3 Things to Look For in Toddler Clothes

Living her best life

Toddlers are highly opinionated, they constantly change their mind, and they play HARD. But choosing clothes for your little one isn’t just about what they want to wear (even though they might think that’s the most important thing). There are a lot of things that us moms have to consider when purchasing their clothes, beyond their likes and dislikes. So here are the three main things to look for in your toddler’s clothes to keep both of you happy.

1. Comfort

First and foremost, toddler clothes should be comfortable. Toddlers are like the energizer bunny, they go go go and they need clothes that aren’t going to feel scratchy, tight, or uncomfortable during their play. Look for natural fabrics like cotton and linen which are soft and breathable on the skin, whereas 100% polyester doesn’t breathe and can become hot.

Elastic can also make your kid’s clothes more comfortable, so look for terms & phrases like “shirring,” “smocked,” and “elastic waistband.” Styles like our Ann Smocked Sundress use plenty of elastic thread to create a stretchy and comfortable dress.

more than sisters; they’re best friends

2. Size

Toddlers and infants grow at break neck speeds. It seems like one day they are just taking their first steps and the next they are tall enough to reach the top of the kitchen counters (along with all of the things you were hiding from them up there, like the remote control). Considering the size and how long your child will realistically be able to wear something can play a huge role in deciding whether or not to purchase an item of clothing. Look for clothes that have the potential to fit your child now and in the future. The Ann Smocked Sundress uses elastic thread to make the bodice quite stretchy and size inclusive. The Lola Embroidered Dress has an elastic waistband and “scrunchie straps” that can stretch with your toddler as they grow. And the Lynn Play Dress is purposefully oversized to accommodate all body shapes and sizes. The best part of all three dresses is that while they may start as above the knee length dresses, when your kiddo has a sudden growth spurt, each style easily transitions into an adorable tunic when paired with some leggings.

The fashion industry is a major polluter, so I believe that it is my responsibility at Dottie & Mae to increase the lifespan and wearability of our pieces as much as I can, even if it means my customers need to purchase from me less frequently. I am currently designing a pair of pants that will grow with your child that I am extremely excited about!

3. Your Toddler’s Opinion

Even when it was cold, it was always the shark shirt.

My fellow toddler moms know how opinionated toddlers are. They just know what they like! They easily become obsessed with certain animals, characters, and even clothes. For about a four month period, my Little Miss wore the same shark tank top basically every single day because it was her favorite and I got tired of having the “you can’t wear the same thing every day” fight, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. If you don’t believe me, look at any of the photos from that four month period and there is a 97% chance she’s wearing that shark tank top. When she finally gave up the shark tank top, she replaced it with her Minnie Mouse Halloween costume. Toddlers are so opinionated, that we have no choice but to consider their opinions when purchasing clothes.

My personal advice is not to buy their newest obsession in clothing form. Those purchases have a tendency to be worn once or twice and then never chosen again once they’ve moved onto the next thing. Instead, choose the things that they come back to time and again: the characters and animals that they have loved for a long time and are always excited by. For example, my Little Miss loves Frozen, dinosaurs, unicorns, rocket ships, and the Nightmare Before Christmas (which is kind of a weird choice for a 3 year old lol). But she has had other obsessions that have come and gone in the blink of an eye like Toy Story and Sleeping Beauty.

Is there any toddler obsession more common than the dinosaur?

I try to source a variety of prints for our clothes at Dottie & Mae that include all kinds of common toddler obsessions (because the main fashion lesson I have learned from my 3 year old is that prints are fabulous!). Checking out our Animal Print Dresses or Michael Art Smocks is always a good place to start if you are looking to add to their obsession.

There are plenty of other things to consider when shopping for toddler clothing, such as quality and durability. Look for clothes with fully finished and reinforced seams (something I always do). Fashion and style can also be important considerations. Look for classic silhouettes that can be passed along to younger siblings/cousins without going out of style (which is why I choose to make timeless pieces). And of course, you’re going to think about the value and cost. It is easy to want to purchase the cheapest option for our kids because they do grow so darn quickly, but you will most likely be sacrificing quality to do so. Inexpensive toddler clothes tend to lack reinforced seams or quality fabrics and often fall apart quite quickly, creating a lasting negative impact on the environment (learn more about the True Cost of Fashion). Investing in higher quality, ethically made clothing can actually result in purchasing less clothes for your toddler in the long run.

