It’s not new news that a girl might prefer wearing a suit to a dress. But just because the desire is there doesn’t mean there’s a means to act on it, especially when a lot of fashion designers still cater to gendered notions of style. Thankfully, there are new companies like SUIT HER out there attempting to change this.
SUIT HER aims to, as a Kickstarter for the brand states, introduce a “unique line of fun and diverse suits for girls aged five to twelve.” Featuring several different designs of suits, including “The She She” (a formal look), “The Classic She” (a slightly less formal look) and “The General She” (a more casual, army-inspired look), this brand was designed to cater to young women like the daughter of founder Michele Yulo.
According to Yulo, her 10-year-old daughter started wanting to wear “bright and bold colors” and things “not found in typical girls’ departments” at the age of three. Then at five, Yulo’s daughter decided she wanted to wear a tuxedo (or, as she adorably called it, “a tornado”) to her violin recital and the two struggled to find one specifically made for girls, settling for “a boy’s tux.” This situation, as well as conversations with other families and further research, compelled Yulo to team up with fashion designer Karen Patwa (of Dangerous Mathematicians, a company that creates suits for grown-up gals) and female-powered company Julie Hutton Inc. to create suits specifically for girls and their body types.
Yulo elaborates on the Kickstarter page:
Women wear suits and it is not only acceptable, but stylish. Why can’t little girls? They should not have to wear a suit that is too broad in the shoulders, short in the arms and baggy in the pants. In short, they shouldn’t have to wear a suit that isn’t tailored for their bodies.
This isn’t the first time Yulo’s advocated for inclusive products for girls. She also started Princess Free Zone, which she says is a “brand, blog and website” for girls, like her daughter, who prefer “race cars, building toys and super heroes” to princesses and other “traditionally girly” items. And through Princess Free Zone, she published a book entitled Super Tool Lula: The Kind Warrior, which follows a young woman who likes to help her father with fixing things at home.
What’s cool about SUIT HER, specifically, is that it really is inclusive, not only giving its young customers the option to buy a full suit, but also offering the option to pair a blazer and button-down with shorts or a skirt. Because, just like adults, girls should have the choice to wear whatever they please, from top to bottom. And it’s really great to see all sorts of different start-ups working to remind us of this.
Check out all the SUIT HER current designs below. And if you want to help Yulo’s cause, head over to the Kickstarter page before Sunday, Sept. 20. She is looking for $90,000 to help with designing, manufacturing, marketing and shipping the SUIT HER suits.
(via Twitter tip, images via SUIT HER and Princess Free Zone)
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