Best of...Where the glitterati go for their gear.

Byline: The Register-Guard

BEST PLACE FOR FAIRIES TO GEAR UP Backstage Dancewear Where: 380 W. Third Ave. Hours: Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The true best place to buy fairy stuff is at festivals and street fairs. But like a blink of an eye on a dew-swept morning, you can miss such events as easily as you might miss a fairy's visit to your honeysuckle bush at sunrise.

If you woke up this morning and remembered you lost your fairy wings in the Long Tom River at the Oregon Country Fair, or you outgrew your fantasy gear about the time you bought your first training bra, we know where you can whimsy-up in time for this week's Faerieworlds Festival.

The challenge is finding a place that could equip fairies cradle- through king-sized. We cruised to the Elephant's Trunk in the Fifth Street Public Market, where we found a musical fluttery skirt, lavender wings for a flower princess and even some knightly armor for the tomboys, real boys or girls who don't want you to know they're wearing a training bra.

But there was nothing for bigger fairies, though we did find a Monchhichi key chain that made some of us remember the days we were small enough to buy outfits at toy stores.

Not surprisingly, the scene was similar at Toys `R' Us, though they didn't even have wings. A cashier told us they were "seasonal." Hello. When is it not fairy season?

Even if they had grown up sizes, the outfits basically came with identities, which very much misses the point of the Faerieworlds event, where your costume should reveal your ancient spirit and your most eccentric self.

Eugene Toy and Hobby, on the other hand, is a place that values imagination and fine motor skills. The store is really cool, and even has little Smurf figures for sale, but its dress-up area left much to be desired.

At Faerieworlds, you don't have to dress up at all, and if you do, you don't have to be a fairy. Backstage Dancewear has costume pieces for other ideas, and if you plan ahead they take special orders. The festival starts tomorrow, and this place is one-stop-shopping for all fairy needs, so we can't speak to its inventory for other concepts, such as an elves.

They have a wide variety of wings hanging on a rounder near the cash registers. Butterfly wings could inspire your whole outfit. A tiny pair of green ones would be good for the fairy who wants to get down and dance in a crowd without wing-whipping fellow revelers.

There are little streamer skirts for the kids, which wouldn't be hard to make if you had time, but these are ready to slip over a leotard for instant fairy appeal.

Backstage has face glitter in every color you could think of, plus hair dye, wigs, fancy bun holders, tiaras and tutus.

It's hard to go wrong when the idea is to reveal your inner spirit. Most people at the festival cannot see your spirit and do not have magical powers, so it's unlikely anyone will judge whatever duds you throw together for the big party.

It's your spirit; you can dress it how you want to.

Al Gore may have used fairy dust when he invented the Internet. Read past Best of ... magic at www.registerguard.com/bestof.