European look for kids

amother

Smokey

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 11:30 am

amother [ Goldenrod ] wrote:

no way. sorry I disagree. I spent the first 26 years of my life living in Europe. Never saw any of the looks that you describe above. I dont know where such ridiculous ideas come from!

European trends change just as much as they do in the rest of the world.

And Zara IS selling all those styles, as another poster linked above.

https://www.zara.com/us/en/kid.....90511

amother

Amethyst

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 11:32 am

Ok everyone there was one person who said European. Literally one person when she tried to describe more urban clothing. Her usage was wrong. The op jumped on that.
Take that out of the equation. The op was critical of those who buy in town clothes. She’s trying to understand the look.
Those who “get it” and that doesn’t mean only those from the tri state area, (I’m from a large oot community), are answering the op question.
It’s really an urban look. Many of the clothing are made in Europe but it’s an urban trendy look mixed with designer that’s being described.

DrMom

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 11:57 am

amother [ Amethyst ] wrote:

Many posters on various threads over the years have described desirable frum children's clothing in the NY area as "European."

amother

Seagreen

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 11:59 am

giselle wrote:

Older boys don’t wear oxford shirts on shabbos. Can’t compare DSW shoes to styles in Jewish stores.

So buy dress shirts in Macy's, or anywhere. White shirts are probably the one thing you can really buy anywhere. My husband buys his Calvin Klein ones when they go on sale on Amazon.
Re DSW, I don't know, I've had shoes last two or three seasons that I paid $20-50, you gotta know your brands. And I find that I am buying on Amazon more and more lately

amother

Pink

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 12:14 pm

My guess by the terminology “European” is the term used loosely as a substitute for heimish. The same way we have always used duvet covers, serve only chicken soup and never vegetable soup on shabbos, and other subtleties. The kids wear refined expensive- looking (and yes, Zara and h and m are really in line) clothing which is european vs American -meaning not heimish.

amother

Aquamarine

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 12:50 pm

amother [ Seagreen ] wrote:

Chassidish shirts are buttoned differently. The buttons are on the left, as in women's shirts.

Mommyg8

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 2:37 pm

amother [ Goldenrod ] wrote:

no way. sorry I disagree. I spent the first 26 years of my life living in Europe. Never saw any of the looks that you describe above. I dont know where such ridiculous ideas come from!

I don't know which country you're from, but my understanding is that Europe is big, so they might not be sold in your particular country.... The shoes, for example, that are sold in Jewish stores have European sizing. The fit seems to me to be slightly different as well. They also have European sounding names - it's anyone's guess where they are really from, though Smile

.

The grass is always greener on the other side and since time immemorial anything imported has always had an appeal that homegrown items lack. Upper class Americans buy European, but I have no idea what upper class Europeans buy (probably not American - they are not as elegant!). I have no idea why the RW frum world buys only upper class items, that's one of the mysteries I've been trying to solve...

Raisin

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 2:47 pm

lol has nobody mentioned primark? That is probably the most popular clothing store in Europe.

(actually I googled - 4th highest turnover after Indietex, H&M and marks and spencer, but since their clothes are so cheap ppl are getting more for their money)

But, yes, we all dress our kids EXACTLY like the Royal family does, even for a day in the park.

To be fair frum people probably buy a lot more formal style clothing then nonJewish people.

dankbar

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 7:04 pm

I was in upper Manhattan today, I stepped in to one of the boutique shops there, that sell children's clothing. ( for the fun of it) OMG! The prices! Idk any Jewish people that shop there, maybe some popular ones people might buy from, maybe when they go drastically on sale, but mostly people don't know abt these ind stores . So who exactly is shopping there? The Upper class Non-Jewish people!!! In a blink they have no problem buying infant ensembles for $300 etc.

Also those European styles, ok very classy dresses navy mostly....but navy for infant girl theyre selling too?! (That was in Jacadi, they had sale, but the clothes there, even on sale prices is not in my range.) I passed & saw a discounted sale sign in window, I figured maybe I can find something well priced.....

The other boutique shop was a block further down with much crazier prices.

amother

Ecru

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 7:27 pm

I live oot. For my younger kids I buy children’s place & old navy & H&M. Zara is an occasional splurge. Those are for clothes & shoes. I also get shoes from amazon.

For my preteen I find it very hard to find tznius stuff. But I will not spend $70 -$100 per dress for one season!! It’s insanity unless u are wealthy. I shop clearance in the frum shops. Not sure why just one year later the stuff everyone was desperate for is suddenly undesirable. Honestly don’t get it. I pay $30 -$40 a dress and get the same looks /quality, just a year later. Big deal. Don’t get the whole madness or superficiality of it all. And I do love nice clothes.

amother

Amethyst

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 8:36 pm

Amother ecru, you might not enjoy purchasing nicer clothing, but please don’t knock others who do.
I’m sure there are things you enjoy that I think might be a waste of time or money. I wouldn’t feel holier then thou, it’s your money and time. Do what brings you pleasure.
I happen to enjoy buying nice, sometimes designer or expensive clothing for myself and my kids.
People who do spend on their clothing, know about the children’s place and Tj maxx. We’re not clueless.
I keep seeing here people saying “I buy my sons Shabbos shirts in the children’s place” like we’ve never heard of it. Most of us know what’s out there way more because we’re “into it” savvy shoppers. Personally I won’t put my kids in children’s place shirts for Shabbos because I don’t like how it looks. I’m really not sure why that bothers some people here.
We can mix and match high end, mid line, and yes, throw in some “steals” from H&M or target.
I do it all the time. I consider myself a smart shopper, because I know how to mix the high end and “cheaper” items to achieve a chic look.
It’s fun for me and I enjoy dressing my kids well.
I’m happy to spend a little extra. Not sure why that is such a problem for so many here.

DrMom

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 8:59 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

And it has been explained numerous times that the companies are European companies. Hence the term, “European clothing.”

Okay, so Zara and H&M are European-owned companies. *That's* the super-exclusive "European" look?

They are fast fashion. You can find these in any mall in the US (or Israel).

I don't consider their merchandise to be such a cut above what you can find in a US department store.

It's not uber-pricey/exclusive either.

southernbubby

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 9:37 pm

amother [ Amethyst ] wrote:

Obviously there are people who can afford nicer things and can still pay their tuition and other bills. Then there are those who can't afford it but who run up debts in order not to be considered nebs. The peer pressure is why it is such a problem.
Obviously we don't expect wealthy people to buy Yom tov clothes for their kids from Target but when every other thread on this site is about dealing with financial struggle, much of which involves peer pressure spending, then there will be those who have a problem with this type of spending being the norm.

mommy3b2c

Thu, Oct 17 2019, 9:44 pm

DrMom wrote:

Zara and handm are cheap companies that are European and therefore have many “acceptably stylish” items. Those are not the companies being discussed here. I mentioned some names before but I’ll repeat:
Carbon soldier, Jean Bourget, kenzo, marmar, Violeta, tiny cottons, Bobo choses, noe and Zoe....
There are many more as well. All European non Jewish companies that are sold in the Jewish stores and bought by many Jewish people. Hence the term “European clothing” hope that explains it.