What good are nice clothes if you can’t have fun in them?

From a very young age, Mary Michele Little knew that she wanted to pursue a career in fashion. Inspired by her mother, Michele started sewing when she was seven years old. “Since I was old enough to play with dolls, I used to dress them up, fix their hair, make-up, etc. I would make outfits for my Barbies more than I would actually play with them,” says Michele.

Barbie was not the only thing from her childhood that influenced Michele’s professional designing. The need for high-quality, yet everyday wearable items stuck with her. “When I was a kid, there was always a clear distinction between the luxurious “nice things” that were brought out only for special occasions and the everyday stuff we could actually touch! Sometimes it was the special dress that was hidden away until the holidays or your birthday, other times it was when we would sneak into mommy’s closet and try on something fanciful,” says Michele. “Most of my designs for the body or the home can be machine-washed, yet never lose their appeal. I scour the fabric shops from the Garment District in NYC to exotic locales to find the perfect mix of style and affordability. Because what good are nice things if you can’t have fun with them?”

Clever Parents caught up with Michele to talk about fabrics, home parties and working on design projects with her two year old daughter.

Clever Parents: Tell us about Mary Michele.
Mary Michele Little: I started designing clothing more than 10 years ago. I first worked from a home-based studio to create custom women’s apparel. I then moved into women’s ready-to-wear, and opened my first shop in July 1997. From there I grew my women’s wholesale apparel business and sold to boutiques across the country. When the economy slowed down in 2001, we scaled the business down a bit. In 2002, I became pregnant with my first child and decided to try my hand at designing children’s clothing. I also moved my studio back to my home to accomodate our newest addition. Strong interest and sales at a few shows I did led me to pursue designing children’s clothing and, after the birth of my daughter in 2003, I became inspired to design a complete line twice a year and to sell it through home parties. We just added an e-commerce option to our website so that clothing can be purchased on-line at www.mary-michele.com.

Clever Parents: What inspires your new designs?
Mary Michele Little: I find inspiration in many things, colors, images, fairy tales, fabrics, nature! Whatever moves me.

CP: What do you look for in fabrics?
MML: The fabrics I use for my children’s clothing are fashion fabrics and not necessarily “children’s” fabrics. When I meet with fabric vendors and tell them I design children’s apparel, they want to show my the really cute-sy prints with dogs or babies on them. I tell them that’s not me, show me what you’d show me if I told you I designed women’s apparel. Then I put my own combinations together to create a unique and fun look.

CP: What are your top-selling items?
MML: My top selling items for this season have been my “Ruffle Skirts” (these are always big sellers!), my “Louise Halter Dress” and the “Little Havana” boys’ camp shirt. Also, the “Mirabelle Dress” was a big seller for Easter.Kids’ seem to really enjoy wearing my designs, and I always enjoy hearing that someone’s child wanted to wear their new “Ruffle Skirt” for the past 3 days.

CP: What’s your favorite piece from the current line?
MML: My favorite piece has to be the Mirabelle Dress. It’s such a frothy, fun party dress, and with the little jacket it’s just too cute.

CP: Tell us about your home parties.
MML: To host a home show, I ask that people contact me and we can discuss their interest. Typically, the host/hostess should have children who can wear my clothes because they’ll earn credit towards clothing based on party sales. Then I ask them to compile a guest list of as many people as they can think of who are parents or grandparents, or who would be shopping for children’s clothing (as a gift). I print up invitations and have the hostess send them out. Then I just ask the hostess to spread the word and get as many folks as possible to come to the show. It’s worked well to have a party in the morning, just after the kids are off to school. But we’ve done parties that have been successful during the weekends, and evenings too. I really just depends on what works for the hostess’ schedule. Then we just have a casual party, with some light refreshments, and a low-key presentation of the clothing. I’ll have my sample set there and will take orders for the clothing. Items are usually delivered in 3-4 weeks. It’s a lot of fun to shop with friends while socializing, and is a fun way to have a moms’ morning or evening out.

CP: Do you have any suggestions for Clever Parents about balancing work and family?
MML: My suggestions for balancing work and family are to try to create time for each. I try to focus on work when I’m “at work” and when I’m not, I focus on my family. It’s taken me a while to get to this point, but it makes a big difference. I like to be present in what I’m doing at the moment, and not be worrying about what’s not getting done.

I realize that working from home, and sometimes having to work late, can be a challenge to family time. Fortunately, my husband is supportive and he can entertain our daughter if I’m really pressed to complete something. I also have some toys in my studio for my daughter, and she loves to play in my fabrics and to come down and use child-friendly scissors to cut paper. So if I need to work when she’s with me, I’ll give her a “project” to work on as well, and try to include her.

CP: Anything else you’d like to share?
MML: When my daughter first started going to preschool, and I would have my work time, it made me a little sad and I missed her. But when I realized that we are both getting what we need - she gets to learn and to play with other children and I get uninterrupted time to be creative and help support our family - it helped me to see that we are both being fulfilled and have more to give back to each other when we’re together. Plus, by being apart, it makes it more special when we’re together and she’s always excited when I pick her up from school. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Visit Mary Michele online at www.mary-michele.com and read Michele’s style picks on her blog, One Chic Mama - www.onechicmama.com

See the CleverParents-tv Vidcast #3 featuring an interview with Mary Michele Little.