Children have never had it so good: pint-sized fashionistas now have a mix of rugged play wear and designer minatures

Childrenswear is booming and Britain’s fashion-conscious young have never had so much choice. Whether you’re after something durable for Swallows and Amazons adventuring, or more dressed up for that family wedding, there are collections to suit everyone. And no longer do we require our children to become Little Lord Faunt-leroys or befrilled Shirley Temples to look well-dressed: tomboys, princesses, skater boys, young men about town all are catered for.

At the top end of the price range, designers such as Ralph Lauren are doing adorable adaptations of classic polo shirts and dresses, tweed jackets and cashmere cardigans, while Chloé and Marc Jacobs are producing quirky, fun takes on their adult ranges. Interesting prints and misplaced frills make these pieces to treasure.

Impossible to ignore, though, are the fantastic offerings on the high street. You can’t fault Gap for its on-trend, hard-wearing childrenswear. With fresh deliveries to shops every six weeks, its clothing is robust, affordable and constantly changing.

Comptoir des Cotonniers, which launched in the UK last year, specialises in designing clothes for mothers and daughters. The girls’ clothing is an almost identical take on the grown-ups’ (its advertising campaigns feature real mother-and-daughter models), and the pieces are in lovely natural colours and fibres that complement each other without jarring with our perception of childhood innocence.
If you find parenthood so time-consuming that you can’t leave the house to shop for clothes, the internet has an array of options, from high end to high street. Also launched last year, Alex and Alexa (www.alexandalexa.com) is www.net-a-porter.com for kids. The clothes are gorgeous, but the prices verge on the eye-watering. Next (www.next.co.uk) has an enormous range of childrenswear for every occasion. Its sequined tops for girls sometimes fall into the “adult clothing in smaller sizes” category, but the basics are faultless, and orders made before 5pm are delivered the next day. For more traditional clothing, try Tulip and Nettle (www.tulipandnettle.co.uk). It has beautiful floral print dresses for girls and great shirts for boys. And be grateful for the Hunter Wellington boot available in an array of luscious colours, it may just be the summer essential for kids this year.

Stockist for the picture above, from left: Saffron wears dress, £17, Polarn O. Pyret (01753 622233); cardigan, from £75, Sonia Rykiel (020-7493 5255); scarf, £118, Jo Gordon (www.jogordon.com); socks, from £3.50 for two pairs, Next (0844 8448939); boots, £25, Hunter (www.hunter-boot.com). Tilly wears shirt, £65, Ralph Lauren (020-7535 4600); jumper, £50, John Smedley (01629 534571); shorts, £26.95, Jigsaw (020-8392 5600); leggings, £5.99, Zara (020-7534 9500); scarf, £59, Jo Gordon, as before; boots, £20, Hunter, as before. Jake wears shirt, £16.50, Gap (0800 427789); T-shirt, from £7 for three, trousers, from £9, and CAT boots, from £34.99, all Next, as before; belt, £5.99, Zara, as before. Ollie wears jacket, £24.50, and shirt, £16.50, both Gap, as before; T-shirt, from £7 for three, and socks, £6 for five pairs, both Next, as before; shorts, £37, Gant (0845 1111010); trainers, £19.99, Converse (www.converse.com). Felix wears polo shirt, £16, and T-shirt, from £8, both Boden (www.boden.co.uk); shorts, £17, Polarn O. Pyret, as before; socks, £6 for five pairs, Next, as before; trainers, £19.99, Converse, as before; hat, £10, Monsoon (0844 8110069). Max wears polo shirt, from £14, Boden, as before; hoody, £22, Little White Company (0870 9009555); shorts, £14.50, Gap, as before; socks, £8, Hackett (020-7939 6865); boots, £40, Kickers (www.kickers.co.uk). India wears overalls, from £98, Sonia Rykiel, as before; top, £47, Comptoir des Cotonniers (020-7792 9580); cardigan, £32.95, Jigsaw, as before; leggings, from £4, Next, as before; boots, £20, Hunter, as before; hat, from £10, Debenhams.