Scandi clothing has taken the world by storm. Before Emmy was born, I’d never even heard of the world of kids’ Scandi wear, DUNS or baggy pants. I’d have assumed that organic kids clothing was very much a traditional, muted style, the hues of hygge – cosy greys, blush pinks, that particular shade that can only be found in the warm glow of a flickering candle.
I somehow fell into the world of Scandi kids clothes while researching ethical clothing for babies and I stumbled across a glorious rainbow of colour, patterns and prints: DUNS Sweden, Maxomorra, JNY and countless others, as well as ones like Frugi that are of a similar aesthetic and also organic but are not quite Scandi. And of course, there are other brands that do have that cosy, minimalist look that you’d expect from sustainable Scandi designs, but those are for another day.
Today’s post is all about DUNS Sweden, a company that offers wonderful, uplifting and unique designs that are not only GOTS Certified but are also unisex and even have clothes that are now known as “Mama Duns” – matching pieces for mums (and sometimes dads!). DUNS is probably the epitome of organic Scandi clothing – even if you haven’t heard of them, you’ve likely seen one of their flagship pieces of radish decorated clothing floating around at some point.
We started our Scandi life on Facebook’s second hand market. One huge benefit of Scandi kids clothing is the community around it – people keep their clothing in excellent condition (or at least, the best they can when they’re worn by unruly kids!) and sell them on at a reduced rate to other Scandi lovers. This keeps the sustainable cycle rolling – the clothes only come out of service once they’ve become too worn to function, and sometimes even at that point, crafty hands will snap them up and fashion them into something new. I love the idea that these pieces of clothing are being worn by countless little people, making new memories in them and passing them on to someone else. They’re not ending up in landfill after a few wears; they’re well worn and well loved.
Last week though, I indulged in something new for us – DUNS announced their Summer “drop” (the terminology here is key) a little while ago and I totally fell in love with the new Purple Meadow design. I decided I would get Emmy’s first new pieces of DUNS from this collection, and when I saw the options available, I just had to get some for me too – new things all round!
I’d never participated in a drop before though – I didn’t quite realise how crazy they can be! From what I’ve read in the groups, it seems this one was particularly anticipated due to the current popularity of floral prints, the exciting new designs (baggy pants!!) and lockdown fever. I took note of how people were preparing for Drop Day and prepared my list too. I decided Emmy most definitely needed a zipsuit – we already have one zipsuit and it’s an absolute favourite – and I adored the baggy pants for her too. I was tempted by the wrap dresses for me, then remembered that I don’t do well with low cut wraps nor did I actually need one any more as Emmy’s no longer feeding during the day. Instead, I decided I needed a matching pair of baggy pants.
A couple of indies (more of the terminology!) were posting photos of themselves wearing the new collection, and excitingly, many of them were easily fitting into the kids size baggy pants – and not just the biggest size either! Someone who wore a size 16 posted that she fit into the 158/164 size and she looked just stunning in them. I decided I’d try to get either that size or the size smaller and see if they would work for me.
I decided on The Norse Nook as my indie of choice for this purchase as they had stock of all the pieces I wanted, plus an offer of a free large bar of Tony’s Chocolonely with orders over £50 – another secret of the Scandi clothing world, slave free chocolate that tastes absolutely fantastic.
What I didn’t anticipate was quite how many people wanted them too. The drop was at midday on Friday and it wasn’t even 12.01 when I got to checkout at The Norse Nook with Emmy’s zipsuit, her baggy pants and my baggy pants in the basket. Then suddenly, mine were gone – sold out before it was even 12.01! I purchased her items then proceeded to search for mine elsewhere – but no to avail, they were gone, all gone!
But in that case, how am I wearing baggy pants in these photos?
In a panic, I frantically searched other indies who were stocking baggy pants and stumbled across some in stock at Funky Little People…in a size 134/140, ie. age 8-10. My logic convinced me that if 2 sizes bigger fit a size 16, this size should fit me at around a size 10 currently. This week as I waited for the order to arrive, I went back and forth over this decision – was I being ridiculous, or would they fit?!
This afternoon, just before we went out for our daily exercise, the postman rang the doorbell and handed me a parcel from Funky Little People (all wrapped in recyclable packaging, I should add!) – my DUNS! Emmy’s had arrived earlier in the week, and she wore her zipsuit last night (it was love at first sight!) but her baggy pants looked a bit too big so I was planning to wait a while before she wore them.
But once I tried on mine and realised that they did, in fact, fit, I decided Emmy needed to wear hers today too – no question. She’s wearing a size 74/80 (approximately age 9-12 months) but the cuffs are rolled over the whole way and the waist is very baggy. And my age 8-10 trousers? Well, they’re shorter than they’re intended to be and more fitted too, particularly around the hips, but I absolutely love them. They feel like wearing pyjamas (and Ben says they look like them too…) but I’m so pleased with our matching outfits. It was just lucky that we both had matching yellow tops too!
Emmy is wearing:
MTAF Yellow Vest (second hand from Facebook)
DUNS Purple Meadow Baggy Pants (from The Norse Nook)
Tesco Pink Trainers
I’m wearing:
Tu at Sainsburys Yellow Top
DUNS Purple Meadow Baggy Pants (from Funky Little People)
Superga Trainers
