In our Parisian boutique L’île aux Fées, we are often asked questions on how to dress children in a classic chic French style.
Raised in Paris and living in the French capital half of the year, here are a few guidelines from our designer and tips from our Parisian team:
Picture of Brune wearing one of our dresses in front of la Grande Roue in Paris
Less is more
To enhance children’s natural features, sobriety is the keyword. No need to overdo it by dressing them up too much. Leonardo da Vinci’s quote “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” perfectly reflects this French state of mind.
Avoid superficial details, bold accessories and rich ornaments. Life is party and childhood is meant to be celebrated but with discretion and subtleness.
Beautiful thick cotton navy smocked dress
Favour quality
First of all pay attention to the fabric. Prefer high-quality noble materials which will ensure long lasting garments. Check the fabric composition, feel and touch to assess its softness and thickness. Then take a look at the seams and hem which will help you to determine if the garment is well made.
The French tend to believe there is no age to appreciate high-quality garments and that children’s sensitive skins are much better off with natural fabrics than artificial fibres.
The outstanding number of handmade kids’ clothes brands in France speaks for itself!
Clean lines
Prefer classic clean lines over complex extravagant ones. Stay on the safe side with well cut basics. French elegance lies in its neat, clear line designs creating flawless silhouettes.
Elise and Mila wearing classic smocked dresses
Stay true to traditions
Focus on tradition more than fashion trends. Prefer timeless pieces over extravagant short lasting mood-of-the-moment garments. This does not exclude a subtle modern twist but always keep in mind the innocence and tenderness of childhood to avoid falling into the mini-me trap.
Olivia in a daffodil yellow summer smocked dress
Harmony of colours
Taking into consideration and respecting your child’s complexion is essential. Spend time observing your child’s eye, hair colour and skin tone. No need to be an expert, the loving eye of a mother is often the best judge. Try several colour palettes to see which one best highlights your darling’s demeanour.
And of course, follow the basic rules. Prefer soft pastel colours over bright and loud ones. One can never go wrong with a pastel pink for a baby girl or a soft light blue! We recommend building a wardrobe with basic classic pastel shades and then adding a touch of fantasy with a few, more daring pieces.
For example, a daffodil yellow or poppy red dress can look beautiful on a suntanned skin in the middle of summer. Navy blue and pearl grey are also classic colours present in little Parisians’ wardrobes every season.
Léonore wearing a typically French vichy print smocked dress
Subtle prints
For prints, the French are deeply fond of floral prints for little ones. Our favorites are of course the ones from Liberty of London, timeless classics that never go out of style.
Delicate pastoral and animal prints are also appreciated as well as the traditional vichy print of course.
Try to avoid total looks and favour subtle print details, for example on the collar or sleeve biais. And above all no logos!
Chic detailing
As the quote says “'Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail.'” It is indeed by the precious finishings such as delicate sleeve embroidery, mother-of-pearl buttons, a velvet collar or elegant piping that one can feel the Parisian chic of a garment. It is the subtle details that make all the difference.
Most of all enjoy!
Dressing one’s darling must remain a pleasure. Take time to carefully select your little one’s looks, let it bring back happy memories of your own childhood, make pictures to capture the sweetest of your little one’s outfits to look back on in a few years and have fun!
The guidelines above are reflected in all of our collections. Smocked dresses are the perfect emblem of a classic chic French style
*Our dresses are available both in our unique Parisian boutique L’Île aux Fées and on our e-shop Charlotte sy Dimby
We are delighted to feature among Paris Select’s selection of Parisian boutique. Thank you for this beautiful article. May it enchant the visit of many tourists in search of Parisian children gifts.
Have you heard of Maman Vogue? A group of mum sharing tips on all sorts of subjects : lifestyle, motherhood, raising children and of course shopping and fashion.
We were very honored to be part of their smocked dress selection!
To find out where to find sweet smocked children outfits, we invite you to read the full article published by Maman Vogue.
If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to give your opinion.
We are very honored : Peggy Polly & Jack mentionned us in their latest article about creating a classic Capsule wardrobe for children. We were selected as a suggestion for the Perfect Frock.
“ The perfect Frock.
