Tight fit

Snow snow snow, we have had a lot of it here in Copenhagen this week. In fact as I write it is -3 degrees celsius and big fat flakes are falling outside, it is 3pm and almost dark.

Needless to say the best course of action when faced with such frostiness is to stay tucked up in bed. This way you can have the sensation of living inside a snow dome without actually having to deal with the snow. The grand secret of snow being that whilst it makes everything look very soft and pristine white, it is extremely cold.

Alas, sometimes leaving the warm confines of the apartment cannot be avoided. Going outside these days involves several layers of clothing, beginning with thermal underwear and ending with a fluffy hat. How to make oneself look respectable in such a gettup is almost beyond my powers. Simple jeans and boots are the best solution. But there are only so many days that you can wear jeans before you begin to crave a little femininity in the form of a skirt (and also jeans do start to smell weird after a while, I mean, you have to wash them at some point right?).

Luckily some genius person invented tights for occasions such as these. After days or weeks of jeans there can be nothing more glorious than slipping into a pair of thick woolen tights (or two for extra thermal layers) and getting all girled up in a nice skirt. 

Sadly, unless you have the legs of a baby giraffe you have probably not ventured into the realms of the boldly coloured tights featured so heavily in the last few seasons. But you need not discount them completely, because they do look fabulous on little girls...in fact  there is also nothing cuter than little girls in skirts and tights.

This winter there has been an explosion of adorably colourful ruffle skirts and cute smock dresses colour blocked with bold tights. Ribbing has been popular (as seen in these efforts from Wheat). 

If you want something a bit more fun Petite Bateau make polka dots look more stylish than you would have thought possible. 

If there was ever a less harmful way to live vicariously through your daughter it is surely with a colourful selection of tights, what girl doesn't want bright (insert favourite colour here) legs? 

Wanna swap legs?

After all, unless a herd of baby giraffes wanting to trade legs comes along, the rest of us aren't going to be able to pull them off quite so easily any time soon. 

Wish as we might.

Take care, 

Claire.

Euro Style - To scarf or not to scarf?

One of the most vexing questions as a parent, surely (?), is how, if at all to best accessorise your child. As the weather gets colder here adults throw on layers of clothing to keep our extremities warm. Hats, scarves and gloves are plentiful in the stores and are increasingly spotted in all of their stylish manifestations on the streets.

Yet despite this explosion of adult accessories, child sized equivalents are rarely seen. Instead, parents here prefer to put the very young in snowsuits which make them look like tiny versions of the Michelin Man swaddled in a pram with just a tiny red nose peeking out.

source unknown

It seems that there is one reason for this - kids will do just about anything to get themselves out of clothing, no matter how attractive it is. And despite the chilling wind (just 4 degrees celcius here today), Danish toddlers are no exception.

On the other side of the world, as you enter the warmer weather, parents are no doubt preparing for battle in the war to keep sun hats on tiny heads, sandals on tiny feet and sun shirts on tiny tummies. Stylish as many of these items are the temptation must be strong to just keep the kids in the shade...

All this is not for want of trying by canny kids designers who have created some beautiful accessories for both summer and winter. Danish brand Wheat (supported by no other than Crown Princess Mary) has some delicious creations which are enough to make me jealous. You must check out the groovy waist-coats in both the summer and winter collections. The scarves tap into the well worn adult layering trend.

Wheat

Wheat

Similarly Danish brand Escentia uses pure Alpaca wool (luxurious) to create soft cuddly items, which with a bit of luck your child will want to keep on. Mittens, mittens, mittens - but could you keep them on little fingers?

Escentia

Escentia

That's all for now,

Claire.