Some time ago I went through a phase where I was obsessed with getting neutral coloured clothes for my daughter, that is to say, no brightly coloured pinks, blues or yellows or anything sparkly, but more sophisticated greys, black and whites. For some reason a calmer, palette appealed to me. I felt there was no need to have cute cartoon characters on all of my daughter's clothes. I found that the more high end European lines tended to offer children's clothes without the blinding colours or sparkles that most of the mass-market lines do. Companies like Petit Bateau are notorious for classic, beautiful clothes and recently I was pleasantly surprised to come across some lesser-known companies with a similar aesthetic.
Tea Collection is great for interesting and beautifully made clothes at a reasonable price point and while Crewcuts, J.Crew's children's line, can be a little heavy on the tulle and sparkles, they carry beautiful, well-designed clothes as well. Their clothes are well-made and durable and evoke the whimsy of childhood. I also love the simple muted colours of Kit+Lili's and Aggie Hill's designs although I haven't purchased the clothes so cannot vouch for them. Polarn O. Pyret, a Scandinavian clothing company promotes itself as a unisex line, which I think is a brilliant idea, and uses blues, reds and yellows as their primary colours to great effect. I regularly scan the racks of Mini Boden's boys clothes to see if anything they carry will translate to my daughter. I love the idea of being able to buy one set of clothes to perhaps pass down or share between siblings regardless of gender.
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| Images: Carment Myard, Aggie Hill, Kit+Lili |
Recently, I have again found myself drawn again to classic, muted designs and I have to wonder whether there is something wrong with wanting to dress children in this manner? It's not to say that the clothes are too adult or inappropriate, it's just that they are not garish or bright or advertising the latest children's movie. I wonder whether parents who think like I do deprive their children of something, but then again perhaps I am just reading too much into it.
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