Fashion Lessons I Learned From My 3 Year Old

a toddler’s idea of modeling

As a fashion designer, obviously I am inspired and influenced by renowned designers like Yves St Laurent and Alexander McQueen. (Seeing McQueen’s work at the Crocker Art Museum was a highlight of my fashion career.) I love the whimsy of American designers Betsy Johnson and Kate Spade. But I think the largest fashion icon in my life, is my three year old daughter, my Little Miss.  

Ever since she could say “This one!” I have let my daughter choose her own outfits. I strongly believe children should be encouraged to express themselves and their clothing is a safe and wonderful way to do that. That being said, some days it has been a huge struggle when it’s freezing outside but she doesn’t want to wear a long sleeve shirt under her dress because she thinks it doesn’t match. Or her outfit choice includes Elsa pajama pants and you just want her to wear the cute holiday dress for the sake of the pictures. Or our current daily battle, explaining that she cannot wear the same shirt every single day simply because it’s her favorite because it gets dirty and needs to be washed. 

But despite those frustrations, I still firmly believe in letting my kids decide what they want to wear. It promotes independence in a low risk way and helps them develop confidence and pride in the way they look and present themselves to others. As a child, I attended a very small religious school with a strict dress code and had a highly opinionated stepmother who chose most of my clothes. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I started exploring my own style, which is currently full of linen shorts and camis, because as a mama comfort is queen! 

Still, even as a fashion designer, I find I am scared to take risks in my own fashion. Scared to try new trends or colors and yes, 70% of my wardrobe is black. My designs and fabric choices are full of whimsy and vibrancy, but when it comes to my own clothes, I play it very safe.  It is hard as an adult to learn how to take risks and express yourself. It is much easier to learn how to do those things from the beginning. 

dinosaurs and unicorns obviously match

So with this parenting philosophy, at three and 1/2 years old, Little Miss has been developing her own style for over two years now, and yes, she truly has a style. Could I put a name to it, like preppy or street style? Absolutely not. But she has created a style all her own that has evolved into something consistent over time. A style that includes lots of vintage inspired dresses (courtesy of Dottie & Mae), unisex/boys t-shirts, leggings worn under rompers and “farmers” (i.e. overalls) and anything with sparkle or glitter. 

Does that sound like the next great fashion icon or does it sound like a toddler allowed to choose her own clothes? I would actually argue the former and not just because I’m clearly biased as her mama. Don’t vintage styles come back into fashion time and again? (I’m looking at you, CottageCore.) Gender Inclusive fashion is a current favorite of Gen Z. Fall weather annually brings us transitional fashion to extend the wear of our summer clothes, such as leggings under shorts, dresses, and even rompers. And sequins and metallics always seem to find their way onto the runways. Perhaps Little Miss’s seemingly crazy clothing choices are just the beginnings of the next fashion guru. 

Either way, my daughter is the main muse for Dottie and Mae. A recent trip to the thrift store truly sums up the fashion lessons I have to learn from her. (And yes, we thrift, because at Dottie & Mae we practice what we preach and mine and my girls’ wardrobes are about 70% thrifted or handmade.) On this particular shopping trip, Little Miss chose four shirts featuring sharks (her current fav) from the boys section, a pair of cheetah print joggers, and strawberry covered flip flops. These are the fashion lessons, learned from her, that we try to implement at Dottie & Mae.

Let fashion bring you the unbridled joy of a toddler.

A Toddler’s Fashion Tips:

1. Patterns, Prints, & Colors are Genderless. When shopping, I have learned to take my daughter (and myself) through both the girls and boys sections. Many brands still stick to the outdated notion that blue is for boys and pink is for girls. I would never be able to find shark shirts for her in the girls section and dinosaurs shirts (another of her favs) are far and few between there as well. For the longest time, green was her favorite color, and unless it was a pastel, I had much better luck finding green items in the boys section. It’s time to stop labeling colors and certain prints/designs as “for boys” or “for girls.” Girls can just as easily have a love for cars, dinos, and even sharks, as do boys. And we don’t have to draw a bow on “traditionally” boy things for girls to like it either. And for that matter, boys can love unicorns and rainbows too. And what’s not to love about them? Unicorns are magical and mysterious and rainbows are the definition of the word “colorful.” At Dottie & Mae, you will find dresses with dinosaurs on them. You will find lots of dresses in “boy” shades of blue and green. What you will not find, is separate categories for “girls” or “boys” clothing. And while our debut collection includes only dresses (and we understand that most boys would not feel comfortable in a dress, although if your boy wants to wear one, we would encourage that boldness) future collections will include gender inclusive separates. 

