Project: Redesign

The trunk show went very well at the Beehive--photos to follow are here now! At the moment, though, much time is being taken up preparing for the Big Beehive Redesign! The gurus over at the 'Hive have had a vision, and it is of communalism and relocation. Literally. The kids' section will be phased out to make way for design studio space, and the boutiques will move and be integrated with the other designers in the rest of the Beehive. So, Pretty Jane is redecorating! If you're even the littlest bit like me (and I like to think at least SOMEONE is a little like me....), it's all or nuthin' a la Ado Annie. I'm not interested in just moving my hangers and plopping down in a new space and calling it done. I want NEWNESS and EXCITEMENT. So I'm busting out a bunch of new styles and revamping some of the Pretty Jane concept.

The largest part of this is a renewed focus on the needs of Tweens. They're the original vision behind Pretty Jane: that in-between age where big bows and lots of pink is way too babyish, but low-cut necklines and skin-tight is way too old (some--meaning me--would argue that it's NEVER a good time to wear some styles, but c'est la vie). I'm working on a maxi skirt, a knee length skirt, some embroidered capris, and a couple of scrap quilted tanks for tweens for Summer 07, and I'm crazy excited to see how they do. Who knows? Maybe I'll learn that moms don't want to fight the battle, or that there's no market for clothes for girls that age, but I find that insanely difficult to believe. My own child is one of those girls, and I know how badly I dislike much of the "fashion" I see in her size. Again: hoping there are other mothers out there like me--call us Nerds of a Feather, as Mr. Pretty Jane does.

Little ones aren't left out, either--I've spent today working on one of three reversible styles, and I'm popping my seams they're so cute. MUCH more on those later, as they evolve. Still loving the bowling shirts for little boys, and adding smaller sizes as we go into this re-vamped version of the store. Boys are so tough to dress, and every time I see these shirts on them I wonder if they're really all that different--they're what I plan to put on our little man (once he's been conceived of course...well, OK, a little after that, actually). So I check the racks, and what I see in the big box stores leaves me pretty cold, making me think they ARE different, and that mommies often have no choice but to dress their kids in poorly constructed knits. I went out with Baby today, actually, and was paying at the counter of the post office when the postal employee asked if she'd had her photos done that morning. It took me a moment to register why she would think that--was my kid just the right size, or did she look like her pupils were still dilated from the flash? No, she was just wearing a pretty dress. Most of the little ones I see running around look as though they're perpetually in their jammies. I'm working to create designs that are as easy as jammies, but look WAYYY better when out in public so you, too, can fool government personnel into thinking you spend large quantities of time making your children so presentable.

See if I was successful on your next trip to Beehive! Newly re-designed booth opens Tuesday, May 1.