Ain't No Mom Jeans

Sick of Pink? Cool, Little Girl Style For Your Tomboy

Mamas, don't get me wrong:  I luuuuv pink.  But it sometimes feels like kid's clothing designers (and retailers) are trying to shove pink clothes down the throats of our little girls.  Like pink is the only way to express femininity.  (Or glitter, or tulle, etc. etc) 

Growing up, I typically avoided pink and all things fussy.  I was a huge tomboy and always felt...like someone else when all decked out.  (The dresses in the 80's just about killed me.)  But despite my insistence on denim-everyday (wow - not much has changed), I still wanted to look like a girl.  And consequently, I wanted clothing that would let me play hard, but was just a tiny-bit girly....without being fussy.  Not all tomboys want to be boys (although my haircut was a different matter...sigh).

I'm loving all of the choices out there for little girls today.  Yes, there's a ton of pink.  And yes, there's a ton of glittery-tulle explosions....but there's also a ton of adorable, simple basics with just a hint of girly-chic.  Pieces that pair really well with hiking boots.  Cause you can't really rule the jungle gym in dainty little ballet flats.  (Or the rink.  How awesome is that old photo of roller derby girls?  LOVE.)

 

Little Girl Style Inspired by a Book - Charlotte Zolotow's "I Like To Be Little"

One of my very favorite children's authors is Charlotte Zolotow.  I remember my mother reading her to me when I was a little girl.  Zolotow captures childhood so acutely that I am transported, with each reading, back to my own.  Her books are both heartfelt and sincere - and completely in tune with the rhythm of children, the simplicity of life to a child.  

Happily, Amazon has a nice selection of her books here.  A couple of my favorites are William's Doll and The Sleepy Book, but my all-time favorite?

I Like to Be Little (pictured).

This book is a conversation between a little girl and her mother.  The little girl is explaining to her mother why she likes to be little.  And Mammas?  If you were once a little girl who loved crayons, birthday cakes, skipping through leaves, catching snowflakes on your tongue, and pretending your dining room table was your own tiny house...this book will break your heart.  In the best possible way.

I love the illustrations.  It shows a little girl being a little girl.  A little girl without glitter.  Without princess dresses or shirts that say "Lil' Fashionista".  A little girl with messy hair and sneakers who runs and jumps and thinks and plays.  And her outfits?  Totally adorable, yet completely practical.

If I ever had my own little girl, this is how I would dress her.  (For at least as long as she'd let me.)  

Mom Street Style - Halloween Edition

Getting all geared up for Halloween?  Denver Mamas, I'll be thinking of you this weekend, and I hope you're heading over to Old South Gaylord St.  My fav.

Um.  It does get kinda crazy, though.  A little secret?  I have beer in that cup.  (Shhh...we kept it stashed in the trunk.) We were accosted by parents the entire time, wondering where the beer tent was, LOL.  This year they are adding a pet parade.  (M!  How cute would Henry and Obi be?)  The pic above is obviously from 2 years ago (when I attempted the owl costume)...last year I was too pregnant to move and R refused to dress up.  

But this is my year, so to speak.  I'm not a huge costume person (M has all the good ideas in this department), but I do remember feeling like a party pooper with no semblance of a costume.  My friend Amanda did it perfectly:

Isn't she cute?  So of course I blatently copied her.

 

Found on Etsy, of course.

However, Raines is currently saying that he wants to be Hercules this year.  Yeah, yeah...we've heard it before.  After last year we're not holding our breath.  We'll just wait until the day minute it's time to costume, and figure it out.  But the kid does seem serious.  He's assigned us all costumes.  Mike must be Pegasus (um...any ideas, crafty mamas?), I must be a princess wearing this dress specifically, and little P must wear Raines' old lion costume.  

But if R backs out on the big day, I'll just wear a cute little mask. I know Mike is dying to wear the Spiderman one anyway (he's a comic geek, Spiderman especially) and we'll go explore one of the cool-sounding events that Philly Parent Circle has featured. Any recommendations, Philly Mamas?

Happy Halloween!  We'd love to see what you're wearing this Halloween....so feel free to upload some cute costume pics (of you, the kiddos, both...) onto our Facebook page....

xo,

S

ps.  Seriously - any help on the Pegasus front would be very much appreciated, LOL!

Hey, Crewcuts Baby. So Nice To Meet You. (My Husband Will Hate You.)

