![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/highway-berea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2023\/04\/Gitta-and-Liesel-1-400x267.jpg\")
The creative juices of two Durban moms fizzed after being fed up with the lack of choice in clothing for their tween daughters. Liesel Oldbury and Gitta Bezuidenhoudt share their story behind Sherbert.<\/p>\nThe creative juices of two Durban moms fizzed after being fed up with the lack of choice in clothing for their tween daughters. Liesel Oldbury and Gitta Bezuidenhoudt share their story behind Sherbert.<\/p>\n
Liesel and Gitta have always been close sisters and have shared the journey of motherhood with one another, including navigating all the joys and challenges together. Their children have also pretty much grown up together and consider themselves siblings rather than cousins.<\/p>\n
Gitta, who has a background in fashion design, thrives on being a mom to daughters Seven-year-old Stella and Ava, who is nine, while graphic designer Liesel is a proud mom to 12-year-old Milla and Thomas who is nine. The sisters say there is never a dull moment in a life spent raising girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love that our girls are free and busy \u2013 they\u2019ve always got something going on, and they\u2019re reliably independent, but still up for a cuddle. They don\u2019t necessarily fit the mould of princesses, but they are girls, and, as mothers we\u2019ve loved the girly side of dressing them up. It reminds us a lot of how we grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both siblings agree that in a world where social media\u00a0and\u00a0teen\u00a0life go hand-in-hand, they\u2019re hanging on to those priceless moments where they are able to connect with and remain strong figures in their children\u2019s lives, especially their daughters\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring\u00a0adolescence, kids begin to explore their social\u00a0world, including who their\u00a0friends\u00a0are, what they wear, and what activities they do. It\u2019s an exciting season but also quite daunting for moms and girls, especially because our girls feel deeply,\u201d says Gitta.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re raising them in a world that can be a little scary,\u201d adds Liesel. \u201cOne in which the emotional issues they face are very real to them \u2026 school, sport, not quite fitting in, body issues. It\u2019s a challenging and emotional journey for us all.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was while easing into this phase of parenthood that Gitta and Liesel both found that shopping for their girls was becoming more difficult. \u201cWith tween bodies constantly changing, it was getting harder to find clothes that fit and made our girls feel good about themselves.\u201d say the women.<\/p>\n
So off to the best brainstorming space they had \u2013 the dining room table with a glass of wine in hand. Here they shared their frustrations and decided to use their skills to create a wearable, with the emphasis on comfortable, way for their girls to embrace where they\u2019re at.<\/p>\n In November 2022 the sisters were popping corks and celebrating the launch of their proudly Durban range of clothing with the key ingredients – a mother\u2019s love and some tween inspiration. The team believe their clothing makes their girls, and their girls friends, and any other tweens, feel empowered by what they wear.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a few accessories that we\u2019ve snuck in, but the focus is on comfortable clothing – wash, wear and no tear!\u00a0 We believe that fit over sizing helps inspire many young girls who are navigating that space in-between kids and small adult fits.\u201d says Gitta.<\/p>\n Big on supporting local, the women source fabric that is knitted at a mill in Westmead. They generally prefer thicker fabrics, as these offer more comfort and last longer, they say. After creating their own designs, which are then printed onto their chosen fabric, the clothing is manufactured at a factory in Umgeni Road.<\/p>\n \u201cAs for designs and colours, we try to keep these gentle, feeding off what our girls gravitate to more, like purples, blues, oranges and soft greens.\u201d<\/p>\n The emphasis is on fun, so Gitta and Liesel spend a decent amount of time playing around with design ideas and colour swatches.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the girls always get involved. We show them our ideas, they try on our samples and give us their honest feedback. It has been so special to see them choose and wear our clothing. But that doesn\u2019t mean we never have to go shopping for regular clothing at fashion stores that are all the rage among tweens these days! This is also why we try to make our range so versatile \u2026 so they can mix and match with branded items they love just as much.\u201d<\/p>\n Their Winter range will be out this month, featuring tracksuits, hoodies, woven fabrics and cotton twills.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s not all that\u2019s in the pipeline! The women are busy brainstorming ideas for pop up events for moms and girls that involve loads of fun and also giving back to the community by supporting local NGOs and NPOs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re also dying to make denims! And then there are shoes \u2026 something we\u2019re giving a lot of thought to. How awesome this would be to complete our range.\u201d<\/p>\n Where you\u2019ll find Sherbert \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Gitta and Liesel trade at the monthly I Heart Market at Sugar Rush in Ballito (the next one is May 6 from 8.30am to 2pm). Sherbert is also stocked by Spence and Mae at the Mushroom Farm in Hillcrest and Big Tree Africa at Sugar Village in Ballito. You\u2019ll find the full range online at sherbert.co.za where every outfit includes measurements and a size chart.<\/p>\n Details:<\/strong> Follow them on Insta and Facebook at @shopsherbert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The creative juices of two Durban moms fizzed after being fed up with the lack of choice in clothing for their tween daughters. Liesel Oldbury and Gitta Bezuidenhoudt share their story behind Sherbert. Liesel and Gitta have always been close sisters and have shared the journey of motherhood with one another, including navigating all the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":30835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,2656],"tags":[1450,8407,1940,8694,1962],"class_list":{"0":"post-30831","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fashion","8":"category-shopping","9":"tag-clothing","10":"tag-girls","11":"tag-local","12":"tag-sherbert","13":"tag-shopping"},"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/highway-berea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2023\/04\/DSC_7643-400x267.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/highway-berea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2023\/04\/DSC_8900-400x267.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/highway-berea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2023\/04\/DSC_8883-400x267.jpg\")