About Pastoral

A small
studio.
A slow
practice.

Made by hand, in Australia, from materials chosen to age well. Pastoral is the beginning of something slower.

01
Who we are

Made for childhood.
Made to last.

Pastoral is a small studio on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. We make kidswear for children who move through the world — along beaches, through bush, across kitchen floors. Our garments are made by hand, in Australia, from materials chosen to age well and last long.

We are a new brand. Nothing exists yet except the conviction that children deserve clothes made with the same care and intention as anything made for adults — that a child's wardrobe does not need to be disposable, trend-following, or loud in the wrong ways.

Pastoral is the beginning of something slower. A studio that makes a small number of things very well, and lets those things speak entirely for themselves.

02
The work

The appliqué.

Every appliqué is cut by hand and applied by hand. The parrot, the botanical shapes — each one is individual. No two are identical. This is not a manufacturing imperfection. It is the evidence of making.

The slight variance between one garment and the next is what distinguishes a Pastoral piece from something produced at scale. The time taken is not a cost. It is the point.

pastoral_kidwear_denim_parrot_jacket_in_sewing_sepia
What we stand for
01
Made to Order
Every garment is made by hand in our studio. The appliqué, the stitching, the finishing, none of it is outsourced. The time taken is not a cost; it is the point.
02
Made in Australia
Pastoral is made in Australia, from materials chosen for quality and longevity. This is not a marketing claim. It is a constraint we impose on ourselves and do not bend.
03
Permanence
We make things intended to outlast their first owner. A Pastoral jacket should be passed to a younger sibling, then a cousin. Durability is the most sustainable position.
04
Restraint
We make fewer things, not more. We do not chase seasons or trends. The collection grows slowly, each addition considered. This restraint is itself a statement about value.
05
Place
The Mid North Coast is in every garment, in the palette, the botanical illustrations, the particular light of the coastal morning. Pastoral is not made anywhere. It is made here.
06
Honesty
The price reflects the work. The work takes time. We do not apologise for either. We state facts and trust our customers to understand them.
Mid North Coast, New South Wales

Of this
Place

Most childrenswear is made to be replaced. Pastoral is made to be kept. Founded by Julia McFadden, a patternmaker, technical designer & head of product, whose career took her from Sydney to New York and back. Pastoral is built on two decades of high fashion technical rigour and the old craft traditions of hand appliqué and considered construction. Every piece is made in Australia, from natural fibres, in silhouettes that belong to no particular season and no particular gender. We make slowly, deliberately, and with the knowledge that what a child wears matters, not just now, but for the years and children that come after.

mid north coast beach