Monnalisa is the overarching brand name that encompasses five sophisticated clothing lines for girls between the ages of three months and sixteen years. The brands, which include Monnalisa Bebe, Monnalisa, Chic Monnalisa, Monnalisa Jackioo, and NY and LON Monnalisa, all center around the mission to bring runway fresh trends to girls. All the lines utilize high quality fabrics, feminine accents, and fashionable shapes to turn little girls into young, vogue ready ladies.
The words that best describe the fashions that Monnalisa creates are cute, trendy, chic, and mature. Their clothing will make you say, ooh la la couture for little girls! While the baby and toddler clothing has a measure of practicality to it, with snap closures and one piece outfits, the rest of the lines are true to real fashion and leave practicality by the wayside in the name of style. After all, not many seven to ten year olds know how to properly wear and maintain a look that requires skinny jeans and a tunic. The result? A look for pre-teen girls that could rival the collections of Anne Taylor and J. Crew, especially the pieces from the Chic Monnalisa Line.
But just because you are trendy doesn't mean you can't be fun too. Many items, particularly from the fresh and flirty Monnalisa Jakioo collection, are lighthearted and funky. The Fall two thousand and nine collection for Jakioo featured such great pieces as draping, A-line tank tops, skinny jeans with tunics, faux-wrap dresses in animal prints, and even a mid-calf gladiator sandal.
The accessories Monnalisa creates are equally as enchanting and range from punky wrist cuffs to fedora hats to demure necklaces. Their selection of jackets and outerwear sweaters, like cardigans and pullovers, are distinctly simple yet elegant. In addition to their gladiators, which come in both calf length and ankle length, Monnalisa also produces pairs of printed sneakers, flats, and flat non-gladiator sandals.
One of the nicest things about the Monnalisa lines is that even though the clothes are often sophisticated and copies of the adult versions, you get the sense that the designers never forget that the target audience are just children in spite of their poise. The tops they designed with Bugs Bunny and Wiley Coyote on them speak to this awareness, as does the baggy knee length play pants and cartoon printed leggings. There are just so many pre-teen couture designers out there who try to mature girls prematurely with their short skirts, high heels, and adult cuts that it is truly refreshing to see a design that really knows and understands who they are crafting these outfits for.
Monnalisa clothes are currently available at high end retailers like Harrods as well as through catalog orders and fashion show related purchases. The bottom line for this upscale designer is that they skillfully walk the fine line between what is appropriate for the age group and what is too fashion forward. They artfully incorporate aspects of current high fashion into ensembles that a five year old, ten year old, or fifteen year old all can wear and look cute in without looking like a slave to fashion.
It is a sad day when you look at a line of clothing for little girls and wish that it came in your size, but that is exactly the type of clothing Monnalisa creates. It is serious fashion for happy go lucky girls that balance the perfect amount of sophistication with lightheartedness and youthful spirit. Besides, turning Bugs Bunny into couture worthy material is a feat in and of itself that proves the skill and quality of these enchanting little pieces!