I once bought a cashmere sweater for Raines.  This was, of course, before he was born.  I brought home this teeny-tiny adorable bundle of softness, in a perfect lamb-soft gray.  Aaahhh...so sweet.

It was also $125.

My husband took one look and was like, "Babe! Have you lost your mind??"  And I was all, "look at how cute!  How soft!  Warm!  It'll keep him warm!!"  And he was like "Not just NO but H*LL NO" and really, he was right.  Raines would've spit-up/pooped/chewed it, for the total of the 8 minutes that it would've fit him.

There are many things babies need.  Cashmere isn't one of them.

J.Crew, obviously, disagrees.  They just launched a baby line as part of Crewcuts and it includes....a teeny-tiny adorable bundle of softness, in a (slightly darker version) of lamb-soft gray.

Ahhhh...how nostalgic for me.  In related news, is the recession over?

But in addition to all of the cashmere ridiculousness, they include these onsies, which, in organic cotton and retailing for $17.95, may be my new favorites.  

I just can't get enough of babies in stripes.  

And OOOO...look at this one!

Fahbulous.  And only....$88?  Sigh.  Why, J.Crew, why?  Why can't something this simple be done by, say, Gerber, for example?  And only be, like, $20?  Heck....even $40 might be do-able.  But $88?  Even if I wanted to (and honestly, even if we were bazillionaires), I couldn't sell my husband on an $88 romper.  Or a $125 cashmere baby sweater.  (Unless...these were the only two pieces of clothing that we ever purchased for the baby...so every day he'd either wear one or the other...maybe...NO. STOP IT SHANA.  JUST NO.) 

(BTW....I was too embarrassed to return the cashmere baby sweater, because I had had all of this "help" picking it out.  So Mike returned it for me.  And YES - they knew exactly who bought it.  But Mike got the sense he wasn't the only husband to storm back into the shop returning cashmere baby sweaters. Snort.)

Has anyone found well-priced, yet sohpisticated baby clothes?  One would think it would cost MORE for companies to add the tacky puppy decals that come on a $6 Gerber onsie, but NOOOOOO.  We end up paying a premium for plain, and even more for some cool, sophisticated details.  BOO!

xo,

S

Fall Denim: The Boyfriend Jean...Updated

I know the buzz this fall is all about the flare jean, and I get it - I too luuuve flares.  However, I recently replaced my old boyfriend jeans (which, uh, had literally fallen apart) with these babies:

 

These are like a hybrid boyfriend jean /skinny jean.  The result?  Crazy comfortable, yet they look a bit sleeker than my old boyfriend jeans. 

Not tight, mind you.  Just sleek.

Winter Play Clothes For Stylish Mamas and Kiddos. (At Lands' End.) I KNOW, Right??

What the heck, Lands' End?  (Or, as Raines would say, "Wha EE heck??")  I thought I had left you behind years ago....back in my childhood when I would brave Upper Michigan winters in your Squall Jacket and snow boots.

I never (NEVER!!!) thought I'd be writing about you now.  Especially in a thanks-for-the-inspiration-I'm-getting-my-butt-to-the-nearest-store kind of way.

And just to clarify, I'm not talking about Lands' End CANVAS, mind you, who we've come to expect a certain level of fabulousness from....but Lands' End.  The Lands' End of elastic-waist tapered pants and sensible sweaters. 

But seriously...something is up with Lands' End.  And while their clothing collection still seems to be geared to...uh...a demographic that I don't necessarily fit...I am LOVING their winter gear for stylish mamas.

You see, I am a mama who plays.  We play hard, the boys and I.  Hailing originally from MI, I take 'em outside in rain, sleet, and snow.  And we play even harder in lots and lots of snow. ("wots and wots" says R)

So I'm loving the perfectly styled, but totally cozy warm and comfy outdoor looks from Lands' End.  If the toggle coat and hybrid winter/street boots pictured above didn't getcha....check out these harder core winter looks:

Affordable Basics that Oooooze European Cool...For Both Moms and Tots at Zara.com

Zara just opened online shopping for US customers last week.  Oh happy day!!  For those of you that don't know Zara, this European-based retailer is a go-to source for updated basics that are on-trend, good quality, and mostly priced under $100.  Zara helps to fill the gaping hole between the rock-bottom prices (and quality) at Forever 21/Target vs. the high prices one typically pays for interesting basics.  Even better?  They have clothes for both you and the little ones!  (Oh, and, uh...hubs too.)

