By Allison Shirk
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) “Mitt & Maddie” founder Anna Mittelstadt describes her style as a blend of the versatility of the Northeastern look with the femininity and charm of Southern style.
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.
Anna Mittelstadt, Chattanooga resident and founder of the Anna Victoria women’s clothing line, has launched a new children’s clothing brand inspired by her young nephew, Mitt.
The 28-year-old Girls Preparatory School and Auburn University graduate said that after her nephew was born a year ago, she and her sister noticed there were few, high-quality clothing options for children at an affordable price.
Mittelstadt began designing and the new clothing line, called “Mitt & Maddie,” launched with prices starting at $36 for boy’s shorts.
“The highest price is $63 for a girl’s dress, and we are trying to cap it around there,” Mittelstadt said.
Always interested in fashion, Mittelstadt, a Hixson resident who grew up in Connecticut, describes her style as a blend of the versatility of the Northeastern look with the femininity and charm of Southern style, which she fell in love with after moving to Chattanooga in high school.
After graduating with a degree in apparel design from Auburn, Mittelstadt said she chose to start her business in Chattanooga because she felt the entrepreneurial spirit here was growing. She previously operated out of the Business Development Center in North Chattanooga.
AOL founder and entrepreneur Steve Case said in Chattanooga last month that he’d heard “the buzz” about Chattanooga, including stories of EPB’s ultra-fast internet and the city’s Innovation District that’s drawing talent and capital.
The city was one of five stops in his latest Rise of the Rest seed fund tour, in which Case’s group heard pitches from eight Chattanooga startups for money. He awarded $100,000 to the logistics startup FreightWaves.
From blue drawstring shorts with sailboat designs to a pleated pink dress with pineapples on it, Mittelstadt said all Mitt and Maddie styles are made in Chattanooga and come in sizes 3-6 months to six years. While Mitt & Maddie didn’t launch until after Mitt was born, Mittelstadt said the idea started to form when she and her sister, Emma, were looking through old boxes of children’s clothes her mother kept from when she and her sister were young.
Mittelstadt said they noticed her mother only kept the high-quality outfits.
“We are really aiming at a market for people looking for those nice quality pieces that you can pass down from kid to kid and keep in those boxes that they can then pass onto their kids,” she said.
Mittelstadt works with a range of contractors for the production, sale and promotion of her designs. Anna Victoria designs can be found at retailers throughout the Southeast, including Abbey Lane in Chattanooga. Her designs can also be found at stores in South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama and Virginia.
Mittelstadt said Mitt and Maddie designs will be updated online on a “regular, rolling basis.” To view the clothing, visit mittandmaddie.com or follow them on Instagram at @mittandmaddie.
Mittelstadt’s women’s clothing line can also be viewed online at annavictoriadesign.com.
