Perhaps the most recognizable of Eiseman’s design features are colorful appliqués, especially the iconic five-petal flower, like the loose appliqué flower at the waist of this early red, white, and blue dress. These fabric cutouts are carefully stitched onto her garments. Eiseman specialized in bold, graphic appliqués such as this sweet white lily applied to a blue dress. She kept them simple rather than “busy” so as to not compete with the beauty of the child wearing the garment. 

The clean, A-line shape of many of Eiseman’s garments is another signature feature.  Eiseman helped popularize this shape for girls long before it became an appealing choice for women’s dresses in the 1960s. Eiseman considered the style practical as well as attractive: she was fond of explaining that children did not have waists but had bellies. The A-line shape allowed girls to move more freely. 

Eiseman turned to art and history as key inspirations for her work. Garments inspired by paintings or reflecting knowledge of travel or worldliness lent an air of sophistication to the children who wore them and the parents who bought them. Historically inspired garments, whether looking to a painting by Renoir or an Edwardian sailor suit provided parents with fad-resistant timeless visions of childhood.