I have an idea, was wondering if anyone can make suggestions

[TinkerBellesMumandFiFi2]

I was watching Dragon's Den and trying to dress my premature daughter, getting quite frustrated with her clothes and kind of put the two together.

Premature clothes are always scaled down versions of baby clothes and if you've ever seen/ had a premature baby you will know they're not scaled down versions, they are skinny. It took a long time with Tink for her to fit clothes in both directions, but it did get easier once she was into NB size.

One of my biggest frustrations is that you can't get socks, tights or booties to fit which puts most of the clothes out of the equation.

I joked on our premature forum that maybe we should petition shops to look at their sizing, but now I've been thinking a totally different way, make my own.

I have worked in a soft furnishing studio before going on to do fashion. I made a dress for the premature baby I lost as she was a similar size to Barbie but skinny baby proportions and thought about making Angel Baby clothes at the time but then had Tink and had too much else to do. I'm thinking if I did it I would do several stages:

• Special wear
• Angel clothes/ pockets/ mementoes
• Every day clothes (socks/ tights, baby grows, vests, proper clothes)
• Ex-prem clothes

I don't think there's a need for incubator clothes as there are plenty out there.

It's all stuff I've thought about at one stage or another and just pulled the ideas together now to make one. I wouldn't know where to start though, I can make most of those myself but wouldn't know how to go beyond that.

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I was thinking how fun it would be for MN to have it's own Dragon's Den but then I realised it does, it's called AIBU

Anyone have any ideas?

There are people doing some of this, but the fact that someone is already doing it shouldn't stop you, just find a different angle.

Don't be daunted by what you DON'T know. I'd start by creating a long list of questions that you need answered, and start working through them systematically. (You'll amaze yourself in a few months about how much progress you've made!).

You'll also want to do a rough estimate of your costs as soon as you can so you can decide whether to continue researching the idea or not.

Also be realistic about how much time you have to devote to the business. It'll determine how you approach this (wholesale/retail, DIY or outsourced).

Some of this might help. It's information on the Childrenswear industry:

www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpindustry/childrenswear/childrenswear.html

What a good idea this sounds. Having spent a bit of time browsing in the local maternity hospital shop the other day when I had to be admitted, I was struck by quite how inappropriate the premature baby clothes looked - like odd sorts of dolls' clothes, and quite cheap and nasty tbh. I imagine hospital shops are one of the key places people would look first for this stuff, as by definition they are going to be a bit less prepared for the new arrival than a full-term baby. So if you could produce a nice range of attractive stuff in cotton jersey that looked less like it had been put together for a WI dolls' stall I think you'd be onto a winner.

Also although my first baby was full term, she also looked skinny, and for the first few weeks the newborn size looked really odd on her, so there might be scope for a lean baby range later on perhaps (although that might be what you mean by ex-prem, of course).

It's not something that I will be able to dedicate sewing hours to as I have a bad back so can't manage it and I'd like to be able to produce more than I can do from a backroom, I also wouldn't be able to make socks and tights which are the worst offender. I'm trained in fashion from the bottom - I can design, pattern cut (make the pattern to make the clothes from) and make the clothes - so I can do a lot of things.

You've hit it Boffin, it's either been made by old ladies donating to the hospital and has that look to it or it's lovely stuff from Tesco/ Asda etc that's just scaled down so swamps them and at the same time as they're kicking the feet out the bottom!

Ex-prem clothes are going just into NB size and also I have some ideas I'd thought about putting onto Cafe Press that if I was making clothes I could do for myself.

Can you not just design it and then get it made up in China?

Another puzzling gap in the market is smart boys' clothes, btw. They have a lot less choice than girls and the majority of what is on sale is surf dude wear which they don't always feel like wearing. This would be my big fashion plan if I had any talent in this direction at all.

Good idea, not sure how I find someone in China though.

I will make up some prototypes and I need to survey prem babies to get some sizes before I do anything. Angel clothes etc would be made to order, I want to do christening/ blessing/ burial clothes. I know some people who bought a doll so they could use the clothes, I made my daughter's but not everyone can.