Clothing Design Software for Children
Clothing design software for children has been popular for over a decade, as pint-sized aspiring fashion designers enjoy creating their own ensembles and printing out their looks to show off to friends and family. Various software programs can also provide a quiet-time break for kids with a lot of energy to spare--fostering their imaginations and keeping hands busy.
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History
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Today's fashion design programs come from a lineage of software titles that have been developed for over a decade. From the archaic first programs that allowed kids minimal creative options, to today's hot sellers featuring iconic kids' personalities like Barbie to help your child design an endless array of items, fashion design programs have been a hit with kids (little girls especially) for the past couple of generations. In fact, many of the newest generation of fashion designers can often reminiscence about the time they spent imagining on their computer as a youngster.
Significance
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Computer programs are often not popular with parents, as they can be very similar to other sedentary pastimes such as watching TV. But computer programs that command creativity and brain power, such as those with fashion design titles, can foster many important attributes. You will find the significance in such a program as you see your child's self-esteem and creativity grow, as well as encouraging a future dream. Kids who play with these programs also learn valuable computer skills, including typing and navigation. Finally, it will hold their interest long enough to teach them how to complete a task and be proud of an accomplishment.
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Features
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A computer clothing-design software program will often include a few different computer-generated models, as well as different categories of clothing from hats to shoes, that kids can choose from. There may be a narrator or "helper," such as the one found on Barbie Fashion Designer, that guides kids and brings life to the program. In the more popular programs, the clothes can usually be printed out either to display on the fridge, use on paper dolls or even tack onto regular dolls.
Barbie and American Girls
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Two of the programs featuring popular childhood characters and many activities are Barbie and American Girls, both manufactured by Mattel.
Barbie Fashion Designer is a CD-Rom that can be played on most operating systems, and features Barbie, the queen of the make-believe fashion world. Kids will join Barbie in designing countless outfits, and then use a special printer-friendly fabric that allows you to print out your creations and make actual clothes for Barbie. Choose from party dresses, career wear, wedding gowns and more.
American Girls Dress Designer allows girls to create historically accurate clothing for each of the American Girl dolls. The clothes can then be printed out to resemble paper doll clothes. (The program comes with six printable dolls.) A story is told with each outfit, so kids get a dose of history while creating.
Warning
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Remember to check for the system requirements before purchasing, as some programs will not run on very old computers, while others are too new for certain software. You will also want to ensure the program is age-appropriate so your child can have fun learning. It may also be worth your while to check online for screenshots of the software before buying, as the box cover rarely represents what the actual models and clothes look like.
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References
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- Photo Credit dress up image by Lisa Eastman from Fotolia.com
