With computers being handed to children practically at birth, young girls now have the Internet at their fingertips. CEO Sarah McIlroy co-founded Fashion Playtes with Marybeth Tirrell after McIlroy worked in the gaming industry and grew up designing clothes. Unlike other girls “dress up” websites like Mattel’s Barbie and GirlSense, FashionPlaytes lets girls customize clothing, and then have their designs produced and delivered to their doorsteps. In the next 10 days Fashion Playtes will drive their user engagement even more by adding a gaming element.
Okay, so you’re not a girl between the ages of 6 and 12 or a mom looking to get her daughter hooked up with some customizable fashion, what’s Fashion Playtes to you?
It’s the story of a successful pivot into a viable revenue model.
Fashion Playtes, based in Salem, Mass., launched to the public on February 4th, 2009. A year later they received $2M in funding led by New Atlantic Ventures, LaunchCapital and Concord-based angel collective Golden Seeds. As of today, Fashion Playtes have 50,000 registered users and 2 million fashion design combinations. Girls and their parents can log on to Fashion Playtes and choose out of 18 garments ranging from belts to dresses to customize. Girls can decorate these garments with things like rhinestones, ribbons, and appliques. After, they can customize a label and share the garment with their friends and family or add it to their Fashion Playtes closet. If a parent decides to purchase an item, their design will arrive in about three weeks.
“We wanted to create an experience for the girls as important as the product itself,” McIlroy told me in a phone interview this week. Fashion Playtes has done just that by creating a safe, fun online environment for young girls to flex their imaginations and balance that with a clear, sensible revenue model. Originally, Fashion Playtes girls could customize clothes for virtual dolls online, but where’s the revenue model in that? “We realized there was a broader opportunity by turning designs into something real,” McIlroy said.
Still McIlroy’s main focus is Fashion Playtes users and their experience on the site. “I think you’re going to see even more engagement for our girls, there’s going to be a lot more to do,” McIlroy said. In the next two-weeks Fashion Playtes will launch a gaming platform that will allow girls to explore trends, a marketplace, and design outfits based on an occasion.
Fashion, design, and soon, a video game element: What more could a little girl want? Fashion Playtes is a swanky and safe place for girls to show off their creative side and bond with loved ones. I am no where close to being a mom, but moms and dads if your daughter is online, she needs to be on Fashion Playtes.
What do you think about girls aged 6-12 being online? Would you let your daughter (or future daughter) use Fashion Playtes? Let us know in the comments section below.
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