Tea at Trianon: Quality Children's Clothes

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, January 12, 2009

Quality Children's Clothes

It becomes more and more of a challenge to find appropriate and well-made clothes for small children. So many of the clothes we get at the mall and at various superstores fade after one or two washings. Many of the styles are too sophisticated for little ones. While shopping for a Christmas dress for a five year old this past year I had to sift through outfits that looked as if they were created for a nightclub, sleeveless and covered with sequins, completely inappropriate for a little girl. So much of what is found in mainstream stores is overpriced considering the shoddy manufacturing. I do not mind paying a little more for quality, but I hate to pay a lot for trash.

It makes me remember how my grandmother made most of our clothes for us, knitting beautiful sweaters and sewing little smocked dresses. Grandma came from a large family where clothes were made to last, since they were passed down from child to child, and sometimes even into the next generation. Her work was of a quality difficult to find nowadays. Difficult, but not impossible, especially since I have discovered Estella, a store which designs clothes for children that remind of the kind my grandmother used to make. The clothes at Estella are not the type that fade after a few washings or after one season. They are made to endure. To quote from the Estella website:

In a market that is often filled with too-trendy or overtly trite baby clothing, Estella stood out with its fresh take on designer baby clothing, presenting cutting-edge designs that are modern and possess incredible detail, unusual colors and sumptuous fabrics. The store is filled with clothing that is chosen for its quality, beauty and character rather than their brand.

January is the time to take advantage of all the sales and stock up on clothes for the year to come. Just about everything at Estella is marked down, including summer clothes. Here is a coupon code for an extra discount of 10%, which I want to share with readers of this blog: pjJanSale. There are also gifts for mothers, as well as baby gear, and safe toys, so if you have a moment take a look. Since I don't know how to knit, I am glad that there are still some nice shops around which provide the craftsmanship of others.