more than just putting on a costume. Through pretend play, children develop their imagination and creative thinking skills. Pretending helps them develop communication skills and act as an outlet for expressing their feelings and fears. We keep in mind the difficulties disabled children may face when finding dress up and strive to design products for all children. We design all our dress up in house and manufacture over 80 of our products at our manufacturing facility in Point Edward, Ontario, Canada. Hand made with quality fabrics, trims, flowers and accessories - every bow and every bobble is hand selected to make sure our costumes are impeccably made. Look for our Maple Leaf seal on all our Made in Canada products.