• Shades for kids
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Shades for kids

By Ayesha R. Rafiq

It's a universal truth that lit tle children can't sit still. Do what you may, the only time you feel like calling them your 'little angels', is probably when they're sound asleep.

It certainly doesn't help if while they're busy running around, they're wearing clothes that you've spent a fortune on, and the best part of a week trying to find. Added to this, if they're the kind of clothes that the kids feel uncomfortable in, and which stretch and tear at every turn, the result can be a very grumpy child.

Wouldn't it be nice, if just for once, you could go out to just one shop, pick something that's comfortable and in cotton, that your children will like, and that will last for some time.

Denushka Wickremasurendra, owner of 'Shades for Kids,' is all too familiar with these problems. She describes her four-year-old daughter, Yashara, as being 'quite fidgety', and very picky about her clothes. "She will only wear cotton clothes, because she knows she won't sweat as much in them, and simple dresses for children are so hard to find these days."

So she decided to solve the problem by stitching Yashara's clothes herself. She says that her friends and relations used to love the designs she used to come up with for her daughter, and encouraged her to turn out clothes on a commercial basis.

She says she's not 'overly fond' of the stitching part of it, but that she loves designing the clothes. It took her about one year to get into gear, due to the fact that she has two small children to look after. It was her sister in law, the owner of the 'Aura' dress boutique at Majestic City, who really got her going.

Aura caters to 16-year-olds and above. So 'Shades for Kids,' will have clothes for children from the ages of one to 15. 'In this way there won't be a gap in between, and people will know if they need clothes for any age group, they only have to visit one of the two shops,' says Denushka.

Most of the materials she uses are local, and she hand-picks them herself. The designs are original and done with the child's comfort uppermost in mind. The colours are bright and primary, and there are clothes for both party and casual wear.

While her shop has clothes for both boys and girls, the emphasis is on girl's clothes. She designs most of the clothes with her daughter in mind. "I always try the clothes out on her, before I put it out on the market. This way I know how practical it will be on a real child, instead of just visualising how it will look on a plastic mannequin."

The clothes range from practical and simple, but dressy clothes for the young teenager, to cute wraparounds, dresses, shorts and so much more for the fashion conscious youngster

Denushka's shop at Majestic City also reflects her taste in children's clothes. The shelves have leaves sprouting out from them, and at the top of the shelves are pasted shaded flowers.

The idea, she says, came from her daughter's bedroom at home. "We decided to give Yashara her own bedroom as a birthday present when she turned two. But she was so used to sleeping with us, that we had to give her a good reason to want to go into it." So one day, Denushka got down on her hands and knees, and repainted the bedroom. The result was big pink and yellow flowers and pastel shaded grass on the walls, with a rainbow running the length of the room, and the ceiling panels painted in different colours. "I don't think I would ever do it again, but I'm still happy with the end result" she laughs.

Denushka has never had what one may call, extensive training in the art of sewing. For one month after she left she took classes from her friends mother, "and that was it," as she puts it. The rest of it came from practice and common sense. She has about three girls who do the sewing for her, while she designs and cuts and oversees the process.

"When I was training the girls, my husband used to comment that they do more unpicking than sewing. But I had to make sure that the dresses were up to a certain standard, and I wouldn't stop until the dresses were perfect. Even though they are quite good now, I'm always hovering around them to see that their work is okay."

Her husband Janaka, seems to take care of the business side of things. He emphasises over and over that they intend to keep the prices very competitive. "We definitely aren't running this business to make the next million. We will never be production oriented. We are focusing on customer loyalty in the long run, which means that the clothes will always be of a good quality."

He says that what they have set out to do is fill a niche which they feel is missing in the market. "We want Shades for Kids to be the first name that pops into both parents" and children's minds, when they need to buy something to wear."

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