Ever since I became a mom, I have been fascinated with Scandinavian children’s clothing.  There is something in the water in Sweden, Denmark and Norway that compels the citizens to produce comfortable, durable, usually natural and sustainable textiles in the most amazingly colorful and unexpected prints you can imagine.  Hmmm, let’s see, have you always wanted to deck your kid out in a stretchy tank top with LOBSTERS and EGGPLANTS and SALT SHAKERS all over it? 

  BAM.  THAT just happened.

A cheery little dress covered with BLACK PANTHERS in the jungle?  Sure, no problem.

Picnic table pants, complete with hamburgers and ketchup bottles and ANTS?  Absolutely!

If you can imagine it, chances are some ingenious Swede has already made a jaunty pair of capris out of it.

I find all of this stuff exclusively online, sometimes trawling as far as actual Scandinavia to find it.  Danefae is a Danish line, as you might imagine from the name, and I had a really easy transaction with them back in ’08 despite understanding not a lick of Danish.  The link to their direct webshop doesn’t appear to work right now…try Huset. 

http://www.huset-shop.com/

Ittikid is another nifty web portal to all things cutely Nordic.

http://www.ittikid.com/

Molo, I usually get from Ollypop.  They even have a brick-and-mortar store in LA, not 3 hours away, but I shudder to think what kind of financial ruin would decimate my family in the wake of me actually going there.  We’d be homeless, but at least Lola would be keeping it fabulous at the soup kitchen.

http://www.ollypop.com/

Granted, the Scandinavians do not have the market completely cornered on zany cuteness.  Ticketyboo from England, Custo Barcelona, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and Desigual from Spain, Save the Queen Circus from Italy…oh no, I just got sucked into the vortex at Ollypop and discovered a new DUTCH line called 4 Funky Flavours.  They have a MERMAID print, y’all.  Mermaids are my kryptonite.  I am powerless against their charms, which cause my wallet to fall open helplessly and Lola to shrug, cos she doesn’t give a shit, she just wears them to humor me.  She knows I love mermaids and stars, so she gladly indulges me even though they are clearly inferior to Justin Bieber and denim studded high heels.