As the mother of two baby girls I was THRILLED when one of the owners of Piccadilly reached out and told me about their new venture into the world of bespoke children’s dresses. As an avid anglophile I was ELATED to hear the name of the company … hellllooooooo London I miss you and can’t wait to see you again! #piccadillycircus4life
I was so excited when they asked me to take some content photos for their fall release but I was EQUALLY excited to hear about a new local place to buy unique handmade dresses for my girls!! (I can hear my husband rolling his eyes through my computer right now … whatever Drew they NEED these dresses … I promise).
All of Piccadilly’s dresses are HAND SEWN and made locally right here in Charlotte, NC. I don’t know about you but I love supporting local businesses (especially in 2020) and I love owning things that are one of a kind and unique.
Their fall collection will be a small batch release with only 4 patterns to choose from in limited size runs. I sat down with one of the owners, Courtney Pugh to ask her a few questions about the brand and what we can expect to see from Piccadilly this fall/winter and into the spring!
What inspired you to create Piccadilly?
We call it “accidental” inspiration because creating Piccadilly was more about fortuitous timing than something really planned. A little like the way we all met! A chance meeting in London introduced two of the three founders (thus the name) and like any classic American trip abroad…one came home and married the other’s son. Who doesn’t love a modern day arranged marriage?! Our third founder at the time was running a successful bow-tie business and thriving as an entrepreneur. She also plays the role of daughter and sister-in-law in our trio to complete our family owned business. Fast forward six years…add babies, and a passion for beautiful, quality clothing and here we are. Piccadilly was created to fill a market space in children’s clothing we couldn’t find ourselves. Something posh and playful. Classic and different. Southern and European. Our mission is to give our customers beautiful clothing and the freedom to let their littles LIVE in it! Our dresses are handmade, 100% cotton, and machine-washable…so leave the stresses with other dresses and come play in Piccadilly.
Who is your ideal customer?
Our target audience right now are girls ages 12M-4T. The dresses are designed with a tie in the back, intended to adjust as your child grows. We know how frustrating it is searching for children’s clothing that lasts, only to be back on the hunt the following season. We hope we can help with that for at least two seasons. The dresses are beautiful on their own in warmer months, but can easily be layered to work year-round.
What are some of your favorite brands? Any brand idols?
Our girl crushes?! How much time do you have? We’re unique because our style isn’t the traditional southern smock, or ultra-trendy…we’re somewhere in the middle. That’s a special place to be because we get to appreciate a broad range of designers. Some of our favorites are Ellie Fox, Bambam Kids, Little English, and Dondolo.
What is your favorite thing about the Piccadilly dress design?
The versatility of this dress makes it really great. We designed a few sample dresses this summer to test the market, and we had one customer share that this was her go-to for long summer days where kids are going from camps, to the pool, then over to friend’s houses, etc. It really is the easiest thing to throw on, but they still look like they’re ready for family portraits in an hour. That’s the sweet spot we want to be in!
What kinds of things can we look forward to from Piccadilly in the future?
This Fall we debuted our first mini-collection and we were blown away by the response. Our strategy was to launch through social media, then scale as needed and we can already see we’ll be in for a busy Spring. We’ll be participating in a trunk show in Charleston on December 4th at Out of Hand in the Old Village, then it’s on to sourcing new patterns for Spring! We’re thrilled to have this chance to work together, creating these beautiful pieces and we can’t wait to show you what we have planned for next year.
Thank you to Piccadilly for letting me be part of your new journey into entrepreneurship! Let’s show these local Charlotte entrepreneurs some love and go give them a follow over on instagram. For inquiries and ordering your custom Piccadilly dress email dresspiccadilly@gmail.com
PS: The bows on the back are my favorite part but I just KNEW I would never be able to replicate that perfection … luckily for me (and you) Piccadilly has a bow tutorial saved to their highlights on their instagram.
