Our kids all have that favourite piece of clothing they don’t want to take off. The one they’ve been wearing every second day all summer long, and now they’re still insisting they wear it and pretending that the weather isn’t turning cold. But just because it’s getting colder doesn’t mean they have to stop wearing it at all! We often forget that we can extend the lifespan of a piece of clothing just by layering it up for the colder months.
At Bandicute we often get asked “When are you going to do a winter release?”. The truth is, we only create a limited range of “winter” items. If you’ve been following us for a while you’ll know that we both care deeply for the environment. Like, A LOT. Sometimes we lose sleep over environmental issues and we don’t want to contribute to the problem. Winter items have a limited lifespan. They can be worn for fewer months of the year meaning consumers are likely to invest less in winter wear. The last thing we want is to get to the end of the season and have leftover stock that nobody wants, that we have to reduce the price on, or worse, that may end up as landfill. This is not what we are about and economically it doesn’t make sense either. So the items in our range are carefully calculated for year round wear and we can show you how to get the most out of your Bandicute favourites.
Here are a few staples to add to your kids’ wardrobes to create fabulously stylish winter outfits!
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Leggings! Oh how we love leggings. You can put them under anything – rompers, dresses and even jeans (nobody will ever know they are there!) for an extra layer of warmth so your babe will never get cold.
Our recommendation: We have yet to find any Australian made leggings, so our pick for leggings is Condor brand tights. Ethically manufactured in Spain they are great quality and come in so many different styles and colours you will definitely be able to find something to suit your style.
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Long sleeved tops. Every wardrobe needs some plain long sleeved tops or bodysuits on standby to put underneath dresses, rompers and shirts. We always go for simple colours like white (don’t worry about stains as it will be underneath the clothing anyway!) or black because they go with just about anything and require no extra thought. But you can choose any colour that you think coordinates nicely with your child’d wardrobe and make a bold statement. Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you kids need to dress in dull colours!
Our recommendation: For beautiful quality Aussie made long sleeved tops and bodysuits, you can’t go past G’Day Baby.
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Coats and Cardigans. In our part of the country it can get pretty cold over winter, so if our previous two suggestions aren’t going cut the mustard you can add a gorgeous hand knitted cardigan over the top to complete the look. If they’re going on an outdoor adventure put a coat on over that and you are all set.
Our recommendation: We can’t help with the coat but check out our newly released hand knitted cardigans! Made from 100% cotton yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills, we’ve chosen a beautiful natural cream colour to match any of your favourite Bandicute prints. And of course as with all of our children’s clothing they are 100% Australian made, hand knitted in South Australia.
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Accessories. As self confessed shoe and earring addicts this is perhaps our favourite part! There are soooo many adorable kids boots on the market that will totally complete the perfect winter look. No winter wardrobe would be complete without a beanie as well!
Our recommendation: For gorgeous Aussie made leather booties support another bush business and check out Wattle and Hide. We bought our girls beautiful hand crocheted beanies from Pig and Yarn last year. They are amazing quality and will last us through another winter at least. We love the pom poms on top!
- Check out your local op shop. You never know what you will find. We bought the Osh Kosh jeans pictured above for only $1 and they look like they have barely been worn!
- Mix and match! The best thing about planning your kids’ wardrobes this way is that you’ll be set for any climate and if it gets hot during the day, as it can in Autumn and Spring, you can simply take some layers off.
- Size up. If your child is on the cusp of going up a size then choose the next size up. You’ll have more room underneath for adding layers and it should fit perfectly come summer time when it’s time to shed all those layers.
- Don’t overthink it. Remember that kids don’t give two hoots about whether their outfit is slightly mismatched. Let them wear the things they like and have fun with it! Some of our favourite instagram influencers are absolute pros at mixing amazing colourful prints. Check out https://www.instagram.com/me_as_mum/ for some inspo.
This concludes our little guide to winter layering.
Have you got any hot tips of your own to add? Pop them in the comments!