FF Style - Winter 2022/23

Our guest editor

Charlotte Kewley is a baby and kids stylist and fashion editor with more than 20 years’ experience in the fashion industry styling and writing for brands and magazines. She’s also the founder of @thelittlestylist where she shares the best kids fashion buys from the high street and beyond.

Charlotte lives just outside of London with her husband and three young children aged 8, 6 and 1.5 years old. And the dog, Maxiumus Jnr.

Colour block coat,

Marks & Spencer, £30

Heart poncho,

Konges Sl ojd

at Kidly, £41.50

Rainbow wellies,

Next, from £14

Djeco, £10.95

The bigsplash

rain boots, Next, £68

This winter we’re getting outside whatever the weather… wearing the boldest of rainwear. Bring on those outdoor adventures.

Myleene Klass

at Next, from £36

Rain hat, Didriksons

at Kidly, £15

Mini Melissa space H&M, £19.99

Green rain trousers,

Printed rain coat,

Umbrella, H&M, £24.99

Toastie, £58 waterproof dunagarees, Candy stripe

All from Toastie All from Toastie

Graphic print puddlesuit,

Muddy Puddles, £59

PRELOVED In love with

it would have been charity shops (so a bit of a postcode lottery as to how great the finds were) and maybe eBay. Now there are reselling sites, marketplaces, apps and countless social pages we can search for tiny treasures. Then you have the relatively new rental option, which is fast becoming more available and appealing.

suit you best. Some have a designer focus; others have partnerships with brands. It’s also worth searching preloved Instagram accounts of parents with children a few years older than your own whose style you like and turning notifications on for when they post items to sell so you can buy directly from them.

Once upon a time it wasn’t considered ‘cool’ to shop for second-hand clothes. Especially not for your precious offspring. Now (and a big yay from us to this) you’ll find the coolest parents trawling charity shops for stylish bargains and fashion editor/influencer mums shouting about how they only shop preloved for their little ones from every platform.

The number one reason behind this trend, or hopefully new way of shopping, is of course that we’re all trying our best to live and shop more sustainably. And little people grow so fast that we’ve been wasting a LOT of clothing. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Opinium earlier this year, 183 million items of children’s clothing find themselves in landfill each year in the UK alone! Second, shopping preloved – or renting – childrenswear can be way more cost-efficient. Especially if you continue the circle by re-selling when you’re done. Lastly, the options for where to shop preloved are growing fast. A few years ago,

But it can be a little overwhelming to first enter. Logging on to one of our favourite preloved childrenswear destinations recently, we filtered down to one child’s size and were presented with 1,549 items to trawl through. Of course, you can narrow down by brand, product, colour etc and it’s amazing to have such choice, but if you’re just after a browse that’s a lot of browsing. So, here’s a few tips on what to buy and search for, where to shop for what and how to start your second-hand shopping journey.

3 Shop ahead

If you vary your searches a little (shopping for a few sizes bigger than your child’s current one) you’ll find more pieces you love and you can buy now and save for when they fit. Same with the seasons – think forward rather than shopping for now.

4 Know your brands

Congratulations if you manage it, you have our full respect, but even just switching to preloved or renting where you can and reselling or recycling your own child’s clothes when outgrown rather than adding to landfill is a great start.

As we’ve said, it can all be a little overwhelming, so if there are brands you know you love filter for them first. Some brands tend to hold their value well, so as long as they’re not completely trashed chances are you’ll be able to resell them for a fair price afterwards. A few of our favourites include Mini Rodini, Bobo Choses and on the high street Arket and Zara.

5

Buy and sell in bundles to save time

Have a bulk load of baby sleepwear in one size? Take photos and sell as a bundle to save time and effort. You can buy the same way on many sites, including Dotte.

Charlotte Kewley looks at why modern parents are shopping preloved and where to start when it comes to buying and selling second-hand children’s clothing online.

