Emilie Walmsley lives in Paris with her two daughters aged nine and 12. She launched Babyccino KIDS ten years ago with like-minded friends, Courtney Adamo and Esther van de Paal. The website now hosts over 300 independent kidswear brands. We recently caught up at Playtime Paris. Portrait by Katrina Campbell.
What are the challenges of dressing your girls?
We have a lot of discussions about less is more. I prefer to buy something that is worthwhile that my eldest can hang on to and then pass onto her sister. Clothes need to be sustainable, we need to be looking at the world. That’s part of our responsibility. We need to bring up a generation of kids who understand what sustainability is. Teenagers are tricky as they have been so pushed to buying fast fashion and it's hard to get them out of that mindset.
Do you agree on style?
So it’s funny because there’s a big difference between how my 12 year old dresses and how my nine year old dresses. My 12 year old has very strong ideas about what she wants to wear. I don’t want her to wear throwaway clothes. A way we get around it is by creating a board on Pinterest so I pin up stuff, she pins up stuff and they we sit down and look at it and decide what will works (read Emilie's post about it here). I'm not willing to go to cheap shops and buy things that I know have been badly made. She’s also getting into vintage which is brilliant – the ultimate form of recycling.
Top tip for getting out the house in the morning?
When they were tiny I used to put them to bed in leggings and T-shirts and then just get them up and chuck a dress on top because it was hell to get out of the house in the mornings. I'm really into simple dressing. The first thing to do is make sure they know the night before what they are going to be wearing the next day. School uniform is incredible as it saves a lot of arguments – we don’t have that here in France. I'm so jealous.
What brands are you loving right now?
I love Le Petit Germain, Bobo Choses and Tuchinda – all kids' fashion label that really stand out at the moment. Decor-wise I love Camomile London. And for baby gifts, Hazel Village and Sweetcase. There’s a dearth of good teenage brands – there's a real gap in the market there. Trend-wise, there are still lots of classical styles around for the next season including blush pinks, creams and greys.
“We need to bring up a generation of kids who know what sustainability is”