Claire, Collected.

So this was an accidental blog post. I wasn’t planning on it. There I was running around the house picking up the trail of toys Ruby was leaving behind her (read: outrageous mass destruction, all plastics drawers, bathroom cupboards, toy baskets, clothing hampers, all empty) when Lily said she wanted to go for a bike ride. She isn’t old enough to go on her own so into the pram Ruby went. I threw the camera in at the last-minute and voila, here we are.

Bobo Choses. Could quite possibly be my all time favourite children’s label. And without even glancing at their ‘about’ tab I’ll tell you why I like it. I love the essence of this brand. The clothes are comfortable…like super comfortable. They are play clothes. Clothes kids feel good in, can move in, can run in and jump in, but will also survive endless wash cycles to get all the grass, blueberries and mud stains out. The garments are organic, no nasties, better for the planet, better for your child. And they are largely unisex. This appeals to me very much. Why would I dress my baby in head to toe pink, when I myself dress mainly in denim and stripes? Does this mean I only dress the girls in androgynous clothes? Definitely not. We love a bit of boho chic, florals, neons, all so much fun. And they both like to tutu and twirl as much as they love jumping in puddles. But Lily likes to choose her own clothes now, and Bobo is one that I think appeals to her imagination. The bold prints also drum up memories of my own childhood. Hands up if you grew up drinking out of the garden hose and survived? Ate Lilly Pillies, rode around without a helmet – breeze in your hair, climbed trees, hunted for treasures in the creek (read: collected pieces of metal from the drain), ate watermelon under the sprinkler on a 40 degree day. Bobo brings back all these memories, it radiates the essence of what childhood should be about. Fun, adventurous, imaginative, comfortable.

Ruby is obviously too little to choose her own clothes. So what I dress her in is diverse. Some days it’s black, some days colour, some days it’s pink, white and so on. To her, it doesn’t matter at all what she is wearing, but the colours and fabrics and prints will stimulate her imagination and in turn add to the person she will grow into. Don’t get me wrong, who we are, and where we end up, is not a reflection of our clothes. The best things in life are not ‘things’ I truly believe that. But how we present ourselves is a way of expressing who we are. We are not all the same, and being able to express our individuality in the way we present ourselves to the world, well I think it’s important. At 15 months Ruby is as passionate about nurturing her baby doll as she is about crashing toy cars into the wall and saying brmmm brmmm. So for her I like to keep things varied, and provide her with a platform so that as she gets older she can make her own choices about what she likes and dislikes. I am treasuring every moment of my little people’s childhoods. I’m sure I will look back on these days with the fondest memories. But I’m also very excited to watch them grow into the people they will become. xC

You can shop Bobo Choses, or search for stockists, here: Bobo Choses