Finally went to Naartjie last night... (long)

[jpang]

Warning: May cause shopping! Do not read if you are trying to avoid this brand.

Usually during the week I have strict baby duty after work, but last night DD went to bed early and DH let me have the night off. Valley Fair is 40 minutes from our house-- I managed to get their at 8:10pm, intending to see Naartjie for the first time and see the Hanna sale in person (see Hanna thread for details).

I was really impressed with the Naartjie clothes. They are very delicate looking, with lovely details and colors. For DD, I bought the Rose Stamp poplin dress in Dew (thanks, Imperia, for posting those photos of Maddy!), with matching Dew poplin bloomers. I also got her a cute top in Ocean to go with the bloomers, and the swing cardigan in Dew. These four pieces all match, so she has at least two outfits out of them.

BTW, they have the rose stamp dress back in stock. 18 to 24 months was the largest in Dew; they had 2-3 years in Ocean still. It's marked down to $19.99! I couldn't resist one more dress and bought the knit Happy Flower dress in neon (kind of a cantaloupe color).

They have a great sale in progress now. All the separate pieces are $9.99 or less (the cardigan was $7.99, down from $16.50); the dresses are $19.99 or lower. I bought five pieces, including two dresses, and the total came to under $70. I think their prices compared favorably to Hanna, even on sale. At one point, I was comparing striped linen pants in both stores-- $18 Hanna on sale, $9.99 Naartjie. I think I will end up returning some of the Hanna stuff I got and buying more Naartjie.

If you are thinking of trying Naartjie, this is a great time to buy. The salespeople were wonderful: not pushy and really helpful. I heard one of them taking a phone order from someone from Texas (a BBB mom, I wondered?). They kept asking me where I'd heard of them, and I said "The internet!"

So I found myself, last night at 9pm as the mall closed, actually very happy with the clothes I'd bought. How silly is that? I never would have guessed that one of the nicest pleasures in life is dressing up your baby girl and watching her smile at you.

[Imperia]

You are most welcome Janice!

I snickered at your warning/disclaimer at the top of your post. I swear this baord is dangerous!

Isn't the Rose stamp set TDF? I don't suppose you noticed if they had in in fresh or apricot in very small sizes did you? I am just wondering as you said, back in stock...

YOu definately hit on a few of the reasons I really like Naartjie:

the prices are exceptional for what you are getting (IMHO)
the CS is fantastic
oh and I LOVE teh clothes themselves...

Imperia

[urbanmom]

Okay, I may have to give in and try this brand, especially with a little girl on the way (although their boy stuff looks cute too for DS). Unfortunately, there isn't a store on the East coast. Is most of their stuff on their website? Can you tell me how their sizes run compared to Hanna or Gap? Do they have sales often or should I jump on this one?
Thanks for any input!

[jpang]

Hi, Imperia--

Yes, Rose Stamp is to-tally TDF!! (written like a true Californian)They definitely had several colors in stock-- I don't remember Fresh in particular, but I think apricot was there-- and they seemed to have more smaller sizes than larger ones. It's worth a call to the store.

I think the clothes are much cuter IRL than on their website, by the way. The website isn't that inspiring. For example, the Poplin Anglaise Lace Dress is lovely IRL, delicate and flowy, especially when paired with contrasting colored bloomers (I remember an apricot dress/ pink bloomer combination I thought was striking and normally I disklike pink) but on the website it looks just kind of odd to me. Do you agree?

[jpang]

Hi, urbanmom,

Sorry to pull you as I have been pulled in... but if you like the feminine styling of their clothes, I don't think you will be disappointed. The store has much more in stock than the website. If I were you, I'd call the Valley Fair store and mention the things you are interested in, and ask them if they have other similar things they would recommend. They know their stock very well and also know which pieces work well/are popular.

The other thing the CS told me is that their clothes don't really shrink. I'll leave it to Imperia or other more experienced moms to answer on the sizing questions, but to me the sizing looked a little bigger than Gap. JMO, though, and I don't have a lot to base it on!

I'm not sure if they have a lot of sales, but I really thought the prices were quite reasonable. $7.99 for a cardigan; $9.99 for striped linen pants (I'm thinking I might have to return for those).

Also, if you don't have strong color preferences, you might mention what you'd guess DD's coloring will be (and congrats, by the way!!)and ask for a recommendation. I saw these jersey bloomers trimmed with ribbon in the most delicate yellow which would have been stunning on a blond child.