Lets talk frocks. Dresses. Party dresses, everyday dresses. Dresses for Christmas for spring and summer. Dresses with flowers and frills and bows. Frocks with cap sleeves and a sash at the waist. Dresses are always a good idea, it’s part of the fun of having a little girl. Trust me I know I have three. The key with classic dresses is shape and detail. Look at the length the knee is always a good point for it to fall and a slightly full skirt looks so pretty. Collars weather a little frill or a Peter Pan collar are a good idea as they can be worn showing over a cardigan. A gather at the bustline or even better smocking it a beautiful detail and take its from just any old dress to a real classic style. Like this one from Amaia kids and the collar and bow detail on this Pepa & co Frock is stunning, or this pretty little example from Charlotte sy Dimby. “
At l’Île aux Fées, we strive to make each purchase a delightful experience in the magical world of childhood. In their style and details, our dresses are very special.
HANDMADE SMOCKED NETTI DRESS
Handmade within our atelier by the skilled fairy hands our passionate team of embroiderers, each one is made with care and love
Made in highly limited editions sometimes unique version, our dresses are one-of-a kind
Selecting the softest cottons, most elegant velvets, precious tulle and organza and most gorgeous Liberty prints, only the best of fabrics are used for our dresses.
Made with traditional couture techniques, our dresses are of high quality. All our hems are stitched by and to obtain a completely invisible seam, as clean from the inside as from the outside
Until the very last button, each and every detail matters. Our buttons are self covered in fabric matching the dress colours, two additional buttons are discreetly sewn in the side hem in case of lose and some of our dresses come with a small extra loop button for a perfect closing
Smocked or embroidered, each one is a real work of art. The fabric is manually pleated with great delicacy, our embroideries are made with traditional hoops. The result is so precise that we talk “peinture à l’aiguille” meaning needle painting. Our amandine dresses also have refined embroideries upon the sleeves.
Thank a handmade cotton lining, all our dresses twirl making little girls feel like princesses! Our Netti dress even have additional tulle underlayer sewn upon the lining creating a wide and airy skirt.
As pretty from front and back, a delicate bow with the shape of butterfly wings adds a chic finishing touch. It is one of our signature detail.
Last but not least behind each dress lies not only a precious skill but most of all a human heart and soul. Our atelier enables Madagascan women to value their expert work and earn a decent living.
If the term smocks is commonly associated to little girl dresses, its exact definition and origin is less known….
Hard to believe today but until quite recently smocks were actually part of men’s wardrobes.
Smocks can be defined the embroidery of geometrical or figuratives shapes on top of tightly pleated panels of fabric. The original aim was not decorative but functional. Smocks were used to reduce fabric while keeping a certain flexibility and ease of movement. Smocked shirts were long worn by woodcutters before integrating childrens’ wardrobes.
Traditional handmade smocks like the ones made within our atelier require time and skill.
MANUAL PLEATER
First of all the fabric is meticulously pleated with regularity. Fabrics such as cotton, linen or silk are the most frequently used for smocking due to their suppleness. A large quantity of fabric is required as smocks necessarily reduce the surface through pleating. This first step can be made with a small tool named smocking pleater: the fabric goes through small cylinders enabling threads to go through. These are then used to gather the fabric. Yet to achieve greater precision, the pleats of striped or gingham fabrics are made one by one entirely by hand.
PRECIOUS HANDMADE EMBROIDERED DRESS
After this preparation, the fabric is ready to be embroidered. The right side is of course the most important yet the wrong side must be just as clean. Figurative or abstract, smocks can take all kinds of shapes, sizes and styles from the most simple geographic symbols to the most complex drawings.
Generation after generation, smocked and embroidered dresses continue to delight little girls all around the world.
French reference in smocks, L’Île aux Fées is very proud to hold the treasures of this craftmanship.
THE INCREDIBLE FLORA SURROUNDING OUR ATELIER
If Madagascar usually brings to mind exotic plants and fascinating lemurs, gems or vanilla and spices, the beautiful red island also holds a precious smocks and embroidery craftsmanship.
First brought and taught by European religious communities in the 19th, the secrets of smocks and embroideries have been preciously passed down from generation to generation among Madagascan women and are now fully integrated in the country’s culture.
COUTURE AND SMOCKS EXPERTISE
Fascinated since childhood by this incredible expertise, our designer Monique set up her own atelier in the capital of Madagascar, her birth country.
Conscious of the value of this precious skill which is sadly slowly disappearing in Europe, L’Île aux Fées strives to promote and share the passion of smocks.
Convinced that talent lies in diversity, we made the deliberate choice of uniting Madagascan know how with French style and sophistication.
OUR ATELIER