As a new mother, Leslie Ann Rode envisioned dressing her baby daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, in the timeless, classic dress styles she remembered from her own childhood. "A time," says Rode, "when children dressed and behaved like children."
The infant and toddler styles Rode found in better boutiques were more appropriate for tweens and teenagers than babies. Where were all the "beautiful, well-made, traditional children's clothes?" she wondered.
At the time of Sarah Elizabeth's birth, Leslie, with husband David, was searching for "a business that felt personal and meaningful, something we felt passionate about." Sensing the gap in the infant/toddler market for the kind of old-fashioned, classic dresswear Rode favored, Leslie and David joined forces and debuted their new company Nana's Darlings (named for Sarah Elizabeth's "two wonderful grandmothers") this August at the ENK Children's Club show in New York. The dresses labeling reads Mercatore, which means "merchant of textiles" in Latin.
Designed by the Mercatore Design Team, the collection features better girls' smocked dresses in sizes three months to 10 years. The dresses coordinate to matching boys' rompers, shirts and pants. Accessories such as bows, headbands and hats complete the ensembles.
"We specialize in English smocking with intricate hand embroidery using quality materials and fine workmanship," says Rode. Each garment is made of 100 percent cotton or silk and is fully lined eliminating any scratchiness from the garments' bodices. "We use a variety of embroidery styles – raised, flat, with a number of different stitch styles – sometimes all in one garment," says Rode. Each Nana's Darlings dress has a two-inch hem, four buttonholes, and finished so that the smocked work will never pull. "The workmanship is extraordinary," says Rode, "Our garments become heirlooms; they're made to be passed down."
- from an interview with Tina Barry