2. Cheetah Print is a Neutral. Yes, my daughter wears those cheetah print pants with her shark shirts. She used to have a cheetah print jacket that she wore over EVERYTHING. Cheetah print is now and forever will be a neutral. But the deeper lesson here, is that prints are fabulous! My daughter will almost always choose a print over a solid colored item of clothing. At Dottie & Mae, we choose to do the same. Most of our clothing is made from printed fabrics, because prints are just more fun. Children’s clothing does something our adult clothing often forgets to do: bring a smile to our face. If the lemon covered blouse brings you joy- you should wear it, because yes, lemon print is as fabulous as cheetah print. At Dottie & Mae, we love hunting thrift stores for fun and unique prints to create our clothing from.

3. Fashion Should Be Fun! Those strawberry covered flip flops remind me of perhaps the most important thing about fashion- that it should be fun. Yes, fashion is art, but too often, we all take it far too seriously. And perhaps my desire to have fun with fashion is why I design for children and not adults. Dottie & Mae dresses like to find that hint of humor and whimsy, like the peekaboo at the back of the Mae dress or the Peter Pan collar on the Nicole. 

At the end of the day, style is subjective. You don’t have bad style if you like to wear bright neon dresses with lots of ruffles and likewise your style isn’t boring if you prefer black leggings and oversized tees. Fashion has something for everyone and whatever makes you feel comfortable in your own skin, is what you should wear. Even if that’s shark tee shirts and cheetah print pants.

Meet the Muses: Lynn

The Lynn Dress: inspired by my Grandma

Welcome back to another installment of Meet the Muses. A series here on the blog where I gush and brag about the people I love who are the inspirations behind my designs for Dottie & Mae.

This week’s dress was inspired by my Grandma. Now when I say Grandma, I have to clarify, because you will find that five of the six dresses in this collection are inspired by my grandmothers (my family is full of awesome women). But when I say Grandma- I mean my dad’s mom. The only one of my many grandmothers that I actually call Grandma. And just as I have many grandmothers, I have many loved ones with the middle name Lynn (even among my in-laws as well). But when I hear the name, I will always think of my Grandma first.

***Fun side note: Lynn is actually spelled wrong! Lynn was my Great Grandma Dottie’s maiden name, turned middle name and has since been passed down to my Grandma and my sister as middle names. But apparently, it’s spelled Linn with an “i” NOT a “y.” How did I go over 30 years spelling my Grandma and sister’s middle name wrong with no one correcting me? Who knows! But here were are, lol. So the Lynn dress will stay Lynn with a “y” because at this point, it’s a really funny story for me and my family.***

So what is it about the Lynn dress that reminds me of my Grandma? Actually, it’s how simple the dress is, and I mean that as the biggest compliment to my Grandma. I have a lot of memories of my grandmother from when I was a child, but some of my favorite are when she would take me and my sister back to school shopping at Kohls. My Grandma had three boys, so when she finally got granddaughters, she loved shopping with us and picking out clothes for us.

MOD inspired colorblocking

But as much as she liked picking out cute clothes, they were always practical and comfortable too. And now that she’s a Great Grandma, she picks out clothes for my girls that are the same: adorable but highly functional. She never buys them frilly cupcake dresses with layers and layers of tulle. Which I appreciate, but while cute, those are definitely special occasion toddler dresses.

So yes, I could go on and on about how the Lynn dress is inspired by the 60s (when my Grandma was a young woman). And how I love that era’s jumper dresses and Mod color-blocking which is clearly shown in my final designs. And maybe I should go on about those things, this is after all a fashion blog as well. But whenever my Little Miss wears a Lynn dress, it just brings a big smile to my face. And that is because of my Grandma.

The Lynn dress in action

The Lynn is meant to be a play dress. A dress that is comfortable and breathable. A dress that allows you to run and jump and play hard. (Or climb a tree.) A dress that encourages toddlers to embrace the crazy wild animal they all seem to have hiding inside them. And that’s what I remember of my Grandma when I was a young kid. Spending long summer days in her pool refusing to get out even when my lips turned blue. Eating orange and vanilla swirl ice cream after a dinner of pigs in blankets. Playing never ending games of Uno and Trouble. She always encouraged us to play hard and be kids as much as we could.

