What I Wish I'd Known About Designing Kids Apparel With a Message

If I could go back and tell myself a few things, here is what I'd say.

1. The Patterns Are Everywhere Once You See Them

Before I started Fierce & Sweet, I hadn't noticed how consistently kids' media cast predators as male and prey as female. Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it, and I realized my granddaughter was absorbing that message without either of us knowing it.

2. Representation Starts With Small Choices

I used to think a t-shirt design was just a design. Now I know that every image we put on a kid is quietly teaching them something about who they're allowed to be, and small choices in a wardrobe can push back against a lifetime of quiet conditioning.

3. Don't Assume You Know Who's Ready for Change

I expected grandparents to be my hardest sell. I thought that generation would default to fluffy pink for girls and rough-and-tumble blue for boys. I was wrong. Some of my most enthusiastic customers are grandmothers who raised their own kids inside those old rules and are thrilled to have a way to dress their grandchildren outside of them. They didn't need convincing. They'd been waiting for the option.

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