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Season /Climatic Factors: Various seasons affect the choice of clothes. Some fibres and colors are suitable for summer while some are not. Light weight garments made out of cotton are suitable for summer while heavy woolens, silks are suitable for winters. Cotton and its blends are good conductors of heat hence suitable for summer season. Cool colors like blue, white, green etc are ideal for summer. Warm colors like red, orange etc are suitable for winters.
Age: The age and sex of the wearer affects the clothing choices. Bright and colorful colors suit children better for both the sexes up to the age of 2 years. Dainty prints in soft colors are ideal for children. Generally speaking, delicate fabrics in feminine colors like pink, green red are good for girls while rough textured fabrics in blue, brown, grayish blue are suitable for boys.
Income: The amount of money that a family can spare for clothing has an impact on the clothing choices. High income groups can earmark a large portion of their income for clothing as compared to low or middle income groups. Hence they can splurge on fashionable clothes while middle income groups spend on durable clothes rather than fashionable clothes. Low socio economic groups give importance to durability, comfort and price rather than on fashion and beauty.
Suitability to occasion: The choice of a dress should be appropriate to the occasion. Daily wear clothes should be durable with simple designs while dressy clothes can be dramatic or stylish with a lot of trimmings.
Suitability to figure: Selection of clothes should enhance the appearance of the figure. The style of dresses also changes with age. Baby’s clothes should be smooth with no draw strings. A-line dresses are good for toddlers and infants. Flouncy gathered dresses/frocks are good for girls while rompers, pants and denims are preferred for boys.
Fashion and latest trends: The latest fashion trends influence clothing choices, especially so in the case of a pre-schooler. Peer group influence is great during this period and so the styles followed by peers are accepted as a trend. Fashions keep changing from season to season and silhouettes change gradually from year to year, so appropriate styles that are in trend for the current season should be selected. Hence classic styles would stand the test of time and are appropriate in any season.
Maintenance and upkeep of clothes: The care and maintenance required by garments also affects ones clothing choice. It is common knowledge that synthetics are easier to maintain than cotton and silks. Woolens require gentler handling. Suede and leather garments also require special handling.
Durability, ease of washing, freedom of movement, comfort and personal taste of the child are some of the factors that should be kept in mind while selecting clothes for children.
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