In addition to on-trend basics, they have some crazy-fun pieces as well.  Because every little girl needs a pair of these:

Fabulous and ridiculous in equal measure, I think.  But I do love them.

Want to see some play-friendly, mom & me looks from Zara.com?  Voila....

Summer Styling: 9 New Ways To Style Shorts and a Simple Tee / Tank

Shorts, especially denim shorts (which we talked about styling last summer), look best with something other than a t-shirt or simple tank.  A silk blouse, an embroidered tunic, a button-down, even a structured jacket or blazer - these are the pieces that pair best with shorts - denim or not.   All You Need Is Style nailed it. Voila...

 

Fabulous, no?  But not necessarily the first thing I reach for when I'm facing a day of hauling/chasing two small boys around in summer heat and humidity.  

My uniform, these days, is almost always shorts and a tee.  Or a tank.  But this uniform can get B-O-R-I-N-G fast, especially towards the end of summer.  And sure...throwing on some jewelry can help...but I wanted something different.

Soooo....here are a few ideas (and a bit of style inspiration) of easy, mom-friendly tweaks to a simple shorts-and-a-tee momiform.  Try one.  Try two.  Try 'em all.  If, however, you manage to get all of these ideas into One Glorious Outfit, you must send us a pic.   

Babywearing in Hot Weather (Tips and a Review of Ergo's Lightweight Performance Carrier)

 

(wearing: Joie Soft Nellnna tee, Madewell denim shorts, Salt sunnies, Ergo Performance carrier in gray)

Oh baby.  It's been a scorcher around here. 

A few months ago, M and I recieved a reader question about babywearing in hot weather:

Help!  Today in Washington DC it was a beautiful 70 degrees -- but inside my Ergo where my 5 week old was sleeping, it was NINETY.  Poor sweaty baby, poor sweaty mom.  When I took him off of me, it looked like he'd peed -- who knows if it was my sweat or his.  Got any tips for a) a cooler baby carrier for when it gets hellfire hot in DC, and b) how to dress for hot weather with said baby carrier.

Feel free to tell me I should just use the d@mn stroller.

Thanks!

Barrie

At the time, we were a bit stumped.  70 degrees?  In Denver, that's practically cold.  And M and I both successfully babywore all through Denver's 90 degree summers.  I secretly wondered if it was just new mom hormones - hot flashes, etc.

And then I moved to Philly.  GOOD GOD, PEOPLE.  THE HUMIDITY. 

Barrie, I feel your pain.  I immediately contacted the nice folks at Ergo Baby, who sent me one of their lightweight Performance carriers to "test" in the Summer heat.  (Snort. If you consider 100+ degree temps with 110% humidity a fair test.)  Look at little P's sweaty hair-a-stickin' up all over:

Reader Giveaway! Win a Pair of Cool Ugg Kicks For Your Little Man (or Tomboy)

Raines has had a long and happy history with Uggs (I swear by their boots for toddlers), so when Ugg Australia contacted me for a giveaway, we were thrilled to partner!

Besides, these Halfhitch sneaks are too cute to pass up.

According to Ugg, these kicks were "inspired by a warm weekend family sailing trip. A pint-sized version of the traditional boat shoe, made with canvas or suede uppers and hook and strap closure for easy adjustment and on off." 

Yup.  As noted, R can easily get them on/off by himself.  Also, in true Ugg fashion, there's a bit of sheepskin just in the heel area to keep things comfortable (yet cool).  The Halfhitch comes in Medieval Blue (R's pick), Stout, Natural and Taupe.

So.  To win....you'll get one entry if you like us on Facebook, subscribe to us via email or RSS, or a whopping 5 entries if you blog about this giveaway.  Just leave a comment below letting us know how you've entered the contest (and if you're already subscribed, just tell us that in your comment).  Entrants must be 18 or older and located in the US or Canada.  Winners will be chosen at random on Monday night, August 1st.

Good luck, Mamas!!

(R's wearing: Ugg Australia Halfhitch sneakers, Did Too plaid shorts - similar, and a toddler tank by Hanes)

xo,

S

The prize was provided by UGG Australia, but UGG Australia is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this giveaway. All opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of UGG Australia.

 

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Thanks for all of the love, Mamas!  You guys made our summer!  And a big Congrats to winner Pausing in Surprise!!  Shoot us an email at aintnomomjeans @ gmail.com!