That is what the Lynn will always be to me. A simple and practical play dress that makes me think of shopping trips and card games with my Grandma. It just also happens to look like something fashion icon, Twiggy, would have worn.

Meet the Muses: Mae

The Mae Dress: inspired by my Great Grandma C.

Welcome to the first installment of Meet the Muses, a series here on the blog where we introduce you to the individuals who inspire Dottie & Mae’s patterns. Obviously my girls are my everyday inspiration and they will eventually have their own patterns named after them, but I am inspired by many different people and their styles, personalities, and life stories. Dottie & Mae’s signature collection, “Home Is Where You Are” is inspired by the matriarchs of my family. I’ve taken artistic license with the names of each pattern, which may be the inspiration’s actual name, nickname, or even middle name. For our first episode, I thought we would start with the Mae dress, as it was the first pattern I created for Dottie & Mae, and is obviously one of our flagship pieces (Dottie’s episode is coming!).

The first dress I created that made me go “Hey, I want to design and sew clothes for a living,” was a flower girl dress for my daughter to wear to her auntie’s wedding. I made the dress from my mom’s wedding dress (read more about how I upcycled my mom’s wedding dress). Once I had created the dress though, my mom shared pictures of it and my idea to sell clothes made from repurposed fabrics with her grandmother- my great grandma. My great grandma loved the dress and the idea. She had grown up in Texas during the Great Depression and when they wanted/needed clothes, they would make them from repurposed materials. She told my mom that I would have thrived back then. 

Grandma C. and me in my veggie garden

I remember thinking then that my great grandma had been sustainable long before it was cool. And while that thought had made me laugh, it was actually very true. Not only can my grandma sew her own clothes if need be, but while I was growing up, I remember the huge vegetable garden she had in her backyard. I always thought it was the coolest thing that she grew her own food. And as an adult, I now have my own vegetable garden in my backyard as well. And the first person I wanted to send pictures of my finished veggie garden to after my husband and I built it, was my great grandma. (Read more about how we practice sustainability at Dottie & Mae.)

She has always been an inspiration to me, and it was then that I realized I wanted every design I created to be inspired by all the beautiful people who influence my life. My 93 year old great grandma would just be the first! 

Since that flower girl dress was the jumping off point for Dottie & Mae, I decided to make some tweaks to it here and there to honor my great grandma and thus the Mae dress was born. 

The Mae dress is truly our special occasion dress. The cut and length of the skirt make you think you should be taking a picture of your child spinning around in it. The high neckline at the front of the bodice is demure and modest. And the keyhole peekaboo in the back, not only makes the dress breathable, but is such a cheeky little surprise. It’s this dichotomy of modest and cheeky that makes me think of my grandma. 

Growing up I always had this image of my Grandma C. as the perfect church lady. And she totally is. She was always dressed in these high neck church dresses or blouses. She spent all her time taking care of family or volunteering at church. And always ready for a grandkid to visit, her kitchen table was covered in these glass jars stocked with the most random candies (like those hard pineapple candies with the soft centers and circus peanuts, which were for some gross reason, my favorite as a kid).

Me as a teenager with three of the inspirations for Dottie & Mae’s Debut Collection: my mom, my grandma, and my great grandma.

But as I got older, I realized there was a lot more to my great grandma than just being a “church lady.” I learned how hard she had worked her whole life to provide for and take care of her family. When my grandma was a single mom, my Grandma C. helped take care of my mom and uncle. They used to call her Speedy Gonzales, because as sweet and demure as she seemed, apparently my Grandma C. was a little speed demon on the road. My mom loves to laugh at the memory of her and her brother sliding around the cab of her grandma’s truck (sans seatbelts- it was the 80’s) as she flew around the streets of our hometown. 

And now as an adult, I love hearing all the little things my Grandma C. never said around me when I was kid that are cheeky in the best way possible. Her super competitive nature at Bingo every week. Her saucy comebacks to the gossipy ladies at her assisted living place. And her supportive response when my little sister got her first tattoo, a heart in our Grandma C.’s handwriting. 

the first Mae dress

My favorite story about my Grandma C. though is the time a homeless man knocked on her back door and asked for food. If that happened to me today, I would probably call the police. But my mom remembers sitting there as a little kid, as her grandma proceeded to cook him a fresh meal, while he sat on the back porch, and then sent him on his way with a hot plate of food. I want to say it was a different time, a different world, and that’s why my grandma felt safe doing that. But I think if it happened today, she’d do it all over again, because it’s who she is: brave and empathetic and always eager to help. 

