Ask Design Mom: Classic Girls Nightgowns
Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Dear Design Mom, I have an almost 8 year old who refuses to sleep in anything other than nightgowns. However, I have a difficult time finding classic nightgowns. I know there has to be some delightfully sweet ones out there... Any ideas? Thanks, Stacey
Design Mom Answer:
What a great question, Stacey. And how much fun for me to find some great sources for traditional nightgowns. Although my own daughters crave snug-fitting cotton pjs, I love seeing them in classic gowns. They make me want to pull out the sponge rollers. Some of these sources you'll likely recognize, and some may be new. I hope this helps!
Possibly my favorite option is the robe and gown set pictured above from CWDKids. So girly and so classic.
If you're still craving something cozy, Vermont Country Store carries a flannel nightgown by Lanz of Salzburg in 2 sweet patterns.
I love this sweet, summery, English, hand-smocked option. Available up to size 14.
At Good Orient there are lots of pretty options. They list them as dresses, but I prefer them as nightgowns.
Garnet Hill Kids and Boden Kids both have similar nightgown options in up-to-date cuts.
How about you, Design Mom Readers? Where do you find classic girls nightgowns?
Labels: ask design mom, kids
posted by Gabrielle of Design Mom at Tuesday, February 27, 2007
17 Comments:
All of those gowns are darling!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Part of why nightgowns are hard to find is because of federal sleepwear guidelines--tight-fitting or polyester. Ugh. I love Simplicity pattern 4767 to sew nightgowns for my girls: very simple pattern--peasant style (pullover--no buttons or zippers) with lots of variations.
Are you familiar with the Damask range at all? They produce beautiful classic 100% cotton nightgowns for children which feature gorgeous embroidery.
They are not cheap, here in the UK they retail at approx £38 but they are fabulous :)
Occasionally Target will carry them in flannel. They are nice and long too!
L.L. Bean has some nice flannel ones.
Nordstrom has one that looks a lot like the first one. It is very light and has a little "robe" over the top. We call them Ariel gowns or Clara gowns (from The Little Mermaid and The Nutcracker). It is pink and costs about 30$$.
We get ours from Hanna Andersson too. Gap has some good ones occasionally, so does Gymboree. :-)
Love.boxes, I agree. They make we long for a sleepover party.
vfg, I'm sure you're right about the guidelines. Thanks for the pattern tip. Now if I can remember my 4-H sewing skills. . .
Esther, I'm going to google Damask as soon as I finish this comment. Thanks for the tip.
Lei, Andrea, and Bek, thanks so much for chiming in with more sources.
Design Mom readers are the cleverest.
i have been trying to find a cute nightgown for my four year old that doesn't have a "character" on it and have been having SUCH a hard time. thanks for doing the research, i really liked the third one with short sleeves. super cute!
i love nightgowns as well - unfortunatley only one of my four daughters will wear them.
we used to get ours from april cornell (they are now out of the clothing business). they were actually petticoats, but we used them as nightgowns.
i should try making one - thanks for the pattern info.
THANK YOU THANK YOU for this post! Just tonight my 3 year old decided she wants nightgowns but I cannot bring myself to go buy a polyester Disney nightgown that will go up in flames in 2 seconds. This is just great! Who knew those Lanz of Salzburg nighties were still around?
Carter's has really cute nightgowns. They are much more tasteful than all of the character and licensed gowns out there.
Had the peignoir gown in a 2T and it lasted 2 years on my daughter and then another year on daughter #2. They wash well and dry fast too. During the holidays, you can get the same set in red.
The Lanz gowns are so cute and old-fashioned. Top quality. I bought the pink for a Christmas nightie one year and it lasted two years also. It seemed to shrink up a bit though - hard to gage how much as kids grow fast too. The blue color on older girl is very sweet and looks more appropriate than the light pink. Vermont sells it in red, pink and blue during the winter but never drop the price ($35 for the 2,3,4T and $40 for girls and women)
This is for Bonnie Brae-- April Cornell is NOT out of the clothing business! Her stores in the US (and overseas) went into bankruptcy but she settled and kept one store open in Maine/ Vermont? in the US and is still designing and selling thru larger dept. stores awa her own small boutiques throughout Canada. I'm not sure why things worked out this way for her but am pretty sure it has to do with her being a Canadian citizen in the first place! She has an online store (aprilcornell.com) carrying all her seasonal designs (and the nighties sell out FAST -- right now she only has @ 2-3 in XL or any sz other than sm/xsm.) But the clothes ARE there -- Ladies and girls- awa accessories. I also see that a "Martha M" will be taking over some of her original designs and marketing them as "Martha M for April Cornell" or some such.
I am a true nightgown fanatic and have infected my 26 yr. old daughter and my 4 yr. old granddaughter with the Nightie Bug as well-- my daughter is due in Sept. w. another baby girl so she will be getting the hand-me-downs awa her own teensey baby Cornelloki petticoat/nightie collection!
Hope this info helps anyone out there searching regularly for those beautiful nighties-- they just make you feel feminine and lovely even when you're old and wrinkly! lol-- Blessings to all---
I love the pink sleepwear from CWDkids. I like it being simple yet classy. :) I think this one's gonna be perfect for my daughter.
Hi there,
I have no idea who you are, I just read your one blog topic on the nightgowns. From one mom to another, please accept a great big "THANK YOU" from me. I checked out the sites mentioned, and only CWDkids had what I was looking for. Also, American Girl has the most incredible gowns - replicas of gowns from across the centuries, but they're over $50 each - and they're white. My toddler plays outside in the dirt under our fig tree in her jammies. Not gonna happen in an expensive white number.
Thanks again!
---California Mommy
Go to http://www.visionforum.com/search/productlist.aspx?search=modest you will find cute nightgowns up to 40 inches long and long slips. I bought my girls 2 nightgowns each for winter and 4 slips apiece. 2 slips for slips and 2 for summer nightgowns. The slips are a really good price. They have bonnets too.
Does anyone know where to find long dresses (prairie type)? My girls want some like the girls on Little House but I can't find any.
Hope this helps some of you.
cngardiner
Texas Mom-
Post a Comment
<< Home