Women's rainhat. Petit bateau x Marie-Agnès Gillot

Where does the name come from? It's nothing to do with hosiery, Pierre Valton's original job when he founded the company in 1893. It's all down to his son Etienne, who invented underpants in 1918 and was inspired by the French nursery rhyme "Maman les p'tits bateaux" that his wife would sing to their children. And so the brand and the nursery rhyme became inextricably linked!

When you knit 98% of your garments yourself, the first rule is to select a quality yarn that's ruthlessly tested, followed by quality control measures all the way down the production line. That's why our knitwear is soft but strong and lasts for years!

Apart from our garments' recognised quality, we are also striving to produce clothes that leave the tiniest of carbon footprints on the planet. We already use organic linen and cotton, and we're now incorporating other yarns, especially those made from recycled materials.

"Kids need real clothes". We design clothes suitable for kids' carefree, creative and even rough-and-tumble lifestyles. Every year we also take part in sponsorship projects or partnerships with various cultural organisations that run activities aimed at developing children's or even babies' creativity.