Do you remember Grananimals??

When I was little, my sister, Kittie & I loved to go shopping for Garanimal clothing with my mother. It was the most awesome way to pick out clothing for yourself. All you had to do was pick the same animal for the top and for the bottom and your clothes matched. I think there were different types of animal like zebras, hippos, giraffes, etc. The company was started in 1972, the same year I was born!

I asked my sister a couple of years ago if Garanimals were still made, because I wanted to introduce my kids to them, and apparently they are. Although they went out of business for a while, they were actually relaunched in 2008. I have yet to see the new Garanimals, but have found my own version right here in Germany.

I love to go shopping and decided that I was going to buy real outfits for my daughter this year, no flee market finds, no hand-me-downs. She had an abundance of clothing in the past, and I just wanted to get her a few new really good outfits that she could mix and match herself. I found a really cool store that provided me with the "Garanimal - mix and match" feel. It is just too bad, there aren't those cute little animal tags on the tops and bottoms for the clothing that she could pick them out herself.

It was just too cute this morning when my daughter came to us in a different mix and match outfit of brown tights, patchwork skirt, brown top and fur west and told her papa that everything matched (in DEnglish).

If you are interested in learning more about Garanimals check it out here at Wikepedia.

As a designer thinking about Garanimals, is this my approach to patchwork design? Do I take the matching colors and fabrics from a standard fabric collection or line and stay within that frame to make everything match or do I challenge myself? How do you do it? Do you prefer the "garanimal approach" to quilt design or do you put together your own? I would like to hear from you and know what you think?