Ethical, stylish, alternative, interesting and educational? Kirstin Innes meets the
designers behind the saintliest children’s clothing companies in the country
remember reading an article
written by a mother so
horrified at the state of modern children‘s fashions that she had begun dressing her children in velveteen and knickerbockers. Her complaint is not uncommon. Finding clothes that are practical. original. relatively cheap and properly childish seems to be increasingly difficult. and the
problem increases tenl‘old il“
you‘re an ethical shopper. Fortunately. two new children‘s clothing companies have come up with solutions to the problem.
‘We saw a gap in the market.’
says Chloe Highmore. one hall' of
Glasgow-based design company Petit Pea. ‘There‘s either all that pink and blue traditional stuff or slogan T-shirts which can be funny for adults to read but don’t offer the kids themselves anything? Highmore and her business partner Laura Jacobs came up with the idea behind their company after Jacobs realised she couldn‘t find the sort of clothes she wanted to 'dress her own baby. Max. in. ‘We want to make timeless clothes: classic. but not stifiingly traditional. Children should be allowed to be children — not dressed up as miniature adults.~
42 m: LIST 2—9 Aug 2007
Armed with a starter loan Iron] Business (iateway. they catnc up with a set ol~ simple T—shirt prints and woollen designs. commissioned ethical clothing companies and small Scottish knitwear businesses to produce the clothes. and set about sourcing organic lambswool and cotton from l'airly traded farms. The simplicity and charm ol‘ the line struck a chord with parents and stockists alike. and they now
supply to children‘s shops all oyer
the UK. as well as internationally.
Petit I’ea‘s T-shirt designs also hark back to the Victorian age. but it's the whimsy ol' Lewis (‘arroll rather than the rul‘l‘les of Little Lord Fauntleroy that interest them.
‘The picture on each 'l‘-shirt has a little story behind it. which is printed on the cotton bags they
‘CHILDREN SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BE CHILDREN - NOT DRESSED UP AS MINIATURE ADULTS'
cotne in. It‘s important to us that the images we use really appeal to children. and we want to help them with language as well. 'We'yc created stories about lions. trees. bikes things that are easy to recognise. ()ur designs are fun. whimsical. a little bit surreal. and definitely not too serious.’ Iix~pat Liy'crpudlian Allison Jones. who runs Lark Made l‘rotn her home in the .»\ustralian hush. approaches the ethical angle
slightly dil‘l‘erently. IIer range ol'
smocks. skirts and tops are all made l'rom recycled \intagc l‘abrics in fairly contemporary shapes. There‘s a dotly‘ retro quality to Lark’s products. which include hand-knitted toys and homcwear created with illustrations l'rom I95lls picture books.
‘I grew up with home-made clothes and toys. and the Lark range has a lot of my childhood in it ~ that sort oI‘ knitted Ilumpty doll aesthetic. ()ne of my proudest
childhood moments was haying a design l'caturcd on (kids ntaga/inc pt'ogt‘antmcl ll/iy' lbw 'I Inn."
Petit Pea: www.petit- pea.co.uk. Lark Made: www.larkmade.com. In Edinburgh, Petit Pea is available from Gertrude and Lily on Broughton Street, and Lark can be found at Blossoms and Blessings on St John’s Road, Corstorphine. Both ranges are also stocked by Fifi & Ally, Princes Square.