This Company Is Redefining “Girly” Clothes
Fashion is about self-expression, for both children and adults. But that expression can be stifled when kids’ clothing labels employ a narrow definition of “girly” and make it difficult for little girls who love dinosaurs, monsters, pirates and other so-called “boyish” concepts to find fashion tailored to their diverse interests. Princess Awesome wants to close this gap with a girls’ dress line that features mix-and-match prints that are fun, free and most importantly, female empowering.
Princess Awesome was founded by two mothers after they observed gender stereotyping in children’s fashion during a shopping trip to mainstream stores. The girls’ options were ice cream cones and heart, while the boys’ options were robots and rocket ships, but no girls’ clothing featured traditionally “boyish” concepts or a combination of these concepts.
Clothing with messages of gender stereotyping has been shown to have to a negative effect on the social development of children. Determined to reverse this trend and impart to their daughters that girls, not fashion labels, decide what it means to be girly, the duo created a test batch of dresses in 2013. In 2015, they became the highest-performing Kickstarter childrenswear campaign ever.
Today, Princess Awesome sells headbands, snapsuit dresses and play dresses in a variety of gorgeous, gender-bending prints. These include the “She Rex” for young explorers, the “Pi in the Sky” for little math whizzes and the “Super-Secret Hidden Ninja” that’s sure to karate-chop stereotypes. While the majority of pieces are designed for girls and infants, the company also sells adult headbands and headscarves for the wild and wonderful kid in all of us. Head to Princess Awesome’s site to order a piece for yourself or your little one.
Which of Princess Awesome’s playful prints is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
(Photos via Princess Awesome)
