The best fashion-steeped picture books for kids – both new releases and recent classics – inspire parents, too. Anya Georgijevic lines up her favourites
Mitford at the Fashion Zoo by Donald Robertson (Viking, 2015)
Mitford the Giraffe had always dreamed of working at Cover magazine, under the tutelage of the formidable editor Panda Summers. Her many attempts at landing the covetable job were as unsuccessful as the sequined feathered headdress she wore to her interview with Cover’s creative director Ace Salmonto – until now. Mitford’s trial week as Panda’s assistant falls during the hectic days of New York Fashion Week. Will Mitford persevere in this The Devil Wears Prada-inspired tale of high sartorial stakes? Canadian-born illustrator Donald Robertson captures the fashion industry’s vigour and glamour with a healthy dose of humour in a book that kids will be amused by, too.
Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day by Amy de la Haye, illustrated by Emily Sutton (V&A/Bloomsbury, 2011)
When her mischievous brother Ollie destroys Clara’s favourite hat that once belonged to her milliner grandmother, their mother takes them on a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum, a place brimming with hats. Written by the esteemed London-based fashion historian Amy de la Haye, this charming tale embarks on a journey through the stunning museum that sees lost Clara stumbling through secret rooms filled with treasures. Emily Sutton’s whimsical illustrations capture London at its finest, passing through iconic fashion establishments such as Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Harrods. Clara and Ollie return in Clara Button and the Wedding Day Surprise (2013), in which a fashion disaster strikes yet again.
Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts (Abrams Books, 2014)
As “the world’s finest hatmaker,” Madame Chapeau lives a lonely life. After beautifying customers all day in her atelier, she retreats to her quarters, with only her cat and her dog to keep her company. Feeling adventurous on her birthday, she steps out for a night on the town only to have her favourite hat snatched by a crow. Thoughtful townspeople flock to help the devastated milliner, turning this loner’s birthday into an unforgettable one. Madame Chapeau, who looks like a cross between Isabella Blow and Elsa Schiaparelli, is the brainchild of Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, the award-winning duo behind the delightful Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer books.
Coco and the Little Black Dress by Annemarie van Haeringen (NorthSouth Books, Oct. 1, 2015)
“I’ll never wear a corset!” exclaims young Coco Chanel while observing the complicated dress routines of Parisian society women. The young designer, who began sewing as an orphan, never likes to play by the rules: She wears pants to ride horses and she prefers simple men’s boater hats to extravagantly impractical ladies’ ones. Yearning for the opposite sex’s sartorial freedom, Coco concocts the little black dress, her answer to trousers, which allow women to leap with ease. Dutch illustrator Annemarie van Haeringen brings the vivacious tomboy Coco to life in this mini-biography through drawings just as elegant as the designer’s famous frocks.
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant (Groundwood Books, 2014)
Little Morris Micklewhite loves using his imagination. He paints beautiful pictures and dreams of great space adventures. But, unlike other boys in his school, Morris loves wearing his tangerine dress; it’s a colour that “reminds him of tigers, the sun and his mother’s hair.” When other children shun him (“Astronauts don’t wear dresses,” they say) from the spaceship they’re building, Morris heads home in despair, where he dreams up the most enchanting space-world, one even his classmates are unable to resist. This touching story by Toronto-based Christine Baldacchino is a seminal moment for gender identity and acceptance in children’s fiction.
Vintage Fashion Colouring Book by Ruth Brocklehurst, illustrated by Antonia Miller (Usborne Books, 2014)
Not all fashion colouring books are created equal. This comprehensive survey, beginning in the 1910s and ending in the 1980s, captures changing fashions through the evolution of individual garments such as winter coats and evening dresses. Young aspiring designers will be delighted to discover key trends in fashion, from 1930s palazzo pants to 1960s cocoon coats. Accessories such as shoes and jewels are rendered in meticulous details and patterns, and adults will have just as much fun as kids will colouring between the lines.