The Kickstarter That Changed Children's Clothing: How Princess Awesome Hit $56K in 2014

In April 2014 a viral kids-clothing Kickstarter overshot its $35,000 funding goal in 48 hours. By the time it closed, Princess Awesome had raised $56,127 from 1,177 backers across 32 countries — a record that has held in the children's apparel category. Here's how it happened.

The 18 months before

Rebecca Melsky was an elementary-school teacher and mother of a then-3-year-old daughter who was, in Rebecca's recounting, 'really into trucks.' She kept finding the truck dress she imagined existed didn't. She mentioned it to her friend Eva St. Clair, who had design and small-business experience. Across late 2012 and 2013, the two prototyped two dress designs (a dinosaur print, a planet print) using factories that would do small-batch runs.

They sold the first 300 units through a Facebook group and a small Etsy presence. The reception — and specifically the comments left by adult women describing what they wished they'd had as kids — convinced them the demand was bigger than two friends could fulfill on credit cards.

The 30-day campaign

The Kickstarter launched April 2, 2014, with a $35,000 funding goal. The video was 2 minutes and 17 seconds: Rebecca speaking to camera, Eva holding up sample dresses, and a voiceover from Rebecca's daughter saying 'I like rocket ships AND I like dresses.'

The campaign hit goal in 48 hours. Coverage from Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, The Atlantic, NPR, The New York Times, and Today Show all ran in the first week. The story angle was always the same: two moms, a market gap, a daughter's complaint, a record-breaking response.

What the data showed

When the campaign closed at $56,127, post-mortems ran in Inc. and Fast Company. The most-reported number wasn't the total — it was the demographic spread: roughly 40% of backers were women without children. Aunts, sisters, cousins, friends. The product was being purchased as a values statement, not just a wardrobe.

That insight — that the customer wasn't just 'a parent of a kid' but 'an adult buying for the kid in their life as a way of expressing what they want for that kid' — became the foundation of the brand's marketing for the next decade.

• $56,127 raised vs $35,000 goal — 160% of target
• 1,177 individual backers, 32 countries
• Average pledge: $47 (above industry $25–35 norm for children's apparel)
• ~40% of backers reported no children of their own at time of purchase

What's still true a decade later

By 2026, Princess Awesome & Boy Wonder has shipped over 700,000 garments, retains the #1 childrenswear Kickstarter record, and is still run day-to-day by the original two founders out of Maryland. The pocket rule was made public in 2018. The Boy Wonder sub-line launched in 2019 to address the inverse problem (boys want unicorns and pink). The product line has expanded to adult sizes, family-matching, and jewelry.

The company is unusual in the small-DTC space for two reasons: it never took outside venture capital, and it has remained profitable every year since 2016. Both founders still answer customer-service emails.