Liverpool
Janet Moore has been selling christening suits from her shop on Allerton Road for nineteen years. The glass display case near the entrance holds four rompers with detachable bow ties, priced between £45 and £68. On a Tuesday afternoon in late November, she had not made a single sale.
People look online first now. They come in, try things on, take photos, then buy it cheaper somewhere else.
— Janet Moore, Shop Owner
The British high street lost 35 shops per day in 2024, according to PwC. Independent retailers accounted for 84% of those closures. Baby boutiques have not been spared.
Traditional christening wear remains a staple for special occasions, though the shops that sell them are disappearing from British high streets.
BuyBuy Baby, the American chain that once operated 120 stores, shut all remaining locations in October 2024. Dream On Me, which had purchased the brand for $15.5 million at a bankruptcy auction the previous year, said it would shift to an online-only model.
A company statement cited "the demand of consumers has changed."
Sarah Louise craftsmanship
Sarah Louise, a Liverpool-based childrenswear maker founded in 1969 by Leonard and Diane Given, still produces hand-smocked garments for weddings and baptisms. The company remains family-owned. But the retailers who once stocked its inventory have thinned out.
Childrensalon, an online luxury platform, now lists 215 Sarah Louise styles. Most are ceremony wear—silk bonnets, embroidered rompers, the sort of items grandmothers buy for special occasions.
Moore stocks Sarah Louise. She also carries Emile et Rose and a few Spanish labels. Her rent went up again in April.
Carter's, the largest branded seller of young children's apparel in North America, reported that U.S. retail comparable sales fell 7.1% in the third quarter of 2024. The company announced plans to close 150 stores over the next three years. Richard Westenberger, the interim CEO, attributed profitability pressures partly to "elevated product costs" and tariff impacts.
At Just Christening, a family-run shop in North Yorkshire, orders arrive mostly through the website now. The shop describes itself as "one of very few, or may even be the only specialist Christening shop in the area."
"Weddings are still happening. People still want something proper for the day."
Caroline Marshall, Angels and Fishes
"They grow so quickly that it will not fit them in two weeks."
Jim's Formal Wear Blog
"Weddings are still happening," said Caroline Marshall, who runs Angels and Fishes, a small maker of christening wear in central England. Her company stitches garments by hand using cotton, silk, and linen. A traditional gown can take weeks. "People still want something proper for the day."
Formal toddler wear
Jim's Formal Wear, an American rental company, offers ring bearer suits starting at size 3T. A representative estimated that 1-2% of wedding parties purchase rather than rent a toddler tuxedo. The main reason, according to their blog: "they grow so quickly that it will not fit them in two weeks."
Etsy lists over 5,000 baby tuxedo items from independent sellers. Many ship from Turkey, Ukraine, and the Philippines.
U.S. fashion companies paid $11.9 billion in apparel import tariffs in 2024. The average applied tariff rate reached 14.6%, up from 13.7% before Section 301 duties on Chinese goods took effect.
Moore said she had considered closing. Her daughter works weekends now. The shop stays open.