Boutique (322)

I see London, I See France...

homepageWhit1.jpgI volunteer occasionally to work in the preschool class at church, and as much as I love the age, being a preschool girl does come with its fashion dilemmas.

In fact, I began designing children's clothes with just these dilemmas in mind. These little girlies are at the prime dress-wearing age, and they look as pretty as posies in their twirly dresses and piggy-tales.

But, they do tend to expose themselves for all the world to see. Parents tend to either ignore this problem -- fair enough, I guess
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P11418039.jpgThere is something absolutely adorable about toddler jewelry. I used to make jewelry to go with my outfits when I was doing customs on eBay, but when I began manufacturing for Pixyworld I had to simplify things for awhile, and I miss the jewelry!

I bought this sweet silver ring recently for my preschooler, from Overstock.com, and she just loves it. It fits perfectly on her little ring finger, even though she is so small. (A size 1 actually exists -- who knew??)

I do have to help her keep track of
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Puppy Love

P9134164_2.jpgMy 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 c
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Kids' Fashion Photography

cool funky baby & toddler girls' outfitsIt's so difficult with little kids to get everything right in a photo. I'm impressed with Melanie Reyes' work here, in a recent photo shoot for Pixyworld.

boutique baby clothesShe gets the most of the details of the clothing, while still getting a cute smile. I'm a sucker for a twirly dress, and she even got a little twirl into the photo!

Hats off to you photographers -- without you, there would be no online shopping!
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Overseas Manufacturing: Pros and Cons

Pixyworld is dipping its toes into the deep waters of overseas manufacturing. We're starting with one collection, as an experiment, this season. Amazingly enough, we found a factory that is willing to come low on minimums and even make one fabric in an extremely small quantity.

But there's more to overcome than high minimums. How about shipping cost -- not just shipping for the product, but back and forth for sample fabric, patterns, samples, & counter-samples!! Using a courrier service like FedE
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What's Going On with eBay?

So, what's up with eBay??

It's been a disappointment this year as far as Pixyworld sales, compared to Amazon and the Pixyworld website itself.

One thought is that maybe eBay shoppers are just looking for too much of a bargain -- they don't want new boutique kids' clothing, for the most part. Another is that the fixed-price listings eBay has been pushing are not getting the exposure they promised. My husband, who sells discount men's watches in his eBay store, says his traffic is down from last yea
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The Idea for Pink Jungle

cool funky baby & toddler girls' outfitsThe 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 f
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Kesha Denise, founder & owner of FUNKY FLAIR BOUTIQUE is known for being hip,chic & trendy.. With her keen eye for style, she is by far an "it girl" in my book..She States... "Funky Flair is a retail clothing boutique that is designed for the fashion conscience woman who seeks an edgy, trendy, and yet unique look for their wardrobe at an affordable cost". While her mission is to bring the West Coast Flavor to the South, she is ready to EXPLODE into the fashion scene..And with her Funk & Flair, K
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Garment Labeling for a Boutique Line

Labels can be expensive, and labeling requirements are at times confusing. With all the required information (fiber content, care, size, country of origin) a boutique line can run up against more label versions for a small quantity of clothing than can be produced cost-effectively.

I'm excited about Pixyworld's new labels, being produced by Peace Label USA. After combing through the garment labeling laws, I was able to come up with some creative labeling solutions that will allow for the use of
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Sets vs. Mix-and -Match Pieces

boutique baby & toddler girls' outfitsI'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 pu
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Email, Anyone??

It took me awhile to get used to the fact that the fashion industry still uses fax over email. I don't own a fax machine, and I find myself sending faxes to work with my husband, in order to order stock garment labels and other production supplies. What's up with that??

Strangely enough, these faxing businesses seem to proliferate in the USA, whereas I stay in touch with my overseas contacts via email.

Hey -- whatever it takes!! It's a privilege to work with people who have years of experience in
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Press for Pixyworld!!

cool funky baby & toddler girls' outfitsPress helps. No doubt about it!!

I was contacted recently by Earnshaw's Magazine for permission to use our Paisley Print Tee in an article on Paisley. So, look for Pixyworld in their next issue!

While that is the breaking news, I am so grateful to all the bloggers who have given me a spot. So, I recently created a Press page on my site to highlight their work.

Thank you, my blogging friends!!
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Bonanzle!!

funky unique baby & toddler girls' outfitsI opened my Bonanzle booth last week. Bonanzle is big news these days, I guess. (I have to get all my big news from my husband, who is actually in tune with the outside world... I am in my own world of children and design!!)

I hear it is growing exponentially. That's good. I also hear it encourages buyer/seller interaction, another plus in my book.

Of course, with my promo codes you can still get the best deals on the Pixyworld site... but the more exposure, the better!
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Teen Vogue to bring back Haute Spot!!!

This past Holiday season Teen Vogue, little sister to consumer fashion Bible Vogue, hosted a concept store that featured a lounge area with seating, a Teen Vogue fashion closet featuring the hottest trends from the mag, consultations from Teen Vogue stylists and make-up artists and four weeks of daily promotions and...Get it at:ravie.jpg
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Selling on Amazon

toddler girls fairy outfitsI was pretty pleased to be accepted recently by Amazon to sell Pixyworld toddler boutique clothing. But I couldn't have anticipated how big a project it would be to get launched. Amazon has pretty strict specifications on the type of pictures a seller must use, which was the push I needed to get some photography equipment. I was pretty happy with my first batch of photos, taken yesterday.Then there's the product upload system, which at first I couldn't make head or tail of! I think I have an ink
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Models & Photography for Boutique Girls' Fashion

1/12/09
boutique toddler girl swing top sets

Good photos are key in the presentation of boutique girls' clothing -- online, or anywhere. And photographing toddler girls is no easy task! I quickly abandoned the idea of doing my own photos, after trying a couple of times with my own little girls. It's an art form of its own, that takes patience, skill, technical know-how, and and artistic talent.

What means the most to me, besides accurate representation of the lines and details of the clothing, is capturing something of the model's un
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Indie Fashion for Girls

12/16/08mod artistic baby girl clothes
The disadvantages of being an independent designer selling my own line may be numerous (financial risk, no established customer base or manufacturing chain ... wow, I'm depressing myself!!) but I still don't regret taking this path.
The freedom is worth it. With all the pressure of being a new designer, who needs the added pressure of deadlines from everyone from employers to showrooms to retailers? In The Fashion Designer Survival Guide, MaryGelhar describes the numerous delays that bese
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Clothes for All Shapes and Sizes

3d8a1f5c_1.jpgOh, to fit all toddler shapes and sizes!

I love to hear from customers that a toddler outfit fits perfectly... and it's a hard-won compliment!

Babies and toddlers do come in ALL shapes and sizes. Did you ever stop to consider that women's clothes are sizedmainly according to body proportions, assuming that basic measurements like height, arm length, and inseam aremore or less the same for all women?

With baby & toddler clothes, all bets are off, and every measurement is up for grabs! A 4T has to tr
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Something About a Shrug...

P9244756.jpgWhen my artist friend recently visited me with her 3 kids, she took one look at my 4-year-old daughter in herPixyworld dress and shrug, and exclaimed,"She looks like a butterfly!"
I do love to think of my daughter as a butterfly, because that fits her personality so well -- tiny, busy,and colorful!
There's something about this season's shrug that I love. Maybe it's the way it divides the figure into thirds, insteadof chopping it in half like a traditional top & jeans set. Maybe it's the soft flow
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