Little Sleepies: The magic (and the mom!) behind the raved-about brand

Search almost any online mom group for the brand Little Sleepies and there’s a good chance you’ll find a glowing testimonial, a victorious announcement about having snagged a coveted drop, or a skeptical ask if they’re really as incredible as other moms make them out to be. (The resounding answer? YES.)

Launched in 2018 by Maradith Frenkel, a movie executive who had recently become a second-time mom, Little Sleepies was born out of her new baby’s own specific needs. He was struggling with eczema, and nothing seemed to be working. “At a certain point I wondered, were his cotton sleepers making his skin worse? It seemed like they were. And so I went on this crazy deep research dive as I do, and discovered the benefits of bamboo fabric and how great it was supposed to be for eczema and sensitive skin. I was really shocked because at the time there was almost no clothing on the market for baby in bamboo.” 

Frenkel spent the next two years researching and developing a fabric and fit, and from the very first Zippy samples, she was obsessed. “I decided to do a small production run and see. Are other moms gonna be obsessed with this too? When I launched it, I quit my film job. I had this production run in my garage and the plan was–I’m gonna give it nine months.” 

With no marketing dollars–just word of mouth through family and friends–she sold out in just three weeks and amassed a waiting list of thousands. 

Fast forward to today and their supremely soft sleep sets have what can only be called a cult-following. Their super-dedicated fan base (including celebrities like Serena Williams, Chrissy Teigen and Kim Kardashian and a VIP Facebook group of over 211K enthusiasts) means snagging a pair of Little Sleepies can sometimes feel like getting tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. 

What makes Little Sleepies pajamas so special?

The signature Lunaluxe fabric

There’s a number of reasons Little Sleepies are so loved. For starters, the fabric. A proprietary, custom-milled blend of bamboo viscose they call Lunaluxe, it’s incredibly soft and stretchy which is exactly what you want in children’s garments. (If you have a kiddo who’d complain their clothes were scratchy even if they were wearing a literal cloud, you feel me.) It’s also lightweight and breathable, and somehow holds up wash after wash–more so than the competition according to so many reviews I lost count. (It also makes them great hand-me-downs and keeps the reselling market hot!)

Their oh-so-adorable patterns

Who can resist a fun, colorful pattern? From seasonal holiday pajamas for the whole crew, to sweet and silly limited edition prints dropped every week like Grill & Chill or Retro Rollerskates, and even licensed characters like Star Wars and Disney, they’re a hit with both kids and parents alike. (Fun fact! Most pairs feature a cute little sleepy eye character somewhere in the print–a detail I personally adore.) According to Frenkel, “My goal for all of our prints basically is to inspire joy. We think about things that kids love and that kids can engage with. That’s really the big driver.” (And don’t worry, there are plenty of neutrals for the minimalist mamas out there!!)

The long-lasting fit

But the true magic is in the fit of their hero piece, The Zippy. Between the stretch of the fabric and a foldover design at the wrists and feet, they’re designed to last up to three times longer than traditional styles. (No joke, one mom in their Facebook group shared a photo of their 2.5-year-old wearing her baby brother’s size 3 month Zippy and shockingly, it didn’t look ridiculous. It even zipped!) Their two-piece sets are also designed with extra length to extend their lifetime as well. Since kids seem to grow inches overnight, it’s a huge bonus to have clothes they can wear longer than five minutes.

How Frenkel balances motherhood and starting a brand from scratch

While it’s true that necessity is the mother of invention, it’s also true that few groups of people are more inventive than mothers—especially when it comes to solving the needs of parenthood. That said, juggling motherhood and launching a successful brand is no small feat. How does Frenkel manage? Balance and giving herself some well-deserved grace. “I am a very obsessive person. So when I’m doing something, I’m all in. And so I would say, I’m like that when I’m working and I’m like that when I’m with my kids,” says Frenkel. “But I do think, what they say is true. Something is always gonna be neglected. You can’t ever handle it all. But my kids are absolutely my inspiration, the most important thing in my life.” 

She also bring her kids into the process. “They inspire me with print ideas and silhouettes for play–things that I know that they would love. They’re like my own little focus group. And like little art directors. They give me notes on print.”

Let’s just say, if the legions of fans are any indication, they’re all doing an amazing job. 

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