Australian children's clothing

[Lonelymum]

Can anyone with a knowledge of Australian and British children's clothing answer this: a lot of my children's clothes come from my Australian MIL. The labels are mainly Now and Bonds. Are these department stores or chains of childrenswear or what? Do they have a UK equivalent?

Bonds are a make in their own right - fab clothes - no Uk equivalent.

see here

NOW are a k-mart brand of clothing - K-mart is a department store - no real UK equivalent.

in terms of quality - both are fab - my kids wear both... probably k-mart is like tesco clothing

Bonds are brilliant and have been around forever!!

k-mart is a variety store I meant to say

here is some info

I had a number of baby vests sent over when I lived in the UK - as they do vest for newborns - which are fab in summer - my two run around in bonds vest and their nappies/knickers....

Thanks for that info Eidsvold.

I wondered if Bonds was a bit like Gap as MIL gave ds3 a long sleeved top which is plain navy with the word Bond emblazoned across it in red. It reminded me of those Gap rugby shirts you could buy in the 80s.

I agree about the quality of clothing. In fact, I have never had an item of clothing from Australia that didn't last forever, even cheapo "Brisbane" t-shirts bought in the airport!

Oh just realised I know what you are talking about when you mention Bonds vests. Yes I had those too for my children. Someone sent them to me (or MIL again) when I had my first baby. They were great because they were really long in the body and didn't ride up when worn under other clothes. Most vests for babies have poppers round the crotch and I used to find they squished the nappy and its contents and caused quite a lot of washing for me! but the Bodns vests were great.

Still got them if anyone wants to buy them from me.....!

when I had dd1 - a friend asked what I wanted and I said the bonds vest - she asked if I minded second hand ones from her children - said nope - that would be fab - they are now on their 4th child and still going strong.

Good Morning!

Gotta love those Chesty Bonds. Both ds are romping around in them as PJ tops as I type.

Now is deffo KMart which I don't like that much tbh some of it is very shabbily made but then I suspect the kids who make it are getting peanuts somewhere in SE Asia, prefer Target.

Your MIL shops exclusively at KMart it would seem. Now and Bonds are both sold there. Bonds stuff was pretty indestructible.

ds1 is looking extremely fetching in his Bondy t-shirt and boardies today if I say so myself

Don't get this "Holden" logo thing at all though

Message withdrawn

oh hello dear
I have been on hols for a week and now msn is gone, don't know if the two are related, will try and sort it out tonight, or should I finish the sealing behind the taps in the bathroom???????

Bonds baby socks are the only ones I have ever found that stay on! Bonds has been around forever, but has become really fashionable of late. Have a Bonds factory outlet down the road, spend far too much in there.

you lucky bugger

I have to say that even if NOW is a bit down market, the clothes MIL has given me have all held out really well. It didn't occur to me until I started this thread, but I can't think of any Australian clothes I have had to dump because they have fallen apart, and they all keep their shape etc after loads of washing. Pity you can't say the same thing for GB clothes, except maybe some M&S stuff.

Bonds are great, thankfully I still have a huge supply leftover from DS ready and waiting for the new one. ALso Australians arent afraid to use colour in there boys childrens clothes. Will be stocking up when I go in October.

I think K-Mart is a bit like Woolworths actually.

Well, I know Woolworths are naff but their clothes can be excellent: Ladybird is a highly respected name IMO. Their underwear is the best!

Anyway, sounds like I should be asking MIL to cut out the NOW stuff (I must admit, if she sends me another NOW tracksuit bottom I will scream!) and concentrate more on Bonds!

I don?t know what K-mart is like now, but I remember being a bit embarrassed that all my clothes cam from K-Mart as a child.

i find for t-shirts and shorts for the likes of kindy and playing - k-mart are fab and they do last - better than they used to be. Good clothes - Target - love them.

Bonds have undergone a transformation - used to make daggy singlets and underwear - now it is fab... I love Bonds the girls have baby gros, vest, dd2 has track pants in the bonds, i love my bonds t-shirt bras.... so comfy.

okay enough raving.

It will be costing her more to post the Now tracksuit pants than they cost to buy.

I love KMart up until age 3 and then it gets silly and grungy like most other places. I can still buy the odd Tshirt, but that's about it.

Bobbingalong - I regularly tear my hair out trying to find boys clothes that haven't got skulls etc on them. So lovley up until the age of three (sweet trains and lots of primary colours) but apparently at three they become mini-soldiers... Thats what I do miss about the UK clothes!

I'd just like to say that I love the Bonds Wondersuits. As a new and completely inexperienced mum, I found them to be lovely and stretchy which is just what I needed for my wriggly little girl. I miss M&S though....

Bobby, she doesn't often post the clothes (only occasionally in a large parcel, eg for Christmas). She comes over to England every summer for several months and that is when I get the influx of Australian clothes. Is there any other brand of clothes you would recommend then so that I can stop her buying K-Mart stuff? What would be the equivalent of Next or Gap?

Oops sorry, it's me Lonelymum, trying out new names.

Well maybe.....just trying out a few ideas and enjoying being incognito again.