Menagerie · Castelbajac Kids Hooded Top, Japan, 1990s, AU 3–4
Striped soft knit · embroidered teddy, parrot and bee · drawstring hood · Castelbajac Kids Sport · made in Japan · 1990s to 2000s · AU size 3-4, approx 3-4 years
A striped knit hooded top with an embroidered teddy at the chest, a parrot on one sleeve, and a bee on the hood. Each creature is stitched slightly raised against the stripe, catching the light differently depending on the angle, and a child wearing this will spend considerable time examining the bee.
JC de Castelbajac Kids Sport, made in Japan, 1990s to 2000s. Castelbajac was the French designer who made a coat entirely from teddy bears, who put cartoon characters on adult runway clothes at a time when that was genuinely radical, and who believed that wit was a form of elegance. His children's work carries the same spirit, only warmer. The striped knit is soft in faded blue and marled grey, the hood closing with a knotted cord. A collector's piece in a very wearable form.
The knit has the loved-in softness of something that has been worn and washed and remained exactly itself.
Care
Cool gentle wash on its own. Reshape and dry flat. Keep the iron off the embroidered creatures so the stitches stay proud.
More on looking after vintage pieces in our care guide.
Size
Measured flat: length 39cm, chest 35cm, sleeve length 30cm, hood length 28cm. Fits approximately AU size 3-4, around 3 to 4 years.
Our size guide explains how vintage sizing is read here.
Condition
Very good, with a loved-in softness. The knit is even, the embroidered creatures all intact.
Our condition lexicon explains the grades we use.
Before it reaches you
Someone loved this before you did, and I try to honour that properly. Each piece is hand washed, or cleaned in the way that the fabric permits, then steamed until it softens and straightens and feels newly attended to. Wherever a button was missing, it has been replaced with a vintage one from my long-kept collection. Wherever a hem had given way, I fix it by hand. By the time it leaves this room it is genuinely clean, pressed, whole, and looked over one final time before I let myself believe it is ready. Not restored. Not made new. Just returned to a state where it can be loved again, by someone who was not there the first time.
A teddy on the chest, a parrot on one sleeve, a bee on the hood: a whole small menagerie that only behaves while someone is looking at it. The bee is the ringleader, which is why children examine it longest and why the parrot keeps one eye permanently trained on the hood. Castelbajac once built a coat entirely out of teddy bears, so these three know they got off lightly and have agreed, for the time being, to stay stitched where they are. Wear it inside out and the animals will sulk, but they always come back.