That'll be my kid...

The paradox between what you should do and what you want to do in your kid's wardrobe. Early lessons in wearing black.

I think it is fair to say every one of us has something black in our wardrobe. For some it’s a day-to-day uniform that minimises any thought process, for others it’s subject to occasion, some dress it up, some keep it casual. All while there is an age-old myth that lingers in the air questioning if we can dress our kids or, gasp, a baby in black. It comes back to the style genes of inherited taste, if you wear black it’s just a natural extension of their mum (or dad), nothing wrong with that? I love looking at how kids are dressed across different cultures, derailing any noise from trends and must haves, a simple authentic wardrobe driven by what their families know and love. Black woven into outfits instinctively reminds me of Parisian women insouciance extending to the way they dress their own kids. Apparently “French kids follow their parents, not just fashion trends.” Now that is right up my street.

Titled early lessons in wearing black, I actually mean anything but a lesson or a dressing rule, I hate them for any wardrobe. I prefer the natural influence, French kids following their parents, young naivety during the stage when kid’s actually want to copy their mum and dad. I’ve been told they grow out of that very quickly. (I’m ready for you Sonny, prepped for the day you want to start picking your own outfits). The general, less debatable, stance I naturally adopted was the idea that classic styles and classic colour palettes don’t need to be drastically altered for a kid’s wardrobe; their own personality comes shining through in the way they are paired together as an outfit. Size-wise simply shrinking our style of clothes for kid’s comes with a major, albeit personal, caveat; the furthest thing from a mini-me outfit, I’m talking style in general not literally. (Sizing itself is yet another debatable stance from me, Sonny was wearing age 3 at 6 months, in hindsight it was all a work-in-progress but we’ll get to that another week).

Let’s take for example, one of the first pieces I bought for Sonny in black and coincidently the moment I knew we were on our way to never overthinking an outfit again. A black roll neck. Of course, Bonpoint was leading the way with the classic colours in a classic style. I think he was 6 months, I paired it with everything, cream cashmere trousers, fine black corduroy trousers (also from Bonpoint), khaki cotton trousers. That was a ‘that’ll be my kid…’ moment. Half because it was an actual roll neck on a baby and half because it was black. As I said I proudly sit in the middle of this paradox between what you should do and what you want to do with your kid’s wardrobe so in answer to the confused glance from the ‘should do’ crowd; Warm enough? check. Wash well? check. Comfortable? check. (We’ll ignore the few seconds when you hold your breath trying to squeeze the roll neck over their head and you wonder if this is potentially quite dangerous?)

As with anything in our wardrobe it becomes an effortless staple. We moved onto black wool roll necks from Il Gufo, a black denim smart button down jacket from P.Denim, a black bomber from Tres London (with a white shirt underneath, that’s me holding onto cool but classic), a black wool cardigan from Acne (with nothing underneath) and black suede Wallabes from Clarks. The idea of black in a kid’s wardrobe captures the essence of choices not being a question of how much money you spend, it’s a question of style. Yes, you will have to go on a hunt to find the brands who have black pieces in their collections, adopted each season with no sign of a logo, but as they go against the grain of colours kids should be wearing they have a certain je ne sais quoi about them. Those are the ones we/I want to know about every season right? A weekly plea from me, I will always be up for a written conversation with you, I get as much excitement reading about brands you have found that make up the black colour spectrum in your kid’s wardrobe as I do when a delivery arrives for Sonny. I’m here waiting with bells on.

A poignant realisation occurred when I stumbled across a collaboration, considered old news in the kid’s fashion industry, but the moment I realised I wasn’t the dreamer who was searching for a concept that didn’t exist. It was only a matter of time before the veterans collaborated for our kid’s wardrobe. Khaite x Bonpoint. Favourite piece of the collection being a classic black blazer, what else, call me mad but I bought it, faster than I have ever bought anything for myself, size 6, girls. For who? (I could hear my husband asking) I promise I would never put Sonny in it… A girl, one day, worn with old jeans passed down from her brother and his old black The Row velvet slippers or sandals, boots, trainers.