It’s hard to put all of that into a dress- impossible really. But I think the Mae captures that “Sunday best” feeling I always get from my Grandma C. And that cheeky peekaboo will forever remind me of a dozen clever things she has said. 

Talent Also Requires Hard Work

My parents are extremely talented artists, each in their own way. My mom was a music major and is classically trained as a singer and even performed at Carnegie Hall. To this day, she can belt out stunning Italian and German operas and her Karaoke game puts everyone else to shame. 

My dad on the other hand, while he also took voice classes in college (with my mom), held his BA in Fine Art, and his drawing skills were incredible. When I was just an infant, my dad created the artwork and dialogue for an original comic book that he debuted at Comic Con that year. Much of his artwork covers the walls of mine and my sister’s houses. 

And speaking of my sister, she seemed to inherit the best of both of our parent’s skills. She has a beautiful voice and even took lessons. She held the lead in her high school play. I remember her filling up sketchbook after sketchbook with her drawings while we were growing up (work far superior to anything any other kid I knew could do). She even did voice acting for audiobooks for awhile and is currently working on her debut novel. 

my sister’s work that graces my living room walls

I on the other hand- am a different story. Yes, I can carry a tune (unlike my husband), but you’ll never catch me singing opera and I frequently miss notes when singing to my girls at bedtime. And as for my drawing skills… let’s just say, you probably couldn’t tell what I was trying to draw most of the time. I took Music Appreciation and Art History- not Voice and Fine Art. In short- I’m a mediocre singer and a subpar artist. 

I’m sure you can imagine, how “meh” I often felt growing up surrounded by all this talent, especially given the fact that my sister and I have always been highly competitive people. I felt so inadequate compared to my parents, that I didn’t think I could ever be considered an ‘artist.’ I even married into a family with artistic talent! My eldest sister-in-law holds her BA from a Fine Arts college and her mixed medium art is both beautiful and thought provoking. 

The one thing I believe I did inherit from my parent’s artistry, however, was a burning desire to CREATE. So while I can’t sing like my mom or draw like my dad, all of my school assignments became an opportunity for creative expression: the book report poster that I turned into a scrapbook instead, the history project where I designed a video game manual, and even the family ancestry presentation in college where I ended up cooking traditional foods from all the different ethnicities in my blended family instead of just making a PowerPoint. I learned to crochet and knit. I played the piano for 8 years and still remember how to make two chords on the guitar. I even took up beadwork for a hot minute. I was a crafter, a DIYer, but never an artist. And then I discovered the world of fashion design.

As a child, I had learned some sewing basics. At 5’2”, I had to hem most of my own pants and I knew how to sew on a new button. I even learned how to do some hand embroidery. But I didn’t touch a sewing machine until I became a mom. I can’t quite say what prompted me to pull out the hand-me-down Singer that had been collecting dust in my hall closet. I suspect it was the need for something new and different during those long early months of quarantine during the Covid Pandemic. Something that wasn’t cleaning up baby spit up or diaper blow outs, or washing the breast pump machine parts for the hundredth time (one of the joys of exclusive pumping!) Something that got my creative juices flowing again. 

damaged flannel blanket turned doggie sweater, modeled by Peanut

At first, I was just learning how to use the sewing machine. Figuring out how to change the needle, thread the machine, switch the stitch length; not letting the thread get knotted up under the presser foot because you have the tension settings wrong, forcing you to rip the whole project out, unscrew the needle plate, untangle the giant mess, close everything back up, rethread it all, take a deep breath and start sewing again only to have the needle jam causing you to scream out an string of expletives that wake up your newborn. 

As I had fewer melt downs and more successes, I started branching out beyond altering my clothes and making baby blankets into small projects like scrunchie hair ties and dog sweaters. And eventually, using a dress my daughter already had as a loose guide, I somehow turned a receiving blanket into an adorable little dress for her. 

receiving blanket turned dress

Now don’t get me wrong, that dress is a hot mess! I cut it too small and had to add an extra panel of fabric so I could add the zipper in the back. None of my seams are finished, so there are loose threads everywhere on the inside. And the collar is about an inch thick because I had no idea what bias tape was at the time. But I am sooo proud of that hot mess, and even though my daughter has outgrown it, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get rid of it. 

