Saturday, April 24, 2010

Dressing the Minnies



I have always loved shopping for my little ones... all those sweet details, fun fabrics and colors... girly-girl matching sets and precious little boy outfits too. Now that they are 8, 6, and 5, my three are definitely developing their own opinions and senses of style. I won't go into all their preferences and stages, but wanted to share my favorite brands and stores -- where I have found I can put together wardrobes one, two, or all of them like -- that are still presentable and age-appropriate (and cute!).

CWD Kids - great source for themed clothing (4th of July, animals -- I found outfits for my daughter's Panda Party here), as well as some boutique brands, lots of fun, mod prints for girls and cute tees for little boys.

Gymboree - regularly comes out with themed collections with mix and match options for boys and girls; always lots of matching accessories - jewelry, purses, shoes, socks -- and lately scarves. Join the free rewards program for reward certificates and other perks. Frequent sales and Gymbucks.

Hanna Andersson - organic jammies and oko-tex certified pieces, fun prints and stripes, matching brother/sister holiday outfits; love their Hanna-Me-Downs program; great deals can be found at their outlets.


Indygo Artwear - an incredible South African brand; absolutely gorgeous clothing made from fabric hand-painted in Cape Town... we have many sets and dresses from Indygo - just beautiful and unique; carried at boutiques, some online shops like A Child's Closet and can also be found from sellers on ebay.

Janie and Jack - Gymboree's pricier brand, aimed at grandparents and gift-givers... known for nostalgic prints and attention to detail.

Lilly Pulitzer - fun & bright! love the printed shift dresses; have been known to buy matching dresses for my girls and myself.

Mini Boden - excellent quality, fun prints, cute tees for boys and girls; frequent %-off deals and free shipping.


Naartjie - 100% pre-washed cottons - easy to mix and match color collections, good prices and sales; 11 new collections are released each year from this super-fun South African brand.

Petit Bateau - great cotton basics for boys and girls, nice jammies and unders; post on my Parisian shopping sprees here; I've since also ordered from them online... I like their tees for myself too and they recently started carrying men's.

Strasburg - lovely smocked dresses and special occasion-wear.

Target - of course!

Wheat - amazing Danish brand I found in Charlottenlund last summer. Sold at many shops in Denmark and also available in a few other countries and the UK. This website will ship throughout Europe and to many Asian countries, as well as some places in the Middle East. I've not been able to find in the US.

Wooden Soldier - another great source for special occasion dressing -- my children's Easter and Christmas outfits are usually from here or Strasburg.

I have also found great pieces at crewcuts, Gap, Nordstrom, and Old Navy but I don't check them very often. Nordstrom carries boutique brands and has also most recently added some Hanna and Mini Boden. Some other boutique brands I really liked and bought when my little ones were smaller are Baby Lulu, Baby Nay, Icky Baby, Pineapple Kiss, Soup and Zaza Couture.

Emma Saxton makes beautiful hair bows - loads of colors, styles, and sizes, plus "made to match" styles that will coordinate with collections from stores like Gymboree, Naartjie, and Hanna Andersson.


Happy Shopping!

xoxo

11 comments:

  1. Seriously I have not heard of half of these stores!!! I am so excited to go on a shopping spree for my three!

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  2. I just learned about Naartjie last week and trekked to Lynwood to check it out. Little kid is obsessed with sweat pants *gasp* and the daily battle is exhausting. Luckily, I found two pairs of cargo comfy pants at Naartjie that we can both agree on.

    I'm sure your kids are the best dressed in Seattle.

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  3. OH, what a great post!! I will have to save this post on my computer, when it comes time to shop for my baby girl soon!!!! so used to just shopping and dressing a boy, that i appreciate all of your little girl shopping place ideas:) I do love Mini Boden for my little one already and have gotten pj's from Hanna----we also have a "Rugged Bear" near our house, (do you have those in WA??) so they have the cutest clothes, as well!!

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  4. What great reviews! I can't wait to have a little one to dress up in these darling digs.

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  5. Fun post! I have 3 also--all girls (8, 6, 3) and shop most often at Hanna, Mini Boden, Lands End, and Olive Juice (olivejuicekids.com). Talbots Kids was good, too--sadly, the line was discontinued. Oh--and Lilly, of course!!

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  6. Some of my favs! Indygo, Naartjie (sp?) and living in South Florida we have a healthy dose of Lilly!

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  7. Thank you for mentioning our name in your children's clothing post! We LOVE your style too.

    Have a great day!

    Ashley, with CWDkids
    www.kidbits.cwdkids.com

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  8. I love Janie and Jack for little kids' outfits! Didn't know they were owned by Gymboree--interesting!

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  9. Great post and wonderful reviews!! Very complete.
    Beth

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  10. triciathomas - oh good! have fun!
    PaperCourt - there is one in Redmond too. I totally understand the sweatpant obsession. We have been in many stages. For an entire year my son would only wear plaid shorts (even winter). He is still partial to them. thanks for stopping by :)
    mrs.a - you are going to have so much fun dressing your little girl!!! I used to do all the matching bows, etc. My 6 yr old still likes all the girly girl ruffle, printed stuff but my 8 yr old definitely likes simple jeans, tees and hoodies now. For some reason I can still get her in Lilly Pulitzer though! :)
    Erin - thank you!
    Ann - oh yes, Lands' End is great too! I get the Olive Juice catalogs and the clothese are darling - haven't ordered yet though. And Talbots Kids - we used to get things there - so classic - too bad they didn't make it!
    Lesa - you are lucky! We are usually the only ones ever in Lilly out here that I see. No stores carry either that I know of... so I have to order or shop on vacation.
    CWD Kids - thank you :)
    Sarah Mina - thanks for stopping by :)
    Beth - thanks!
    Have a great week everyone! xo

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  11. Oh how I LOVED shopping for my littles...so much fun was had.

    Indygo = T-D-F :) I have now sold most of daughter's Indygo via Ebay as it was in such perfect condition and I knew people would love to have these amazing outfits..add to that, they do wear like gold.

    On that note, have you ever bought the identical South African brand called Keedo? It used to be independent sellers "home shows" and they did have some stores but I think that has all changed. Same adorable styles as Indygo and made just as well. Just SO cute! Have fun while it lasts;)

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