We love this mom who created a line of suits for girls as alternatives to princess dresses
Michelle Yulo is the mother of 10-year-old Gabriela, a girl who has never let gender norms dictate her actions. Gabi is the only girl on her school’s baseball team and has dressed up as Spiderman, Batman, and Indiana Jones for Halloween. Gabi is also the muse behind her mom’s rad online t-shirt shop Princess Free Zone. Now, Yulo is using her daughter as inspiration again, getting her Kickstarter on, teaming up with designer Karen Patwa and manufacturer Julie Hutton, and crowdfunding a line of suits for girls like her daughter who don’t want to wear frilly, fluffy dresses when they get gussied up.
“Back in 2005, when she was five, she wanted to wear a tuxedo to her violin recital. She always loved ties – especially bow ties,” Yulo explains on her Kickstarter. “From a very young age she wanted a tuxedo. She would say, “Mom, I want a tornado!” [sic] We searched and searched and couldn’t find one for girls…so we bought her a boy’s tux. She wore it proudly with her black and white Jordan high-top sneaks and her (then) long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Since then, she has opted to wear suits for many occasions.”
Even though Gabi loves wearing suits, it’s often super-hard for Yulo to find a suit for her daughter. The problems with the boys suits Gabi has to settle for? According to Yulo, the fit is off (“broader shoulders, longer arms, boxy pants, extra material in the crotch”) and they also have to contend with “blah colors.”
“Gabi goes to her violin recitals, dances, weddings — but trying to find something for her to wear, even a fun pantsuit, is not easy. The girls who don’t want to wear dresses [when they have to dress up] have no options,” Yulo explained to Yahoo Parenting. “There’s definitely a market for this.”
Yulo is aware that her daughter is unique, but she’s equally aware that her daughter isn’t alone in her preference for suits over dresses.
“…she cannot be the only one. The gender-fluid trend is fortunately picking up steam, but it can be so hard for kids.”
We’re pretty obsessed with these gorg designs and our fingers are tightly crossed that Yulo meets her crowdfunding goal. She’s absolutely right, there needs to be a great option for girls who don’t feel comfortable in a dress, and we think Yulo has created the perfect alternative for kids like her daughter Gabi.
Related:
Gender neutral baby names are officially winning in 2015
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Image via Kickstarter
