Our Creative Spaces - Blackout

 Please excuse the pyjama bottoms!

So tomorrow it is here - the opening of the Rugby World Cup - and if you don't live in New Zealand you may not know that it is one of our biggest events ever and  will last for 6 weeks!

 Everything is going black - (Credits: Greg Page, Ruapehu Bulletin)

It has been a long and dramatic time coming, from when we lost our chance to co-host the 1993 tournament, to our Prime Minister flying to Ireland in 2005 to help with our pitch to the IRB, to Christchurch's games being moved after the devastating earthquake in February this year. It is 24 years since we hosted the first World Cup (also 24 years since we won...) which makes me feel a bit old, but it is lovely to see the little ones getting excited (see Aimee's Father's Day post here).

Rugby World Challenge on Playstation 2

Even Mr Toddler knows something is up because 'Dadda fast cars' has been replaced with 'Dadda rugby ball' (apparently after much research this one is the best game).

I had to commemorate the occasion with a little shirt for our future All Black, those of you with eagle-eyes may recognise the applique fabric as a lily pad scrap! I was so excited when I found it, I think it makes up for losing some of the cup's ornate detail in order to make a stencil shape.

This personalised shirt is for a friend's little man, how cute is the alphabet fabric? (I found it at Cushla's). See what everyone else has made this week at Our Creative Spaces.

I have written before about not dressing my daughter in black, of course now I can't find a plain black shirt to decorate for her...


Note: Obviously I can't sell cup shirts but I have a limited number of black shirts left for personalising, details here

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Poll: Babies wearing black clothes, do you like it?

Black clothes for baby are now easy to find in chic baby shops, style guides, on celebrity children and even in the mall... but we would like to know what you think!

I have some tiny black shirts that will be the new colour option on www.topography.co.nz, and they are so cute, but I know dressing babies (or children for that matter) in black is not for everybody...

So how do I feel about it? I confess that apart from an occasional polka dot, I have never dressed my daughter in black (and she is almost 4), but have adored it on my son from birth. And to further confuse things, I have always loved her in grey, blue denim, navy and dark purple, it is just black that I can not get my head around (I remember reading this discussion on the Everybody Community boards if you are interested in some more opinions).

(Pic: People.com)

Of course a few years ago we wouldn't have had the luxury of choosing, as baby clothes were pink or blue, with perhaps lemon and green for unisex options. Angelina Jolie dressing her first child, Maddox, in black was unusual in 2002, but would go unnoticed now. In fact Angelina usually wears black or white herself - do you think women dress their kids in colours they wear themselves?

We would LOVE your feedback on this topic, please take a second to vote in our poll ( in the left column of this blog) and let us know your thoughts with a comment below (or on my Facebook page).

I do admire black on little girls sometimes as it can look very smart, and to prove I am not a complete Nana, here are some gorgeous black girls clothes (from NZ labels Warnout and five6)... I think the key is to keep it looking young and fun.

p.s. Let's not forget that in New Zealand (all) black clothing has extra significance - I think there will be quite a few babies dressed in black in 2011!

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