Whimsical Kids' Clothing

Friday 8 January 2010

Feeling a tad whimsical about the growth spurting of my children of late. I'm actually enjoying them now more than ever (aged 9 and nearly 7) but it's when I come across sites like Olive's Friend Pop that I am plummeted back into the early days of utter cuteness.

Sigh. If only Olive's Friend Pop had been around when my Ella was small enough to wear this clothing. Can you even wrap the synapses of your brain around how perfectly beautiful this clothing is? It's just the kind that makes you squeal a bit.

On that note - what's going on with clothing for girls aged 9 to 12? I've just custom ordered some clothing for Ella from MissChief Maker recently - remakes of clothing made for much younger kids (young in size, not style) - because I've visited every store in town and have consistently come home with eyes so sore, it was like they'd been poked with an ugly-fashion stick.

If I see one more Hannah, vampire, Britney or bedazzled, matchypoopoo outfit for girls in this age bracket, I'll run screaming to the sewing machine and start a darn label myself. Who wants their nine-year-old to look like an 18-year-old reprobate, for goodness sake? My daughter is going horseriding or to the movies, not to a sold-out rock concert.

I AM OVER IT.

There are plenty of amazing independent labels producing incredibly beautiful (and appropriate) clothing for children aged 0 to 6 years old. I recently custom ordered a tunic style dress from beautiful label www.tillytom.com.au for Ella - in a size 9. Tillytom is a beautiful line but once again, it's aimed at little ones.

Why can't someone produce gorgeous clothing for older kids? Something with a little maturity but also fun, colour and whimsy. A tad retro, a spiff modern, a wee bit fabulous.

Let me tell you something for nothing... they would make a fortune. I can rattle off the names of ten girlfriends right now who have also complained of this tween clothing phenomenon. Sure, Country Road, Fred Bare, Seed, Big by Fiona Scanlan and other designer labels produce some gorgeous items for older kids, but they are thin on the ground (or a wee bit pricey), which has left a great hulking gap in the market for tweens.

Can someone fill it? PLEASE?? I'll be first in line.

7 comments:

Elizabeth said...

check out bella bliss.com and littleenglish.com i think their sizes go up to a size 12. i buy most of my daughters clothes from these lines. they are both kentucky based companies, which is where i live and an added bonus in my book:)

i agree with you on things looking like kids are going to rock concerts. even for babies they have things with lots of embellishments, leopard prints....ugh!

Tania McCartney said...

Thanks for the tip, Elzabeth, but alas, I live in Australia not the States. Nonetheless, it would probably be cheaper buying clothes from ths States, including shipping! Can't resist checking these stores out just in case...

Market Girl said...

Oh Tania, is my house bugged have you been listening in to my conversations..... hey that reminds me of some of your book and how you thought your Ayi was listening to you (guess what I did over Christmas?) Oh and loved every minute of it xx
I cannot believe how limited and yuck the fashion for my size 12 Ella is. I was just telling Rachel how she needs to start making bigger sizes.
Lets start making some noise on this hey?
xx

Tania McCartney said...

Absolutely Jules! I am on a Gorgeous Clothes for Tweens mission!!! x

Miss Silver Spoon Vintage said...

Hi Tania, what a fantastic blog you have! Thankyou for the mention of my little label that is slowly growing into something much bigger I hope! I think you have inspired me to make a few select items for the tweens - this is not the first time I have had a request such as yours for the size 9 tunic and I really ought to make a few more I think! Stay tuned as i am having a new website designed where you can buy direct through that - about another month or so away yet. Hope you and your daughter love the tunic : )

Tania McCartney said...

Hi Anna! Lovely to hear from you and PLEASE let us know when you are online and we can shop for size 9 items! LOVE the gorgeous tunic you made for Ella - shall post a pic of her in it when we're back from hols. Happy sewing!!!

Anonymous said...

I like it very much!

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