Step 1: Create attributes that will be configurable by the user – for our example they will be Size, Color and Gender. Notice the “Catalog Input Type” is set to dropdown – this is required for the attribute to be compatible with configurable products. The Scope is also set to Global. When both of these settings are configured in this manner, the Use To Create Configurable Product dropdown will appear. This must be set to Yes. Required is also set to “Yes”.  In order for a Simple Product to be associated to a Configurable Product, it must have a value for all configurable attributes, so making it required ensures that you will remember to add a value for this attribute for all Simple Products. The attribute “Color” and “Gender” will be set up exactly the same, only the Labels/Options page is changed.

You can click here to view more How to create an attribute for product in Magento.

Labels/Options: How the size/color/gender options and their sort order have been entered below:

Step 2: Create the attribute set that will be assigned to the variant products – for our example, we’ll call it “Shirts Other”. Go to “Catalog >> Attributes >> Manage Attribute Sets” and press “Add New Set”.

Continue to the next page. Drag two attributes into a new group which is called “Shirt Attributes”:

Step 3: Create simple products.

  1. Navigate to “Catalog >> Manage Products”. Press “New Product”
  2. Create a Simple Product based on the “Shirts Other” attribute set