What that first dress showed me, was that I truly was an artist. Just like my parents, just like my sister, I had talent. I remember how stunned my mom was that I had created that dress without a true pattern and no formal training. My art medium wasn’t a pencil or paintbrush, it wasn’t my voice, it was fabric and the possibilities were truly endless. That little hot mess dress made from a flannelette receiving blanket ended up being my daughter’s favorite dress at the time because it was just ridiculously soft. I remember how she used to pet the skirt of it and say in her little Minnie Mouse voice “so soft” over and over again. 

After that dress, I spent all my free time (which wasn’t much because I had a toddler) learning more about fashion design and practicing my craft. I discovered the world of pattern making and realized that although I had struggled through every math course in school, that I LOVED dividing fractions to figure out the proper measurements in a dress pattern and could switch between imperial and metric measurements fairly seamlessly. I realized I could draw just enough to get my design ideas from my head onto paper, as long as I didn’t mind redoing it ten (or twenty) times to get it right. Although I’ll be dammed if I ever learn how to draw the fashion figures (thank god sketchbooks with pre-drawn figures and fashion figure rulers exist). 

That little blue dress…

What I didn’t realize at the time, was that I was becoming a fashion designer. I just thought I had found a hobby. But truly I was teaching myself not just how to sew, but how to design, and I LOVED it. As cliche as it may sound, I had found my passion. So when my youngest sister-in-law asked my daughter to be her flower girl, I knew I wanted to make the dress. (Read about how that upcycled flower girl dress led to the creation of Dottie & Mae.) But as proud as I am of that flower girl dress, which turned out beautifully and became the inspiration for our Mae dress design, I am still more proud of the little blue flannelette dress sitting in a storage box in my garage. 

As a child, I viewed art as something that came in two forms: music and paint and didn’t realize there are endless mediums to create art through. I thought artistic talent was something you were just born with, and didn’t realize you had to nurture that talent through hard work and practice (I guess I missed the fact that both of my parents literally went to school to study and improve their talents). I thought that if I didn’t find my talent and passion as a child or in school that apparently I just didn’t have any, completely disregarding the fact that childhood is only a tiny fraction of our lives and we don’t stop growing and discovering new aspects of ourselves just because we finish school. 

If you’ve made it this far in my rambling rant about my insecurities and journey to discover my own passion, I will leave you with this: I truly believe humans are meant to create. Life wants to create more life, more beauty. So find that thing you can do to leave the world just a little brighter, just a little more beautiful. Whether it’s writing poetry, playing an instrument, or sewing a dress, let your creativity run wild and I guarantee it will bring you boundless joy. 

How I Upcycled My Mom’s Wedding Dress Into A Toddler Clothing Company

It’s time for Dottie & Mae’s origin story! I’ve introduced myself on the blog before, but since Dottie & Mae’s origin story, is really my story, I wanted to say hello again. 

I’m Kalissa. I’m the voice behind the Dottie & Mae blog. I’m also the founder, CEO, designer, and seamstress of Dottie & Mae (it’s a one woman show over here, but you can read more about my supportive think tank). I’m a mama to two little girls and Dottie & Mae is my third baby. 

In a future blog, I will share about how I discovered my passion for fashion design and taught myself to sew and create patterns, but this is the story of why I decided to launch Dottie & Mae (Read more about how I discovered my passion and learned Talent Also Requires Hard Work). 

tiny people in itty bitty suits & poofy dresses

In 2021, my sister-in-law asked my daughter to be her flower girl. I thought it was incredibly brave of her to choose a flower girl who would only be 18 months old at the time and constantly fretted over the coming months that my toddler was going to ruin the wedding by doing something crazy during the ceremony. In the end, Little Miss made it down the aisle just fine, even if she didn’t throw a single flower. It was the ring bearer who ran off into the bushes. But even that didn’t ruin the wedding, because when you put tiny people in itty bitty suits and poofy dresses, it doesn’t matter what they do- everyone will think anything they do is adorable. 

