WOOLEN WARMTH . . .

Uno Cowl

As an uncharacteristically for the UK warm October fades to a colder November my heart sinks as a new battle with my 5 year old looms. Freddie is the type of child who hates layers with a passion, claims he does not feel the cold and is happiest in a t-shirt. He presents a unique dilemma in the more general question of how best to dress my kids for winter. At the back of my mind I think it must surely be possible to combine practical considerations with some form of style -  luckily for me there is plenty to choose from this season. Of course MillaMia knitwear is high on my list – but much as I would like it to be hand knits, they are sometimes not enough!

With a Scandinavian background I feel well trained on the general rules of warmth. Layers, layers and more layers with the most important factor being a water proof, insulated outer layer when it is really cold out. In Sweden despite the weather being far chillier than here and for much more of the year, children are used to being outside for hours of the day at their daycare centres – hence the popularity of the PolarnO.Pyret snow layers. I find the POP jackets last forever and really do keep the children warm for prolonged outdoor spells. Both my older kids have used POP jackets for skiing and they never once complained about the cold (they complained about lots of other things of course though!). POP also have a good range of overalls for younger kids and accessories such as gloves and hats.

POP outerwear

Another great Scandinavian brand who have fabulous outerwear layers is Mini A Ture. I particularly like their Baby Wen jackets for older babies as they are an easy slip on design with a fun playful edge to them.

In London however,  we are lucky enough that waterproofing our kids is not always absolutely necessary, and this for me is an opportunity to dress the children in slightly more elegant outerwear.

It is also hard to resist Caramel’s selection – this on trend Orwell Bomber is awesome.  And for us at MillaMia we know how key an elegant coat can be to girl’s winter wardrobe – for party days, church visits, Christmas or even for a family lunch. The Cecilia Coat is our MillaMia showstopper, combining warmth and style.

The trick to layering is to also make sure you have some warmth underneath the outerlayer. This means knitwear for me! Key pieces from MillaMia that I think work well are the Alexander Jacket for boys, Nils Stripey Top for the younger ones and for girls the Hannah Cardigan is super versatile while the Charlotte Cardigan is useful. For someone like my jumper averse boy however I sometimes need to focus on super soft sweatshirts rather than knitted garments, and a playful edge sometimes helps to convince him. Tootsa McGinty are a super cool kids brand that totally ticks those boxes for us. The fox or bear jumpers seem to speak Freddie’s language and help him overcome his layering phobia.

Finally, at the risk of sounding like Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous (a reference here for our UK readers! Magazine episode in 1992 “accessories darling, accessories”) don’t forget hats, scarves and mittens. You can’t beat ski gloves when it is properly snowy and cold, but for the rest of the time I tend to go for knitted woolen pieces. One of our cutest knits at MillaMia is the Uno Cowl which is such an easy piece to just throw on the kids when we leave the house (and one that they are much less likely to lose than a hat or scarf!). At the same time the high street brands like Gap and Zara do a good range of fun accessories – with low prices where it matters less when things are likely to get lost. I LOVE this on trend hat from Gap in this season's key shade of lime green. Clearly I would prefer it hand knitted in MillaMia Lime and Putty though – maybe I will make my own version of the FREE Clementin Hat using precisely that combination!

 (posted by Katarina)