Style for Children

NICE

With Christmas preparations on our minds, I have been reminiscing about holidays past. I remember getting a special dress for the festivities when I was somewhere between five and seven. Those were the days of velvet and lace, certainly not the most practical fabrics for children opening gifts and eating cookies. I remember having a dark green velvet dress with a lace collar. It would have been a child's A-line, not as fitted as the adult version. I would classify this dress as the starting point of my passion for sheath dresses.

Carmin Girl Dress
Photo Source: La Coqueta Kids

This dress is similar to the style of the one in my memories except that mine had 3/4 length sleeves. Europeans still dress their children like children. This particular dress could have been around for the past 75 years. The company La Coqueta Kids was developed by an English woman in Spain.

In October of 2017 we visited Logrono, Spain; and more interesting than women's clothing was the way children were dressed. Take a look at LaCoquetaKids for an overview of what I mean. This clothing is designed for children, unlike what I sometimes see in Canada or the United States. It seems that in North America, children are being dressed in miniature versions of provocative teen or adult clothing and that just is wrong. There is a good article in Psychology Today on trashy dressing and why our daughters are choosing to dress this way. It's one thing for teenagers to go through this type of dressing and quite another when mothers are choosing trashy clothing for six year olds.

Indigo Girl Dress
Photo Source: La Coqueta Kids

On a civic holiday in Logrono, I saw a toddler and a six year old dressed in matching skirts and pullover sweaters. They were adorable. I wanted to take a photo but felt that it was too intrusive on the family and did not even want to ask. I did not take the photo. This was the look except the skirts were denim and the pullovers were that amber gold colour with blues woven in to the upper quarter of the sweater. I remember the shoes being a similar colour as the ones in the photo but there was a dark blue edge running along the upper above the lacing. I already wrote that they were adorable but there is no better word to describe their dress and disposition.

When shopping for a Christmas outfit or any outfit for your little ones, forget the tulle and itchy fabrics with satin ribbons and rosebud appliqués or trashy neon mini-skirts. Instead go for classic styling just like you might for yourself.