Another great choice for colorful, fun, completely indulgent European childrenswear, is the french company Catimini. Without question, Catimini has some beautiful dresses and outfits, but this season I think the standout elements in their collections are the shirts and sweaters. If your kid slikes jeans or cords and a tshirt, and you don't like the more sophisticated, mini-me trend in childrenswear, Catimini has tops that will make a wardrobe feel truly special.
Personally I love some of the more sophisticated lines for kids, but I do think that one of the fun things about dressing children is that you can have fun with kids' clothes in a way that is sometimes hard to do with adult clothes. Catimini plays with bright, vibrant, gorgeous colors and patterns.
Many of my favorite pieces, shown here, are hard to find in the U.S., but if you hunt for Catimini, you're sure to find other great options. I think the charcoal peasant blouse (shown below), paired with just some regular jeans, is absolutely darling.
Another good thing about some of these European lines that are less focussed on trend and sophistication, and more on color, pattern and exuberance, is that the pieces are more timeless. I have saved all of my daughter's Catimini outfits imagining that she might hand them down to her own daughter. It seems to me that it's okay to buy trendy things for kids since, chances are, they will outgrow them after a season anyway. But the big benefit of these lines, is that you can generally buy last season's collection just as happily as you would purchase this seasons collection. If $78 for a blouse for your daughter makes you balk, the prices for past season clothes may be more palatable.
If you like buying online, selections from this season's collections are available at Izzy and Ash, Addy's Closet, Forest and Zoe, Everything but the Princess, Mon Petit Child, Zandino and Little Luna Blue. Forest and Zoe has a fairly solid selection of Catimini boys' clothes. Addy's Closet also has a terrific selection of spring/summer items on sale, as do Zandino and A Child's Closet. In fact, when I checked A Child's Closet, they were selling a beautiful white summer dress that originally retailed for $109, for $39.99. In addition to having summer merchandise, Little Luna Blue still has a few pieces left from last winter's collections. And Comfy Kid is even offering a slight discount on some current season pieces.
Coming up: where to go for basic bottoms
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