It's a Girl!

In 2007, when I found out that I was expecting a daughter, I immediately started searching for cute, girly clothes with images of basketballs, softballs, and other sports graphics. I searched high and low, far and wide, but I couldn't find any! My husband and I both played competitive sports for many years and had looked forward to sharing our love of sports with our kids.

Basketballs instead of butterflies?

Our firstborn son had dozens of sporty little blue and red bodysuits and shirts in all sizes. Why was it impossible to find any in pink or purple or with a ruffle? After all, thousands of girls play sports every day! However, finding a cute little pink shirt with something simple like a basketball on it - and not a specific professional sports team or an athletic brand's logo - proved fruitless. So I got a few outfits featuring our favorite baseball and football teams and a couple cute athletic brand outfits to mix in with her large selection of butterflies, flowers, and princesses.

Borrowing from big brother

Fast forward two years. Our daughter started wanting to dress herself, and more times than not, we'd find her choosing something from her older brother's clothes. She preferred to wear his t-shirts with basketballs, soccer balls, baseballs, fire engines, tools, and trains! And why not? She loves all of those things! Now it wasn't just my desire to dress my daughter in clothes with these images - it was her desire!

An idea comes to life

And that's when I decided I wouldn't let her down. Another long search for toddler girls' clothes with sporty, vehicle, or construction images was unsuccessful. So, I decided that if I couldn't find these clothes for her, then I would make them myself! But why stop at making them for just my daughter? Why not bring them into existence for other young girls out there who love sports and dinosaurs and fire-trucks and all these other totally fun - and yes, totally girly - things to enjoy?

A store is born

So that became my mission: to provide young girls with cute, fun, girly t-shirts with images of things that are usually only found on boys' clothes. To provide parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends) with a place to find t-shirts which showcase the interests that they love and the jobs that they do so that they can inspire a love of these things in their girls as well as boys.

Beyond sugar and spice

I hope that girls everywhere will be proud of their many, varied interests and want to show the world what they love by declaring it on the front of their shirts. Don't get me wrong. Ballet slippers and ladybugs and strawberries are cute - I like them, too. But there's so much more to love! And we girls know it and we just want to show it!

Joyfully,

Rachel

blessed mom to three spirited young children and owner of A Closet of Her Own

(daughter number 2 was born in November 2010, so I need to update my photo! :)