One of the things I stressed about though, was finding the perfect flower girl dress. My sister-in-law left that chore up to me and the requirements were pretty vague: white, poofy, and adorable. I wanted the dress to be absolutely perfect because I knew it would be in Danielle and Kevin’s wedding photos forever. Although, looking back, I probably worried about it too much, considering the only person we all truly pay attention to at any wedding is the bride (who was stunning in her vintage inspired lace gown, by the way). But I suppose all that worry turned out to be a great thing, because it prompted me to create the dress that would become the foundation of Dottie & Mae. 

I had spent most of the previous year teaching myself to sew and design and so I remember thinking how cool it would be if I could make the dress myself. All of the fabric I had been using while learning came from secondhand shops or was repurposed bedsheets or tablecloths. I had even “thrift flipped” some old clothes of mine giving them new life. Yes, to some degree I chose to use thrifted fabrics because it was more eco friendly than buying new, but mostly I did it in those early days because it was cheap. It wasn’t until I started creating the business model for Dottie & Mae that I would discover how truly terrible fast fashion is to our environment and pledge to always use textile waste for my company (Read more about why fast fashion is bad and how we practice sustainability at Dottie & Mae). Since I was used to using secondhand fabrics, I had the idea to repurpose my mom’s wedding dress and give it new life. 

The original dress

I know some of you will be appalled that I cut up my mom’s wedding dress, but I did have her blessing to do so. For years, the Jessica McClintock dress had taken up space in my grandmother’s guest room closet. And by the time I cut into it, it had spent about four years collecting dust in my garage. I was already married (I wore a black floral gown for my elopement) and my sister had no desire to wear our mom’s dress for her wedding. This beautiful, now vintage, gown was becoming doomed to spend eternity in a box. 

So yes, I cut into my mother’s wedding dress. I wanted to give it new life and a new purpose. And now it’s truly a family heirloom waiting for the next flower girl who needs to wear it. 

The dress itself took me a few weeks to make, mainly because I actually made three separate ones. I was still learning to sew at the time, and my first two attempts had some major issues. I remember freaking out when I got to the third dress because I only had enough satin left from the original dress to try one more time. I had lace and crinoline coming out of my ears, but no more satin. Something very valuable that I learned from that project was DON’T START WITH THE EXPENSIVE/FANCY/SPECIAL FABRIC! Make a mock up from something cheap first. 

the beginning of Dottie & Mae

Something in the universe wanted me to succeed however, because that last dress was beautiful and fit my daughter perfectly. The long circle skirt design created a beautiful twirl when she spun around. The high neckline in the front looked demure and elegant. And the peekaboo triangle in the back of the dress was fun and unexpected. (Read about the Mae Fit & Flare Dress this inspired.)

I held my breath as I sent my sister-in-law a picture, hoping she would like it too. She gushed and raved over it, especially loving the fact that it had been made from a wedding dress. I remember thinking that perhaps she was just being polite. But at the wedding, I found out that she had been telling everyone that I made the dress, when my brother-in-law’s dad (a complete stranger to me) told me “If you can make clothes like that, you should have your own store.” 

Now at that point, I had already decided to start selling handmade clothes, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that his comment helped me make the jump from “I’ll just have an Etsy shop” to “Let’s Do This Thing!” Suddenly the handful of dresses I had created at that point, wasn’t good enough. I wanted to make a collection, I wanted to build a brand, I wanted to create a legacy my girls would be proud of. 

And that last point is what really made me research the damage the fast fashion industry has on our environment. Fast fashion is defined as “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends.” (Check out our Sustainable Dictionary to become familiar with sustainable fashion terms.) And it accounts for 10% of all the world’s CO2 output. The fast fashion industry encourages consumers to purchase new clothes often to keep up with trends and discard them just as frequently. The amount of textile waste created by the fast fashion industry is astonishing. Whether that waste is in unused fabrics known as deadstock, unsold clothes from large batch manufacturing, or the endless stream of discarded clothing from consumers as trends cycle in and out at alarmingly fast rates. 

You could fill books about how our clothing consumption has become so unhealthy for us, the workers, and the environment- and many people have. “Fashionopolis: Why What We Wear Matters” by Dana Thomas is a good place to start if you would like to learn more. But what I quickly realized as I studied all of this information was that I wanted my boutique to be part of the solution, not the problem. 

Some of the things I do at Dottie & Mae to promote sustainability include: sourcing all of our fabric secondhand, practicing small batch manufacturing with extremely limited quantities of products so there is hopefully no unsold waste, and of course producing everything in house instead of outsourcing the work. 

