Fashion / Bristol Fashion
Five Boys Clothing pops up at Casper on North Street
Five Boys Clothing is an online shopping destination for parents who struggle with dressing their sons. The independent Bristol-based brand, Sophia Walsh and Taffeta Gray, who have a total of five little boys between them, will be showcasing its newly-expanded ranges at Casper on North Street until the end of May.
It’s a great chance for their online customers to see the full range in a not-so-virtual format.
Knit Planet Boat neck jumper £36 available at Five Boys Clothing
Sophia and one of her sons, Wilfred, at the pop-up shop hosted by Caspar
“My business partner and I found that it was a bit more challenging to shop for boys. Our focus was to make shopping for boys easier,” says Sophia. “We are primarily an online platform but we pop up all over the place to show people what we’ve got. We want to give them the chance to be able to touch and really see the products.”
is needed now More than ever
Orange French Bull dog organic T-shirt (£15) and Milk and Biscuits embroidered sweatshirt (£45)
Being responsible for her own boys’ stylistic options, Sophia acknowledges how differently boys like to be styled. “The metallic jacket (£75 by Milk and Biscuits – the coolest ever metallic bronze bomber) that we have in the window, for example, I know that two of my boys would wear it and the other one wouldn’t,” Sophie says.
She and Taffeta have made a conscious effort to avoid the clichés and not simply showcase blue and grey garments.
Dinosaur themed colour-in tops (£15) and superhero colour-in capes (£25), both by Selfie Clothing
While the shop’s first aim was to make shopping easier for both mothers and sons, it has ended up being a shopping-with-a-meaning destination.
Established in 2014, the Five Boys Clothing brand features products from Bushbells, a social enterprise in Kenya and Knitstanbul’s traditional Syrian knits. ’’We also get our t-shirts printed locally on North Street, so we’ve become more involved with different areas”, says Sophia.
Daschund on a skateboard T-shirt (£15)
Organic cheetah T-shirt (£15)
When asked about future plans for a physical shop, Sophia excluded the idea, explaining that with their boys around it is far better to work from home, when the kids are sleeping. “It felt wrong to ask for permission to go and see the boys doing something when I used to work full-time, so I wanted to be my own boss”, she explains. “The shop sends out about 40 orders per week, which is a manageable amount.”
Pleased to eat you! organic T-shirt (£18)
Casper, which opened in October last year, sells art from independent artists and designers, and lends its free space to various pop-up shops. “We do different things to keep the space lively. Working with independent and local companies is also mutually beneficial as it brings a lot of new people into the shop”, said Helen Owen, Casper’s owner.
Family-sized beach bag (£40) and Hammamas beach towel (£25), both from the new Mama range by Five Boys Clothing
Mothers can now officially treat themselves too as the company has launched the Mama range. The collection features gadgets and garments that will embrace a busy mum’s schedule.
Find the Five Boys Clothing pop-up at Caspers, 221 North Street, Southville, Bristol BS3 1JJ
www.fiveboysclothing.com
Read Anastasia Kazepi’s blog Her Fashion Column
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