Mom’s ‘modern throwback’ dress collection celebrates girlhood, innocence of times past

Inspired by her five daughters, Joelle Smith crafted a dress line and online boutique she hopes captures the innocence, beauty, and whimsical spirit of young girls — even though hers are now grown.

Girls in dresses by Simply Sweet; photo by Anna Petrow, courtesy of Simply Sweet

“When they were little girls, I loved watching them put on a dress and just light up and then twirl and play in that dress and how it changes their whole attitude and mood,” the owner of Simply Sweet explained. “I want every little girl to feel really special in these dresses when they put them on — but not only the little girls — the moms that are watching them, too.”

Launched this summer, the Mission Hills-based business debuted five styles of dresses — each named after one of Smith’s daughters — in two colorways, with sizes ranging from 3 to 6 months to 6T. Simply Sweet also offers matching hand-crafted floral hair accessories, which Smith originally started making and selling in 2012.

“Girlhood is such a short-lived time and I feel like we somehow have gotten away from all of that,” Smith said, noting society has gone casual and isn’t dressing up for events like in the past. “Let them be little; let them play; and let them twirl and make memories. Soak all that in. So my girls have inspired me with that.”

Each dress design, she noted, is as unique as the daughter who it’s named after and features her signature ballerina bow.

“They’re not cookie cutter,” she continued. “They’re really sweet and have a lot of character and charm in them with — not only the prints — but also the details; the buttons and the ruffles and little pockets that you don’t see on all the other dresses that are out there.”

“They’re just a modern interpretation of throwback,” she added.

Holiday fabric designs from Simply Sweet; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

In mid-October — just in time for holiday photos — Smith plans to release a holiday collection, which will feature custom-designed fabrics in classic red and green, as well as pastel pink and green with a whimsical Nutcracker-themed print.

“I struggled to find fabrics that I really liked,” she added. “So going forward, a lot of the fabric that I’m going to be using is going to have my artwork on it, including the holiday collection.”

Simply styled headbands

In 2012, Smith launched Simply Sweet and started making hand-crafted floral hair accessories, marketing them toward newborn photographers.

Joelle Smith, Simply Sweet; photo courtesy of Simply Sweet

“I was a stay-at-home mom with my little ones and just wanted a little supplemental income,” she explained. “So I started an Etsy shop.”

Once moms started to see her headbands in the newborn photo shoots, she continued, the business took off.

“It kind of evolved into a legitimate business — one I wasn’t quite prepared for at the time,” she said. “But I ramped up and I got there.”

Even before the pandemic hit, Smith started to face a little burnout, she admitted, and was struggling to keep up with the demand. So she decided to pare back her offerings and just focus on wholesale orders. The pandemic then forced her to take a break and reimagine the business.

“The dream was always to go into dresses,” she explained, “because many of the headbands — once the moms got word of them — were made to match these really beautiful, boutique-style dresses. And it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can do that someday.’”

Matching opportunity with passion

She quit her full-time job at the end of 2022 and started building the business in 2023. It officially launched this summer.

“It’s always been a long-time passion of mine and I’m just now getting there to see it come to life,” she added.

Smith said she has big plans to grow the business by adding “momma-match” pieces in 2025 and doing more popups and events.

“It’s really hard to appreciate it when it’s online, but the people who came by our launch party or who have been fit models or have seen them firsthand know the beauty and appreciate the work going into it,” she noted.

As for her daughters — now ages 13 to 30 — who first ignited her passion, Smith shared, they are now cheering her and Simply Sweet on like crazy.

“Even in moments where I start to doubt myself — as you know we all do — and I am out there comparing myself to other brands already,” she explained, “they’re showing me how different I am and how standout I am and why it’s so great. It’s just so awesome to have that support from those young ladies who have inspired it.”

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