Essential for launching a kids' apparel brand! Design points for children's clothing: "safety, comfort, and independence"

Hello! This is Kimura from the ApparelX Trend Blog.

Recently, I've been procuring a lot of colorful materials in pop colors, and it occurred to me that the cute color schemes remind me of children's clothing.

On a personal note, when I was a student, I worked part-time as a salesperson for about three years at an apparel brand that offered both Ladies and children's clothing (85cm-120cm/ages 2-6).

So, while remembering the feedback from customers at the time, I would like to introduce some design points to keep in mind when making children's clothing: safety, comfort, and independence, for brands and designers who are thinking, "I want to develop kids' apparel in addition to my existing line! How can I differentiate it from adult clothing?"

Introduction

Designing a kids' line is not just about the aesthetics. This is likely to be the first hurdle for brands that offer both Ladies's and women's clothing.

From my perspective as someone who has continued to listen to the voices of parents at stores in large shopping malls, it seems that when it comes to clothes for young children, especially those in sizes 85-120cm (around 2-6 years old), the purpose of the purchase and the functionality they are looking for are often clear, such as "I want something that will be easy to use every day at nursery school/kindergarten" or "I'm looking for a nice outer layer to wear to recitals and weddings, but I'd like something that's washable."

What are the "really required specifications" for kindergarten uniforms?

Hooded outerwear is almost always a no-no, but some kindergartens allow it if it's removable!

Food is prohibited in many kindergartens and daycare centers. The reason is clear: there is a risk of children getting caught on play equipment and choking when playing outside.

However, some parents said, "They said it was fine as long as it could be removed even if it had a hood."

What we recommend is an item with a 2-way design that has a removable hood.

We recommend using an attachment that includes a zipper or snap button buttons for easy fastening and detachment.

● Recommended zipper for attaching and detaching the hood

There are three zipper: open, closed, and two way separator. Since this is for putting on and taking off, please choose an open zipper in this case.

One end is sewn to the outer body, and the other end is sewn to the hood.

5CIFOR Coil zipper 5 Sizes Open

Coil zipper are made of resin such as polyester, and the elements are coiled. Because they are continuous elements, they are more flexible than metal zipper or Vislon zipper.

It is lighter than a metal zipper and is less noticeable even when wearing the hood. It may be difficult for preschoolers to put on and take off the jacket by themselves, but if you are looking for a lighter jacket, we recommend the coil zipper in size 3 .

● Recommended snap button buttons for attaching and detaching the hood

SUN SUNGRIP SG600 ( Head / spring/ stud )

SUNGRIP's plastic snap button buttons are designed for durability and strength. They fit softly, are resistant to lateral pulling, and offer a firm grip for fastening and unfastening, making them ideal for sports and outdoor activities.

This environmentally friendly plastic snap was awarded the Good Design Award in 2012 for its "combination of high durability and beautiful design."

The hood can be designed to be completely detachable by attaching it to the stand collar and hood, but for lightweight outerwear such as nylon windbreakers, these snap button buttons can also be used to create a type where the hood fabric can be textile and stored under the collar of the stand collar.

The 2-way design, which allows you to choose whether or not to use the hood depending on the situation, has been highly praised. Since regulations vary from nursery to nursery, it's difficult to say that a certain design is necessarily safe, but it is an essential element for preventing accidents.

This time we will be introducing lightweight outerwear for outdoor activities, but if you are wearing a heavier outerwear for autumn and winter such as a mod coat, you can use the ◯WAY design to remove the hood, fur, and liner using metal zipper or metal snap button to match the atmosphere of the item.

2. Choosing the Right Buttons and zipper

Design and color are of course important, but when it comes to kindergarten uniforms, an important theme is that children can "put it on by themselves," which fosters the feeling of "I did it myself!"

To support this, careful consideration in selecting the right hardware is crucial.

Considering the perspective of the annex

• Large buttons: Easy for small hands to grasp and practice

• Match the color of the button and buttonhole: "The red button 🔴 goes in the red hole ⭕️" for easy understanding and support for successful experience.

zipper a larger zipper : A large coil zipper ( size 5 or larger) or a Vislon Zipper will slide smoothly and be easy to open even if you have weak finger strength.

💡Even at actual sales sites, there were comments such as "children don't like hard zipper," and there were many instances of adults checking how easy the zipper were to open and close, and children trying them on to make sure they could wear them by themselves.

