


Princess merchandise-dolls, clothing, games, home décor, toys-is a $5.5 billion enterprise and Disney’s second-most-profitable franchise, after Mickey Mouse. Since Walt Disney lumped Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and its other poofy-dressed ladies together under the brand Disney Princess in 2000, the market for all things pink and sparkly has skyrocketed.

Keeping a 3-year-old girl away from Disney’s princesses is a lot like trying to get through January without hearing about the Super Bowl. She knew about the so-called princess phase that little girls go through, but, she says, “I assumed it was something girls do when it’s thrust upon them.” She’s not even in preschool yet,” Keithler, 31, sighs. “I really didn’t think this would happen. Photographer: Sarah Anne Ward for Bloomberg Businessweek
