Our history

When we started our journey, our ethos was – and still is – to offer stylish, practical and high-quality clothes. Our signature stripes have been with us for a long time. But not all the way from the start. There was a time before that. A time when Polarn O. Pyret was just called Pyret and  didn’t just sell children’s clothes but condoms too.

1909 – It all began with a tobacconist’s

In 1909, 30-year-old Nils Adamsson ran a somewhat unusual tobacconist shop in Falköping, Sweden. Not only did Nils sell cigarettes and cigars, he also sold condoms. This was highly controversial at that time, when barber shops were almost the only places men could buy condoms. So contraception was a class issue, with only the upper classes able to buy condoms to limit the size of their families. Determined to make them more widely available – and despite the fact that Sweden banned the circulation of information about contraception the following year – Nils continued to sell condoms.

Nils met Karin and Pyret was born

When Nils married Karin a few years later, he had not only found the love of his life but a partner just as passionate about freedom of choice for parents. The Adamssons set up a chain of shops in Stockholm, which, in addition to selling medical products, handmade baby clothes and nappies, also had a special permit to sell condoms – a perfectly logical selection of products, according to Nils and Karin. They were both deeply moved by seeing how many children were living in destitution with parents unable to afford their upbringing, and they felt it was their calling to give parents freedom of choice. And condoms were the key. In spite of being convicted over the years under the Swedish Contraception Act for their dedication, they refused to give up.
 

1939 - Two-in-one shop

For practical reasons, the shops were divided into two departments, entered by a blue or an orange door. Behind the blue door, Nils served his mostly male customers with medical products and condoms. Behind the orange door that led into the ‘Pyret’ section, Karin helped her customers, mainly mothers, to buy baby clothes and nappies. The two-door system had a simple explanation: young mothers didn’t want to buy children’s clothes from a shop that sold contraceptives. And men were reluctant to buy contraceptives surrounded by children’s clothes.
 

The blue door shuts and Pyret gets a Polare

In 1974, when condoms were much more widely available, the blue door shut for good and the spotlight shifted to the childrenswear behind the orange door. The addition of the name ‘Polarn’ at this time reflected the expansion of the company’s range, which now included larger sizes for older children. Polarn (Buddy) would cater to older children and be seen as a pal for younger Pyret (Little One). Polarn O. Pyret is still our name, though we often shorten it to PO.P for convenience. 

PO.P Originals introduced

With childrenswear now front and centre business was booming, and as part of an in-house collaboration between Gunila Axén and Katarina af Klintberg, something very special was created in the 1970s: PO.P Originals – our basic garments with classic stripes. They were available in red, blue and brown. Colours deliberately chosen to reflect our creed of ‘letting children be children’.

Quality – our promise then & now

From just selling baby clothes and condoms to now offering a wide range of childrenswear in all categories, we have put our brand on the Scandinavian as well as the international world map. Our main promises to the customer are exactly the same as they were from the start: quality, functionality and sustainability. Children’s clothes should be loved, worn and washed, and they should last a long time. 

Beloved classics made to last

Did you know that we released our first fleece jacket back in the 1980s and it was a huge success? It quickly became popular with children and adults alike, and remains one of our absolute bestsellers to this day. It was when clothing production was moved from Sweden to China, where we began to manufacture shell jackets with a removable lining for adults, that the idea for it was born. We wanted to produce technical garments for children too, so we developed shell jackets with a removable fleece inner jacket. And that evolved into our fleece jacket – a 2-in-1 garment!

PO.P’s stripes never fade

Our classic PO.P Originals have been with us for a long time, and not only form a key feature of our brand, but have also become a major part of our identity. Every season, we add new colours, while ensuring that our classic stripes are always available. Many people strongly associate us with stripes – a design that became a contemporary classic back when it made its debut in the 1970s and remains a signature look that we’re super proud of to this day.