At a time we’re seeing some of our favorite small artists abandon Etsy for their own storefronts, we’re thrilled to see one of our all-time favorite makers, Courtney Courtney, back there again, giving us one more place to shop in addition to the Courtney Courtney shop on Big Cartel. Kristen and I may each own more of her amazing handmade dresses for our kids than anyone else in the world, and every day our kids put them on it gives us joy.
While other artists have tried the whole upcycled t-shirts turned into dresses thing, no one we’ve ever seen does it quite as well as Courtney Chu. Those knock-off artists on Etsy? Step back, girl. Not fooling anyone.
It’s Courtney’s exquisite eye for color and pattern, her sense of texture (every piece is the perfect amount stretchy and soft), her playful spirit, and then her remarkable sewing skills that really make these dresses a treasure. The details are amazing. Some even include her own silkscreened designs printed on some of the panels, including numbers (perfect for birthday dresses!), moustaches, pineapples, ballet slippers, stars, vintage cars–you name it. And the new dresses and rompers with fringe up the size? My girls are swooning.
As if I haven’t raved enough, I should add that the sizing is awesome too. My kids wear them literally for years; they transition perfectly from long-ish dresses, to tunics over leggings or jeans; and my nine-year-old even wears the summer dresses over long-sleeved tees in colder weather.
This is a shop where you want to check back often, because might even be lucky enough to find one featuring concert tour tee imagery, a cool team logo, or a vintage travel t-shirt motif from Yosemite or the Carolina coast.
In fact, she can hardly keep her dresses in stock, so if you see one you love in your kid’s size, 0-12, grab it now. Every single upcycled creation of Courtney’s is one-of-a-kind, and once it’s gone you’ll never see that exact one again.
Unless you’re Kristen and me. Because her youngest daughters are now wearing the dresses my daughters have outgrown, and I still get to see them on Instagram.
Check out the Courtney Courtney Etsy shop and also see lots of choices at the Courtney Courtney shop on Big Cartel. And visit her Facebook page for a fun heads-up about new thrifting hauls and future designs.
