Kids Fashion Fair Pop-Up Vendor Spotlight: Tiny Whales
LA's first Fashion Mamas x Kids Fashion Fair pop-up shop officially opens at Platform Culver City on December 1st! To celebrate, over the next few days we're shining a light on the amazing brands that you'll be able to shop at our five-day concept space.
Tiny Whales knows how to have fun with fashion. Dreamed up in Southern California, this cool kids clothing brand strives to make stylish pieces that your little ones will love so much, they'll actually request them during that morning dressing struggle. (Mamas know what we're talking about!) We love this brand's creative options for both girls and boys (their pint-sized beanies and trucker hats are also a must), and we can't wait to welcome them to our pop-up! Here, Tiny Whales co-founder Brittany Wagoner gives us the scoop on her rapidly-growing label.
What inspired you to launch your brand and what were you doing before?
The inspiration for Tiny Whales came from the birth of our first nephew in 2006. His parents were young and hip and they wanted to dress him just like dad, yet all we could find was clothing covered in dump trucks and baseballs. There was this huge void in the market for cool baby and toddler clothing at that time, especially for boys. So, we started to take cues from men's fashion and set out to translate those designs in a way that was smart and fun yet still age-appropriate, something that would resonate with all the new hip parents we knew.
Shaun had been running the family screen-printing business and he had a real working knowledge of design and production. I, on the other hand, had been working as a stylist but was not settled in my work or the lifestyle. I spent years vacillating in my career, jumping from one job to the next, which looked something like: Vidal Sassoon, Hollywood, Paris Hilton's house, Gerard Butler in my shampoo bowl post 300 french-kissing his pug while chain-smoking and chugging Diet Cokes, Old Money Corona Del Mar, 1-Year Hiatus, Small Town PNW — and that's just the short of it!
Tiny Whales was a much-needed outlet and hobby to please my need to be creative during those crazy and indecisive years, but it soon turned into a passion and then a full-time job for the both of us. Thank god!
Capture the essence of your brand in one sentence:
We make the clothes they'll refuse to take off!
What is your favorite piece in your collection right now?
We had a lot of fun learning about new dye treatments this year. All of our pieces are garment dyed which gives them a super soft, lived in feel from the first moment you put them on. We wanted to expand on that so we introduced some really cool hand-splattered pieces this season. The "Cosmic Unicorn" dress and "Lost Boys Club" sweatshirt feature that treatment and they are so awesome and unique!
Who is your dream client?
Our dream client is the kid who feels like our clothing and graphics speak to who they are. When we sell to a mom or dad or an auntie and they say to us "This is perfect, it's so him" or "It's like it was made for her!", that's so satisfying to us. We want our pieces to be their favorite because we remember what that was like, to have that one top or that one dress that you'd dig through the dirty hamper for. The one you just had to wear day and night. We want to make that, for that kid.
If your brand was a song, what song would it be?
"Forever Young" by Bob Dylan. We believe in growing up without growing old!
Shop Tiny Whales here, follow them on Instagram here, and catch them at our Kids Fashion Fair pop-up shop from December 1st through December 5th!