3. No strings or cord. Outerwear without cord is in high demand!

The second most common taboo word in kindergarten uniform design is string or cord.

It seemed that many parents were saying things like, "I'm looking for a windbreaker for playing outside, but it's surprisingly difficult to find one without strings," and "If the cuffs can't be tightened, the wind gets in and it's cold, but the nursery school has said that cord are prohibited..."

Based on these comments, we have come to the conclusion that a design without a cord is recommended.

If the design is made entirely of elastic band or can be tightened with hook-and hook and loop, there is no need to adjust it with strings and there are no parts to pull, so it is safe to wear and many boxes are OK to use in kindergartens.

● Recommended for all- elastic band specifications : braided elastic

OGC braided elastic *Lycra used

braided elastic is a standard at ApparelX . It's perfect for the cuffs of lightweight functional outerwear where elastic webbing would be too stiff.

● Recommended hook and loop

4QNN-N Quicklon® Q-Mate® hook and loop

This is YKK Quicklon® hook and loop . hook and loop do not corrode due to sweat or dust, and there is no risk of the tab breaking like with regular zipper.

This is a Q-mate® product, which is a hybrid product with hook and loop woven into a single tape, so there is no distinction between hook and loop, making it easy for children to use and install.

Also, it's common for dirt and dust to accumulate on the hook and loop, so ease of care is also an attractive feature for children's clothing.

Recommended kids' apparel products featured on ApparelX

There is a kids ' category in the style list, and we would like to introduce some recommended products that we feel are "quintessential children's clothing!"

174-101 Glitter Crest Button

These are accessories used as cufflinks on the cuffs of a shirt.

These fancy crest buttons will add a touch of style to your outfits for recitals or outings.

Crest buttons are a type of cufflink, an accessory used primarily to fasten shirt cuffs.
It is also used as a type of Chinese button and as an ornament for costumes.

VE9489 polyester Resin Two-Hole Button

These glossy polyester resin buttons with two front holes are dyeable and can be used in a wide range of applications.

The design is cute and girly, typical of children's clothing, but since the standard is small at 8mm/10mm, it is also recommended for use as decorative buttons on the chest, etc.

VT9969 Colorful Buttons for Shirts, Polo Shirts, and Lightweight Clothing

These colorful polyester buttons are great for shirts, polo shirts, and knitwear.

The edges come in a wide variety of colors, so it would be cute to use colorful buttons on one piece of clothing.

PLEASANT Pleasant

This is a standard vinyl chloride leather that offers excellent cost performance for home interior manufacturers.

With a total of 46 colors and a wide range of color variations, it can be used to coordinate with a wide range of colorful items.

All colors have been upgraded to be antibacterial, alcohol-resistant, and sodium hypochlorite*-resistant, so they can be used safely on children's apparel and miscellaneous goods that require easy care.

The fact that it's alcohol-resistant makes it a great material because if it gets dirty while you're out and about, you can quickly wipe it off with a wet wipe.

Sodium hypochlorite resistant*
This is a function that prevents discoloration when disinfected with sodium hypochlorite solution. Sodium hypochlorite is the main component of chlorine bleach, and is used in situations where disinfection is necessary to prevent infection, such as in medical institutions, nursing homes, and homes. Materials with hypochlorite resistance are characterized by their resistance to discoloration even when immersed in sodium hypochlorite solution.

summary

What did you think?

The most important thing when designing apparel for kindergarten uniforms is to balance these three things: the kindergarten's safety standards, the parents' practical perspective, and the children's own ``I did it!'' experience.

In the future, when designing and producing children's apparel, I believe that thinking along the lines of "cute + safe + supporting development" will directly lead to fans' trust and repeat purchases.

As an aside, when I was working part-time, I would see small children every weekend, and I had the mysterious ability to accurately guess what size a child was wearing just by looking at them. (I probably no longer have that ability, though...)

While there is an increase in stylish, cute, and highly designed children's clothing, just like adult clothing, I realized that many people choose their everyday clothes and going-out clothes separately because they are far from being practical.

We've heard that children grow quickly and before you know it, they'll outgrow their favorite clothes in just one season, so it's great for both the household budget and the brand to have clothes that can be worn for as long as possible as they grow, with removable designs and other ingenious features.

In addition to the materials introduced this time, ApparelX carries a wide variety of other products, so please take a look.