Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

Childrens Clothing Designer Seeking Parents Advice

Posted by Anonymous on 9/27/2009 at 1:44 AM ET 25 Points
I am a new designer currently working on my clothing line. It is in the niche of children's hand made (not knitted just all hand done) boutique clothing. Unique pieces, bright, fun and age appropriate..I am thinking ages 2-10 . I was wondering as a parent what are the most important things when you are buying clothes for your child? Is it price, durability..would you buy a special design... Is there something that you wish a clothing designer did or you would change. Anything that you can tell me that will help me when I am creating clothes would be greatly appreciated. No one knows your kids like you and I'd love to hear your ideas. Thank you in advance. Lastly to you ever buy boutique clothes and if so who is your favorite designer?
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  • Posted by koen.h.pauwels on 9/27/2009 at 8:33 AM Accepted
    having a 3 year old and a new baby on the way...here is my experience:

    1) yes, we lwould love special designs, especially since we have boys. My wife often complains that girl clothes are very inspired, but boys clothes mostly have sports designs. Developing a designer clothing line for boys would be special. Our boy both likes rough sport/outdoors and dinosour designs (which we have plenty of) and cute designs and phrases (which we do not have enough of)

    2) durability is not as important as for adult clothes for us, because kids grow out of them (and we do not want to 'hand down' old clothes to the next kid. Ease of getting in and out of it is key': many otherwise fitting clothes have a hard time getting over our son's head

    3) as for pants, our son absolutely loves real pockets, it makes him feel he could take anything with him

    hope this helps...good luck!
  • Posted on 9/27/2009 at 11:21 AM Member
    Some thoughts:

    As the father of two grown daughters who's paid for many an outfit... It would seem to me that the overriding factor with kids clothes is the short time before they outgrow them.

    Would I buy a conservatively cut Armani suit? YES!
    I can wear it for YEARS and impress countless clients along the way.

    Would I spend a lot for kids clothes based on uniqueness or quality? The question answers itself in my mind.

    Durability? Are your offering "Play Clothes"? Then, Yes. Otherwise, not so much (again, they'll outgrow before they wear out).

    In the age range of 2-10... If there's a "Fashion" element, you're looking at the Mom's sense of fashion.

    OF COURSE, if your market is parents who have money to burn, then that's another story. But keep in mind that the current economy has impacted those people as well.

    Bon Chance...
  • Posted by Paul Linnell on 9/27/2009 at 5:37 PM Member
    Many parents nowadays, especially those who look for the best for their kids (including their clothing), may themselves very busy - holding down a couple of jobs. For them, having clothes that are easy-maintenance is a big plus. For example machine washable, tumble dryable etc.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 9/27/2009 at 10:45 PM Member
    When my kids were in the low end of that age bracket, it was all Oshkosh, b'gosh.

    As they got towards the top end of that range it was more Target-style clothing for everyday wear, with a few boutique items "for best". Mum's taste prevails, of course (what would I know?)

    Before you embark upon a stock-buying exercise, maybe you should reearch your market a little more formally?

    A marketing professional here may be able to help - you can post a paid project to see who's available, see "Post a project" in the right-hand navigation menu above.

    Hope that helps.

    ChrisB
  • Posted by mgoodman on 10/2/2009 at 12:29 PM Moderator
    While there are obviously parents on this forum, they may not be representative of your primary target audience. You probably ought to ask your questions of the people who will be buying your product (or the products of your competitors).

    If this is a serious project and the answers to your questions are really important -- as it would seem they are -- you need to get some professional market research advice and not rely on us as your respondents. At best we're a too-small sampling, and at worst we're not even in your target audience and/or have forgotten what it's like to buy clothes for kids that age.

    If you need recommendations for your research, contact me offline using the info in my profile.
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