We’re going slightly off topic and straying from our loyal black wardrobes pieces but it’s these types of collaborations for a kid’s wardrobe that bring together unmatched quality. A slight tongue and cheek attitude, Ritz x Frame cashmere jumpers for kid’s running errands on a Saturday morning or climbing trees in Wrangler x Mini Rodini jeans whilst they are oblivious to the brands joint-up message, it’s quite clever. The meshing of two brands flying high in their own lanes and nonchalantly throwing us a collection for our kid’s wardrobe. A story of two tales, Khaite, a New York brand, founded in 2016 by creative director Catherine Holstein ‘building upon a foundation of robust yet polished items distinguished by exceptional materials, exquisite craftsmanship, and subtle yet striking details; working with Bonpoint, founded in 1975, which has ‘remained faithful to its exceptional savoir-faire and core values: the precision of beauty, a passion for quality, and meticulous attention to details and finishes.’ I mean come on. If clothing purchases were going to represent your aspired values in a single collection, these types of brands working together for you deliver the goods. I’m just waiting for Blaze Milano x The Animals Observatory, something black preferably.

The path started with the simplicity of black; the ease of pairing with almost anything, any season, any occasion relying on one part style, two parts quality. Then onto a thought-provoking point for a quality classic wardrobe staple, the pre-loved kid’s fashion market (and apparently more recently rental) there is a surprising economy to quality staples. The resale value makes sense for high quality brands, from a sellers perspective motives can vary; practical, for space in the wardrobe, conscious in a sustainability sense; a dated figure from 2023 states, ‘an estimated 183m pieces of outgrown children’s clothing going to landfill in the UK every year.’ And from a buyers perspective motives also resonate, practicality aside there is a new increased appetite for vintage kid’s fashion, pre 1990’s occurring on Ebay and Vinted. As people are increasingly buying second-hand clothes and accessories the movement has driven top fashion houses and retailers to set up resale sites. (Bonpoint have taken note). A collective hunt for something no-one else has in their wardrobe, expert craftsmanship, style and fit. A grown-up ethos that we can extend to our kid’s wardrobe.

A brief spotlight on Vestiaire Collective, who I note has a kid’s clothing and accessories section on their webiste. Founded in Paris in 2009, a second-hand fashion marketplace, achieving unicorn status in 2021, with a mission to transform the fashion industry towards a more sustainable future. Earlier this year they raised a crowdfunding campaign from individual investors. (I checked on Crowdcube, the raise has now closed with 356% of initial target being met from 3,267 people). The facts make for an intriguing insight on a shopping trend growing exponentially; ‘The global second-hand fashion market is ~$211B and expected to reach $350B by 2027 as more people shift their spending habits.’ With an invested customer base adopted by a leader in the industry, Vestiaire Collective pushed for crowdfunding ‘to allow our community to become investors.’ Having previously raised ‘c.€551m prior to the individual investor raise and backed by Eurazeo (private equity firm, its biggest shareholder with a stake of around 25%), Kering (note-worthy), Conde Nast, Bpifrance, Generation IM, Goldman Sachs & Bank of America.’ A strong point proven for an unstoppable shift in mindset, ‘we believe in the power of our global community. In 2023, we had 10m listings, 2.3m orders & 800k buyers.’

I haven’t begun my pre-loved journey yet or this intriguing concept of vintage shopping for kid’s fashion but when I, or others, do there is an established list of familiar destinations to visit as a buyer or seller. I have a feeling when I start it will involve the classics, for Sonny (or myself), and most likely something black. Perhaps the epitome of a kid’s wardrobe message, as Yohji Yamamoto says “but above all black says this: I don't bother you - don't bother me". The irony is never lost on me (I promise) that there is absolutely no message to portray through kids outfits, rather a carefree attitude of simply running free in something black from their wardrobe, because they can, who said it wasn’t a colour for kid’s again?

Hope you have a lovely weekend, for those that are coming to the end of nursery/school holidays, we did it. I’ll be back next week with another debatable stance for a kid’s wardrobe, accentuated with kid’s fashion industry research which continues to prove my stances aren’t just for dreamers like me.

Callahan (aka Sonny’s mum)