The clothing brands specifically created for children really have got it right. Many have created the right brand name, a catchy name that children will remember. They have brightly coloured branding and maybe a quirky logo. Tags on the clothes are tactile and of course, most importantly, the clothes are fashionable, colourful and exciting.

Children are becoming more fashion conscious but do we really want our children to follow the main stream look, copying others are school and looking the same as the next child? Through the rest of their growing up we try to make their personalities grow and for them to be an individual. Dressing children can sometimes be stressful but if they like the clothes and they are fun, it makes it much easier for parents.

Some of the latest brands to be popular with both children and grownups are the following. Both being European brands and centred on fun, colour and durability:

Molo Clothing
The Molo kids and Molo baby clothing collection is becoming more and more popular in the UK. A Danish brand, Molo kids and baby clothing is always fun, unique and fantastic quality. Mismatch of patterns and colours, layering and fun prints make this collection definitely stand out from the ‘designer crowd’!

Molo’s philosophy is that when kids are free to express their creativity through their clothing they gain self-esteem and confidence. Molo kids clothes fit and allow freedom of movement, while the rich details allow for freedom of expression. Molo kids clothing is unique and unpredictable. For Molo, designer kidswear has to be a mix of everyday durability and funky. The clothes are full of fun; quirky details set within the context of the clean and ‘raw’ design traditions of northern European children’s clothing.

The Molo clothing ranges are designed with the child in mind and not the adult, their quirky outlandish designs help children express themselves freely. Molo kids clothes are not the type of clothes that should be saved for special occasions but should be worn every day. Children, especially younger children, will test the durability and quality of their clothing to the limit and the Molo kids and Molo baby clothes collection is designed with this in mind. Molo kids clothes combine comfort and practicality, and they are unique too. Molo kids clothing provides a quality range of vibrantly colourful clothing for cool kids.

Mayoral Children’s Clothes
Mayoral clothes is the leading brand for children’s fashion in Spain. Many parents throughout the whole of Europe love Mayoral baby clothing for its great quality, value for money and its fantastic range of accessories that finish off the Mayoral clothing designs beautifully. It’s all about the whole look, not just the actually piece of clothing.

The Mayoral clothing collection for tweens is great for boys and girls that develop their own style and taste and want some individual great value pieces. Dressy, comfortable and great quality outfits for older boys and girls. It is found that many customers buy the Mayoral baby clothing but are still buying it right through to the Junior collection years later.

Wearing the correct dance costumes and shoes is important for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons for wearing the correct dance costumes for a particular dance style is to evoke the feeling, style and period of the dance. Dancing is physical so comfort is high on the agenda. With comfort also comes safety as a salsa dancer would not want to be wearing a full, bellowing skirt although they would when carrying out a ballroom dancing routine.

Dance costumes are specifically designed and constructed to aid the dancer in each particular dance, to be comfortable, unrestrictive and enhance the dancer’s for the dance. Dance is such a visual sport that costumes do play a huge role and they also help the dancer get into the role within the routine. A ballroom costume for example will be flowing and give a graceful feel whilst an argentine tango costumes will be fitted and more revealing to match the style of the dance. Dance costumes are now far more comfortable and allow for far more movement today. Lycra and other technical fabrics allow the costumes designer to design the most intricate and show stopping clothing. You only need to look at the Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars programmes.

Colour plays a huge role in the look of the costumes which then, in turn, can portray a different image of the dance. A classic and beautiful waltz costume would suit a pastel shade whereas for a fiery tango, it would be red or black for example, most definitely not a pastel shade. It is rare to see a dance costume made fully in a patterned fabric. A patterned fabric can distort the body and in competitive dance, it can hinder dancers as the judge cannot correctly see the alignment of the body.

Being adequately protected on a motorcycle doesn’t just mean wearing a helmet.

It is often under estimated the importance of wearing the correct type of motorcycle clothing from gloves through to boots and even the correct garments underneath. Most motorcyclists know the importance of wearing a helmet but there are still some that do not wear adequate clothing on the rest of their body.

Leathers come in a wide range of styles to suit the bikes, riders and different needs and situations. The leather used for motorcycle gear is a very tough form of leather to give maximum protection. All aspects of the suit or separate are tested from the seams to the zips to check for tearing, impact abrasion, cut and burst resistance. Armour for extra protection is inserted into the shoulder area, back, hips, knees and elbows such as in the Alpinestars clothing range. Leather is the most traditional form of motorbike clothing but even that has advanced in recent years. Kangaroo skin is now used, especially for race suits, as it gives great protection and maximum comfort. The kangaroo skin moulds to the body ergonomically with great movement which is why it is so popular when in a racing position.

Specialist motorcycling clothing has really gone forward during the past few years with advances in manufacturing techniques, materials and product development. Leather used to be the only material for motorcycling clothing but there are now a choice of materials including nylon and Kevlar. These materials are much lighter than leather making them more comfortable whilst riding but they are also far better for protection against the weather. The ballistic nylon and Kevlar materials have fantastic anti abrasion properties. These materials took over 1700 cycles on an abrasion test before failure. If you put that against a pair of jeans which failed after 50 cycles, it is evident the importance of such protective clothing.    

Ballistic nylon (e.g. Cordura) and Kevlar materials keep warmth in when needed but also allow vents in the design of the garment to let air in when it is hot. Textile garments dry out much faster than leathers so when touring, clothing made from these materials are a good idea. Many of the top motorcycle clothing brands such as Dainese and Spidi do both leather and textile ranges.

Read the rest of this entry »