Lilibet effect! First photo of Meghan and Harry’s toddler boosts business for mother-owned boutique

As fans fawn over the lace headband Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter Lilibet wore for her birthday photoshoot, a mother-owned business rumoured to have made the accessory is experiencing a boost in sales.

The duke and duchess of Sussex released the photo of their daughter following their family’s visit to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee celebrations over the weekend.

For Lilibet’s birthday party on 4 June, she was surrounded by close friends and family of the Sussexes at the Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. Her parents said that they have been “incredibly touched” by the many birthday wishes they’ve received for Lilibet.

The photograph of the child, taken by family friend and photographer Misan Harriman, showed her in a pale blue dress, as she sat on the grass and smiled for the camera.

For accessories, she had a headband with a white lace bow on it in her hair. On Twitter, fashion finder account, Found by Bojana, revealed Lilibet’s headband appears to have been designed by Village Baby, a small business owned by three mothers.

“NEW FIND! Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, the daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wore the ‘Lily’ Lace Bow Headband designed and crafted by @villagebabyshop, a small business run by three mothers,” the account wrote.

Fans have continued to praise Prince Harry and Markle for supporting a local business, before acknowledging that they were going to begin buying from Village Baby themselves.

It’s a simplistic beautiful headband that  #Lilibet is wearing,” they wrote. “It is good to follow another  business  that the Sussexs  support. I am already looking and I see a lot of things I like.”

“Good on Meg, always supporting and highlighting women owned businesses,” another fan wrote. “POC owned businesses, and those that donate proceeds to charitable causes or otherwise work to make the world a better place. Lili looks beautiful!”

A third person said: “Sold out in 3 2 1.....”

As noted on the store’s site, “The Lace Bow for Babies and Big Girls: Lily,” can fit children between the ages of approximately 2 months to four years old.

The description of the item reads: “Each bow is hand tied and can either come on a stretchy one-size-fits-all nylon headband OR a non-slip alligator clip. This bow is secured so it won’t come undone and won’t fray!”

Regarding Lilibet’s headband, Village Baby co-founder Alexis Mattox told The Independent that while the toddler’s accessory has the same design and material as the small business’ headband, she cannot confirm if it is their product or not.

However, Mattox still acknowledged how more customers have since purchased the headband, after the release of Lilibet’s photo.

“We have had more interest in the bow,” she said. “Publicity for the bow itself and increasing sales for it has been great.”

Village Baby was first established in 2018 by three mothers, as noted by its official website, “who know just how wonderful and challenging having a baby (or babies) can be”. Some other items the shop sells include hats, multipurpose covers, and blankets.

Speaking to The Independent, Mattox expressed how inspired she was to start her business with her two co-founders, Kelli and Meggie, as they’re all working mothers.

“​​It takes a village,” she said. “We’re three moms that help each other and support each other, and we wanted to create baby products to show that support.”