For the Little Ones | The Sunday Times Online

About 90% of the things on sale at Elegant Smockers were designed and made in-house, says owner Neshard Deen. His wife Mazeena Deen used to make beautiful clothing for their two little girls. When she found herself fielding requests from other parents to do the same for their kids, the Deens were inspired to open their own store. They began quietly and simply by selling only four kinds of products. Elegant Smockers has since become something of a favourite with local parents – expanding so that they have a store in Kandy as well as Colombo and today hire nearly 60 people to keep the business running.

They offer “basically everything you’d need for a new born.” This includes a range of furniture, (we see a teak bed priced at Rs. 36,000) that fits neatly into the nursery themes that come with matching sets of furniture as well as linen, wall art and accessories. They have 12 different themes you can choose from, says Neshard, adding that they have a corresponding number of cot designs. Cots are priced between 29,000 and 45,000.

The age range covered in the clothing range is from newborn to nine years old. Browsing through the store, we spot little cotton baby tops for Rs.300, boys denim coveralls for Rs.650 and full blown, gauzy party dresses for Rs. 1850. Simple bibs cost Rs. 175. Elegant Smockers doesn’t have quite the same range of clothing that Angels and Bratz has for instance, though they’re willing to customise clothes for special occasions. Parents willing to spend up to 25% more on their baby’s outfit can have a christening robe designed especially for them – readymade, handsmocked robes complete with booties typically cost 2,000 to 3,000 at the store.

Elegant Smockers

No. 323B, Havelock Road, Colombo 06
Tel: 112 597 197
Web: www.elegantsmockers.com