1

Don’t put pressure on yourself to shop 100% second hand

2 Find your favourites Go through our list of where to shop and see which sites and apps

Credit: Kidswear Collective

Where to buy and sell

Dotte

With a brand-spanking new app, Dotte is a brilliant community and parentto-parent marketplace to buy, sell, donate and recycle. Customers can also be rewarded with money off future purchases from Dotte’s resale partners, which include Clarks and M&S. A great selection of brands for all. Wearedotte.com

Credit: Zig & Star/Dotte

Credit: Bundlee

eBay

The choice here is clearly vast, so it’s important to narrow down your search to exactly what you’re looking for! Ebay.co.uk

Kidswear Collective

An online store with a focus on preloved and past-season designer kidswear. A great place to shop for label lovers, as items are sold at up to 80% off their original retail price. They also have real-life outlets in Selfridges, Fenwick’s and Bicester Village. Kidswearcollective.com

Vinted

Primarily an adult buying and selling app, it’s always worth checking for some children’s bargains, as this area of the brand is growing fast. Vinted.co.uk

Kids O’clock

An easy-to-shop marketplace app selling a curated collection of children’s clothes, toys and equipment. Launched by an ex-fashion buyer, it’s a go-to for stylish buys. Kidsoclock.com

The Octopus Club

A preloved marketplace for parents with a focus on everything baby, children and maternity. It is like Dotte in that you can buy, sell, donate, recycle and receive rewards –a great place to shop for kids’ equipment and toys, too.

Theoctopusclub.com

Who Ski

Very specific but a handy one to know if you’re a fan of winter sports. Whoski.com is a peer-to-peer marketplace where you can buy and sell all (usually very expensive!) winter sports clothing. Whoski.com

Where to rent

Bundlee

The UK’s first rental subscription for baby clothes, with a selection of plans available. Packages are delivered to your door and you can return and renew pieces as your baby grows. Bundle.co.uk

The Little Loop

Described as a giant shared kid’s wardrobe. You pick a plan, choose your items from a large selection of ethical brands and swap them when Thelittleloop.com

Credit:

Babu

A luxury childrenswear rental platform (Stella McCartney Kids, Caramel and Balmain are among the brands featured) offering curated boxes of six or 10-15 garments based on your preferences and requirements.

Babu.clothing

MyWardrobeHQ

A destination to rent (or buy) luxury fashion, stocking a beautiful selection of kid’s brands. A great place to hire a lovely wear-it-once party dress from £4 or £5 per day – wear, return and repeat. Mywardrobehq.com

Credit: Babu

The Little Loop

Copper

Bobux,

Dress,

Colour blocking

Jacket,

Animal friends print sweatshirt,

Turtledove London, £22

Dog

Boden, from £25

Cat print tee,

Mini Rodini, £30

Fun prints

Bobo Choses, £54

Cat sweatshirt, Next, from £6

Moose print tee,

6 KIDS BRANDS WE DISCOVEREDon Instagram!

Dolly B & me @dolly_b_and_me

The prettiest personalised handknitted (by grannies!) cardigans and jumpers for babies and children. Made to order from £20

Young Double @young.double

A small adults and children’s unisex brand with the coolest screen-printed eco-friendly T-shirts and sweats. The colours, positive words and quality are considered, unique and super special. Kids T-shirts from £15

Claude & Co @claude_and_co

An effortlessly cool, unisex, seasonless shop for little ones. Fun, stylish pieces in the best colour palette that you’ll most likely wish were available in your size. Dungarees, £40, check knit, £38, check trouser £32

Marmalade Sky

@marmalade_sky

An original, fun, excellent quality, but affordable unisex children’s brand. The fabrics are organic and the prints are continuously cool and playful – always top of my recommendations of where to shop for great gender-neutral pieces. For ages 0-6 years. Flower dress, £26

Banana Berry Design

@bananaberrydesign

All about bold pattern and vibrant colour, this super-sustainable Irish brand is inspired by kids’ wild imaginations. Many of the pieces also come in adult sizes so the whole family can match! Squiggle sweater and hoodie €45 EUR each, purple top €20 EUR

Pachee @pacheestore

This new accessory brand is on a mission to help children feel empowered and informed on big issues. They create cool, beautiful, positive patches for customising clothing and accessories. Patches from £5.99

It’s always great to support small and independent brands, but never has it been more important than right now. We love these unique, fun, clever kids’ companies and thinks you will too!