It is not uncommon for my daughter to come out of her room in the morning with an outfit that will make us gasp. Maybe it’s leggings, a tiered skirt, shirt and 5 necklaces all in various, uncoordinated colors, or maybe it’s a sundress paired with fleece pants and a long sleeved shirt (to combat the cold). She’s creative when it comes to her fashion, that’s for sure! Now there is a website that may be for her and girls with similar, uh, gifts. We’ve played with websites that let us pick an outfit for a character (human or pony), but Fashion Playtes lets girls design clothes and purchase their creations.

When you look at the Design tab on Fashion Playtes, you’ll see that there are several garments to choose from- dresses, various shirts, leggings, hoodies, headbands and more, available in sizes 6/6x through 14. Once you choose the type of garment you are interested in, the website brings you through all the steps to design that item to your liking. For example, if you choose a tee shirt, you are asked what size, then given options for color, underlayers, ribbon trim, rhinestones, appliques and so on. Your daughter (or granddaughter, niece, etc.) can make her design as simple or as over-the-top as she likes (I know which my daughter would choose!). As you go through the process, there is a price tag right next to the garment that tells you exactly what your creation will cost- a great way for a girl to manage her own money or gift certificate (the site offers gift certificates in various amounts)!

I’ve never ordered a garment so I can’t say for sure, but the website offers several testimonials commenting on the high quality of their items. The prices seem pretty reasonable for the garments, but beware! The more you add to a garment (especially underlayers and ruffles), the higher the cost- and it can add up quickly! For example, I picked a $14 shirt (the Chloe), added underlayers and a ribbon across the middle and suddenly had a $26 shirt. A $25 denim jacket (which is a reasonable price, I think) became $53 when I added trim, an applique and buttons. However, they have a cute, short-sleeved dress (the Audrey) which costs $16. I added rhinestones which brought my final cost to $19. It’s completely dependent on what you add or choose to keep off- which makes it a great lesson in budgeting for kids (I really want the applique- what do I have to give up?)

Fashion Playtes is a fun website that allows creative kids an opportunity to wear their own creations. A gift certificate, as well as the time to do the project together, would be a great Christmas gift. Check it out!