Colors in Fashion Design

As cheesy as the title has come to sound, Color Me Beautiful, by Carole Jackson, has been a milestone in fashion history. Take a look on Amazon at how many titles and products use it as a springboard. And for me, it was the beginning of the love affair with color that eventually led me to a career in children's fashion.

Jackson's color theory forms a foundation for color selection in fashion design. It reminds the designer to select colors from all four seasons, so that her line can have the broadest possible appeal. It also recommends the basic dark neutrals that a wardrobe can be built around.

But it does need to be balanced with the colors that are trendy in fashion at the moment. For example, our Pink Jungle and Flower Power collections are both built around chocolate brown, and the popularity of the color has led to much greater sales than could be expected from Autumn shoppers alone!

A lifetime of selecting colors for fashion is still too short for me...

Puppy Love

My little girls have never been super into dolls, but they LOVE stuffed animals. (They love real animals too, only we can't have cats or dogs because of allergies.) So it seemed natural to do a Pixyworld collection with a pet animal theme, which I had to call Puppy Love.

The color combination really pops on this one. I did a design with these colors when I was selling customs on eBay, after a customer asked me to do something with puppies and kittens. I got a lot of enthusiastic comments on the colors, so I decided to make it one of Pixyworld's launching collections.

It has turned out to be a favorite with my girls. They pet the animals and even talk to them! It's nice to remember, in the midst of trying to run a viable business with good profits, etc., that it's really about making little girls happy.

The Idea for Pink Jungle

The popularity of animal print fabrics in women's apparel seemed like an opportunity for Pixyworld to do something trendy and yet fun and kid-friendly for little girls. My daughters love to see character on their clothing, and while I had not considered this look fashionable before, their enthusiasm put it in a new light for me.

Putting monkeys on the lower part of the dress and the jeans legs felt like unique twist, rather than simply slapping them on the chest of a tee-shirt. Then, I searched for a tropical-looking floral to complete the themed patchwork look. Voila: Pink Jungle!!

Sets vs. Mix-and-Match Pieces

I've recently added a "sets" category to my online store, Boutique Baby & Toddler Girls' Clothes by Pixyworld. It will be interesting to see whether customers prefer to shop the traditional boutique outfits/sets way, rather than the mix & match piece-by-piece shopping popularized by Baby Gap & Gymboree.

I can certainly see the pros and cons of both. When purchasing a set, the price tag is right there, no math or guesswork needed! There's also the feeling that we get a slightly better deal when purchasing this way.

On the other hand, there's a feeling of excitement and individuality when each shopper can combine pieces her own way.

I'm hoping that those who prefer to purchase sets will still take a peek at the entire collection, and consider adding a piece or two to mix and match. But in any case, I hope my customers will enjoy the extra choices!