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  • November 03, 2016 3 min read 7 Comments

    "Princess? That name says entirely the opposite of what they are going for."
              -October 2016, Facebook

    "Why call it princess? My daughter would not wear anything princess. Why not another name? Good concept though."
              -October 2016, Facebook

    "Bad branding. Having "princess" in the name will put off exactly the stereotype-avoiding parents they are targeting."
              -February 2015, Facebook

    This kind of comment from people first meeting Princess Awesome isn’t totally unusual.

    I wish we could take every person who feels this way out for coffee and have a long talk. I think we’d have a great discussion.

    Because here’s the thing: we understand why this this might be their first reaction. We understand that there’s a lot about “princess culture” that’s problematic. We love Peggy Orenstein’s book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, and Rebecca Hains’ The Princess Problem. We totally get it.

    And we still think Princess Awesome is the perfect name for our company.

    Let me back up for a second and tell a quick story.

    When my daughter was 2, she was given a big, fuzzy, neon pink box of generic princess dress-up clothes. She adored it. She (and practically every little friend who came over) wore the dresses constantly. My initial reaction to all this: Dread. Frustration. Fear.

    What was my brave, smart little girl going to turn into? Was I a bad feminist for letting her prance around the house in these frilly, sparkly dresses? After all, it wasn’t too long ago that I had promised I’d never buy my daughter anything pink.

    Then, one day, while listening to her pretend to drop her kids off at school and then go to work while wearing her pink princess dress and tiara, I had a realization. I harbored beliefs about what my daughter could or could not do while wearing a princess dress - but she did not.


    When E was two, I posted this picture to Facebook with the comment: "Sometimes you swear that you won't encourage gender stereotypes in your daughter and then then sometimes you still end up taking pictures like these."

    Which made me think: Why do I think wearing a princess dress means she can’t also do science experiments? Or play soccer? Or solve math problems?

    Yes, I need to be thoughtful about how much of the Princess Culture I let her consume and how I talk to her about the elements that I find problematic, but one can be interested in princesses and also interested in other things. In fact, not only can that happen, from what I’ve seen, it does happen - more often than not.

    This was our frame of mind when Eva and I were thinking of a name for our company. We wanted to create a company that embraces traditionally feminine colors and styles and also embraces subjects that mainstream culture has designated “for boys only” for far too long. A company that believes that there is power in femininity and that the definition of what is considered “feminine” needs to be significantly broadened. A company that believes that dressing up like a princess isn’t the problem - the problem is the idea that princesses can only sit there and look pretty.

    Our company believes that in addition to wearing fancy dresses - and more importantly - princesses are also young women in training to rule their kingdoms.

    We wanted to embrace something traditionally girly and non-traditionally girly right there in the name. We wanted our name to be memorable and eye-catching.

    “Princess Awesome” fit the ticket perfectly.

    7 Responses

    Weslin
    Weslin

    July 12, 2019

    I love this! I think the main thing that feminists get wrong is that to be empowered means that we need to be more like men. Femininity is amazing! Women are so strong. We don’t have to choose between being feminine and doing awesome things.

    Pilot Erika
    Pilot Erika

    June 16, 2019

    I totally ‘get’ this concept. I have always felt like a very feminine women, trying to break into a male-dominated industry. I often wondered why people thought I had to be less feminine if I liked airplanes? Why can’t my daughters climb trees in a pretty dress (with awesome leggings underneath of course). Maybe someday I won’t have to wear a man’s uniform while piloting a plane. Until then, at least my girls can rock your awesome aviation dresses that they love!

    Kristin
    Kristin

    June 13, 2019

    I agree with everything you wrote! I am so happy you started your company. My own daughter loved unicorns, rainbows, and was always wearing a fairy princess outfit. One would think she was a “head in the clouds” girl. Not true! She is now 24 and all along she has been a grounded young women who knows her own mind and does not have much patience for the ridiculous or fads. It is so important to support our children in being their imaginative selves. Thank you for Princess Awesome. I hope to have the occasion to purchase the clothing some day in the not too distant future (grandchildren?).

    JennTheGamerMom
    JennTheGamerMom

    March 17, 2019

    I think maybe our kids have the feistier brand of Princess we’ve had since oh, Belle, maybe? I mean, my kids’ favorites are Moana and Rapunzel, because they command their own fate.

    Mary Leann Whelan
    Mary Leann Whelan

    January 14, 2019

    I love the name and the clothes. I buy them for my granddaughter. She is an awesome girl. She loves the dresses and wears them for every activity. The quality is excellent and they get passed on when she outgrows them. They have pockets! They twirl! She also wears a tiara with her Batman cape. Her latest favorite is the dragon shirt and skirt. Keep the name.

    Nicole Anderson
    Nicole Anderson

    December 01, 2016

    I love these dresses! My daughter has gone from tomboy to wanting to be a princess and back and forth. Even though I dislike the “Princess” culture in which we live, I try to embrace her desires and let her be who she wants to be. I feel these dresses are a great happy medium for kids like my daughter!

    april
    april

    November 15, 2016

    love this. i’m not a princess person but i do let my girls decide what they like and dislike themselves. sometimes they want to dress like a princess or ballerina or firefighter or elephant or astronaut and sometimes its all tho

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