Have fun!

[jpang]

By the way, Imperia,

I'm sure you noticed, as I did when I got home last night, that Dew looks a lot like the Gymboree spring showers palette (which I've also collected) ... at least I'm consistent in my weaknesses! ;-)

[Kieransmom]

I'm an east coaster too and you have to call or email one of the stores to have them send you clothes. It's so annoying! I saw some adoreable things and I was very discouraged that I had to go through all that trouble to order.

Michelle
Mommy to Kieran, born 5/9/03

[heidi_timms]

We have two Naartjie outfits that have been hanging in the closet with the tags on and DD finally wore her first one today. I loved this outfit on DD! It was from their Daisy Dumpling line in a dark periwinkle and it looked so cute. I will seriously have to take some pictures the next time she wears it.

I seriously don't know why they haven't put together a website with online shopping. They would make a killing just by word of mouth alone. I used to live near the VF store and will be moving near one of their other stores soon. It's a whole different experience going to a store. There's so much more to choose from!

I was at the VF store on Thursday and it didn't seem like they had too many stamp dresses left. Since they were on sale, they might have had a mad rush of shoppers. I did hear that the Ardenfair store normally has a good stock of sale items.

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[Imperia]

Heidi

Your DD did look precious in her DD set today, it really brought out her eyes I think.

I was chatting with Vicki the manager of teh VF Naartjie and she said teh reason they don't have online shopping set up is because they would never have enough stock--she said they barely have enough stock for the stores they have in CA. Case and point--the rose stamp dress which didn't even make it online to be looked at or to many stores besides VF.

Maybe it's silly but I sort of like that it's not easy to get because then not every child is wearing it. And taht helps keep it unique and fresh!

Imperia

[stillplayswithbarbies]

where can I see a pic of the rose stamp dress?

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[parkersmama]

Karen, here's a recent conversation where Imperia posted a pic of Maddy in the rose stamp dress: http://tinyurl.com/3x82e

[jpang]

Here's a photo of Lena in her new neon Happy Flower dress. Worn for the first time this morning! I like the color on her, though I was afraid it wouldn't suit her when I bought it.

RE sizing: she's wearing a 6-12 mos. size. Usually that size is very snug on her in Gymboree and Gap (she's a good size baby, almost 19 pounds) but in this dress there's still some room.



http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/7604.jpg

[Kieransmom]

Lena looks adoreable!

Michelle
Mommy to Kieran, born 5/9/03

[Imperia]

I like the neon melon on her, it brings out the blush in her complection. Isn't their stuff just great? I also think it's generously sized. I love the items with the mesh ruffles (like Happy spot and Happy flower). Maddy loves to play with the ruffles on hers. Did you get other items? I am interested to hear what you think of everything.

Imperia

[Imperia]

It's funny you should say that! When I was in Gymboree for the big sale a couple of weeks ago Maddy was wearing her Happy Spot set in Fresh with the Dew ruffle and accents and the SAs were oooinga nd ahhhing over it. We were discussing how much the colours looked like Splash (which I also LOVED and have so much of). Dew is the prettiest colour, it just looks good on ALL babies.

Imperia

[jpang]

Thanks, Michelle!

[jpang]

Hi, Imperia,

Thanks for your comments-- I also think the neon brings out Lena's complexion (a little rosier from the summer sun, I think, despite my best efforts at keeping her hats on). The other outfits we bought are sized for next summer (the rose stamp dress), so I haven't had a chance to try them on yet. (I think the rose stamp dress is so cute I'm tempted to do something I never do-- but it in more than one size. That is, if they have any left!) I may pick up more when I go to return some of the Hannas I bought online; we'll see what's left from the sale.

So far I've been impressed with Naartjie. I like that the Happy Flower dress is a little more informal-- the knit makes it so comfortable. Lena is starting to crawl around, and it is short enough that she can move with no problem. I didn't buy any matching bloomers for this one and should have-- I ended up using bloomers from a different dress of hers.

I'd love to see more photos of your and Heidi's daughters in Naartjie if you have time. I'd especially like to see Maddy in Fresh-- they seemed to be mostly sold out of this color.

Also, I'm thinking that if we have enough photos of our cuties in Naartjie it will give other BBB moms a better idea of what their clothes look like, and maybe encourage them to try! (Terrible, aren't I? --helping others "save" money)