About a month after the wedding, I found out I was pregnant with our second child, and at that point, I had already decided to launch Dottie & Mae. I knew it would be difficult to create a start up AND have a newborn at the same time, but I’m not sure any time is ideal launch a new business. Besides, I wanted to show my girls that you can be a good mama and follow your dreams at the same time. The two are not mutually exclusive. 

a family heirloom

Seeing as my daughters are my main muses and motivation, many will mistakenly assume that Dottie & Mae is named after them. But it’s actually named after two of my great-grandmothers. Both of them lived through the Great Depression, a time when people needed to cut spending as much as possible, so new clothes were made from old clothes and repurposed household linens. It was a time when we had to learn not to be so wasteful. A lesson it seems we need to relearn. 

Naming my company after my great-grandmothers felt appropriate. Plus, their nicknames make for a super cute name of a toddler boutique!

What is Dottie & Mae?

Kalissa Crawford, Dottie & Mae Founder

Welcome to the Dottie & Mae blog, a place for me to share my thoughts on sustainable fashion, the journey behind running a small business, and some funny mom stories every now and then. But first, let me introduce myself. Unless there’s a guest contributor, mine is the voice you’ll be hearing here on the blog. 

I’m Kalissa, the founder, CEO, designer, seamstress, and sole employee of Dottie & Mae. I’m a mom of two little girls and Dottie & Mae is my third baby and my debut clothing line. I’m a self taught fashion designer with a passion for sustainability and my favorite pastime is hunting thrift stores for unique fabrics. 

My two girls are the main inspirations behind Dottie & Mae. At the time of launch, they will be about three and a half years old and almost one. Obviously my three year old is my model and the recipient of all the mock up dresses I make for the company. Which means she has more dresses than she has time to wear them. Her style, which I will perhaps share about in a future post, also frequently inspires me in my designs and fabric choices (Read more about the Fashion Lessons I Learned From My 3 Year Old). Nothing is more joyful than the fashion sense of a toddler. 

Toddler Modeling.

My own fashion sense tends to include a lot black, workout pants, and a slowly growing collection of sneakers. Sure I have that flowy lavender dress with matching clutch for brunch with my girlfriends or the sexy red 90’s era dress for date night. But I’m a mom of two not yet school age kids who runs a business out of her home. So although I’m working on elevating my style, 9.5 times out of 10, I’m still dressing for comfort. I always laugh at those videos “The Designer Versus The Designs” where the fashion designer looks nothing like the clothes they design, because I can relate so hard.

While Dottie & Mae may primarily be a one woman show, I’m obviously supported by some fabulous people. I like to think of them as my Think Tank. This inaugural entry on the blog feels like the best place to give them all their well deserved shout outs!

My Marketing Gurus: Meghan & Danielle. 

I am lucky enough to not just have a sister who works in marketing/advertising but a sister-in-law who does as well! One works for a small start up and the other for a huge billion dollar corporation, so I get the best of both worlds when it comes to their advice. 

My Seamstress Specialist: Debby. 

A dear family friend who holds her degree in Home Economics and specialized in Tailoring (AKA being as precise and polished as you can be in the sewing world). Always happy to take a question, critique my work, and share tips, her knowledge has been invaluable in making me better at my craft.

My Chief Investor: Sarah.

A savy and successful business woman herself, my mom gave me first business loan. But beyond that, she has invested a vast amount of time in Dottie & Mae. She has spent countless hours just being an ear for whatever I’ve needed to discuss (design ideas, logo options, financial fears) and always encouraging me to trust my gut. 

My Main Advocate: Eric.

my everything

I would be remiss if I left my husband off this list. He’s obviously my biggest cheerleader but in the most pragmatic way possible. His practicality grounds me and helps me channel my dreams and ideas into actual results. I bounce everything off him and he steps in wherever needed as editor, bookkeeper, quality control, etc. He’s Dottie & Mae’s Jack of all trades. He’s my everything. 

So many other friends and family members have encouraged and supported me along on this journey. Including many of the women who have inspired Dottie & Mae’s signature collection “Home Is Where You Are.” I’ll be sharing their stories here on the blog soon enough. Until then, we are excited that you have found us, and hope you consider Dottie & Mae as a sustainable addition to your toddler’s wardrobe.