I always dreamed of dressing girls. Pink jumpers, frilly socks, patten-leather shoes. I would spare no expense.
I had two boys.
So... for better or for worse, the shopping frenzy never happened. I did not take the whole thing lightly. Days after the ultrasound that shattered every hope and dream I had of prom and wedding dress shopping I found myself in a Gymboree. I was going to find a few cute outfits for my baby boy. I left in tears. The store clerks looked at me confused. Did you not see the adorable baseball t-shirts on special? One of them even said "Daddy's Little Slugger". So sweet!
So lame, I thought to myself. I'll put it in the pile of clothes I already owned. "Daddy's Little Helper" (With a saw and a hammer printed on), a #1 Football Fan! T-shirt (no doubt bought on special at Costco) and a romper decorated with various bugs. All "boy" outfits, all UGLY.
To comfort myself I told myself that if I had given birth to females, I would have gone bankrupt with all the cute girly outfits. Lucky for me I have two boys and boy clothes, aren't worth it. So I buy what is on special at Target, and save a whole bunch of green.
And it is true. I usually choose to dress my boys in whatever happens to be cheapest, whatever is on sale. The end result is a very uninspired wardrobe for my boys. Which is okay. It's okay until you start to examine your family photographs and realize that your children look awful. And then you realize that there may be some room in the closet for a few special items that you can pull out when the camera's flash starts to flicker.....
Enter Hip Violet. I know sounds girly, but actually there are cute moderately priced items for girls and dah, da, dah.... boys too. Yes boys too. The brand name is valid. The clothes are hip. And they are made from an entrepreneurial Denver mama. She uses whimsical fabric (think retro cowboys and rockets) and creates T-shirts, onsies and bibs that are anything but generic. My boys actually own several long sleeve Hip Violet shirts, and I pull them out for our first (play) dates with new families or for when an occasion might call for a camera.
And now... you too have an opportunity to WIN a super cute Hip Violet Bib! (Pictured above.)
To enter you must a)Be a follower and b)Post a comment telling me about your tot's fashion mishaps, or just say "hello!" I want to hear from you! Please post your comment by May 1. . I will announce the winner on this site on May 2nd.
You can find Hip Violet on the following sites:
www.hipviolet.etsy.com
www.facebook.com/hipviolet
www.hipviolet.blogspot.com
Good luck!
I can somewhat relate. My first child is a girl so I was so excited about the possibility of dressing them alike. When my handsome little man was born the only super cute clothes he had were given to him by jesi of Hip Violet!
ReplyDelete"hello" and fashion mishap...hmmmm. is a diaper and hat only a fashion mishap cos thats how my little girl dresses..
ReplyDeleteOkay I will follow in a moment but first, let me just say something about baby boys...
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a family with 9 sisters and one lone brother (who, let me just say, acts more like a girl than a boy thanks to being raised by 8 older sisters). When my husband and I found out we were pregnant, I just assumed it was a girl. Forget that as far back as you could see in his lineage, the men produced boy after boy after boy. I was sure I was having a girl. Then we had that magical ultrasound, and the technician announced that we would be parents to a son.
I must admit that for a moment, I was heartbroken. Boys! They have extra parts I know very very little about! They smell! They love bugs and dirt and worst of all THEIR CLOTHES ARE A TOTAL BORE.
So my super-overjoyed husband decided after our ultrasound that he would take me out for a nice (cocktail-less to boot, sniff) dinner and out for some shopping. And over my dinner and root beer, I decided that (1) I could do this boy thing and (2) my child would not be wearing some boring-ass crap covered with baseballs and freaking bears riding fire trucks.
So began the hunt. Most of my shopping was done online, as that’s where I found the best selection. I shunned Gymboree and Carters and all that other garbage. I bought all the rock-star-themed tees I could find from The Childrens Place. I bought hipster shirts and hats from Knuckleheads. I bought be-flamed and skulled-out BabyLegs. I raided our local baby boutique of all their ironic Appaman onesies. Suddenly I noticed there were all kinds of cool boy hats out there, newsboy caps and beanies and fedoras, oh my! And the shoes! Boy shoes are unique; you can get so many more awesome styles of Pumas and Converse and such…
I also practically lived for surfing Etsy, where I found some of my best finds. Knit hats with skulls on them, awesome screen-prints with robots and Godzilla, and oh but hey guess what: that is also how I discovered Hip Violet. I bought a monster onesie with a matching bib and my gawd, but I adore them both.
So! Boys, who knew - they can be even more fun to dress than girls. Shopping is much more interesting, it’s all about the hunt! And as a bonus: I have a boy! A sweet, adoring, darling little man. He’s my boy, my buddy, the ‘class clown’ of our family and he thinks I am the greatest person in the world. I don’t have to worry about him borrowing my makeup or my nice shoes (well, maybe). And I’m still the princess in my house, the Girl, the pretty one. All in all, the best outcome I ever could have had :)
So! That was long, sorry. I want to also add I am glad to have found your blog, thanks to Hip Violet... :)
I don't have a cute story. My kid is the best dressed boy in all the land. He wears skinny jeans from crew cuts, vintage inspired lucky brand t-shirts, funky suit jackets, and shelves of flame vans, skull chuckies, and bright green pumas. Hr, however, is too old for a bib. As my sister used to say, I was an anti-bibite. However, now that she's super preggo and having a baby shower at a very super special "Aunties" house, she might like a bib.
ReplyDeleteHey Rachel! I have been following your blog for months and I must say I am quite impressed...You are very whitty and I often find myself laughing out loud. It reminds me of why we bacame friends when you worked at DHR. I must admit that I am sad that we didn't keep in better touch when you were still here in Denver. I don't know if you know, but Martin (husband not boss) and I had a little baby girl a year ago. I love being a mother!! I hope you are well...Jayme
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to check out hip violet...
Hi! As the mother of a baby girl, I have to say its not always what it seems. My only 11 month old will not keep a fantastic dress on for more than a few minutes. She is a sweatpants and tee shirt girl (or no clothes) through and through . . .
ReplyDeleteRachel you always lived girly clothes , especially dresses that "twirled" when you turned in circles. You now have a great fashion sense! You inherited from me!
ReplyDeleteI regret not being able to buy mary jane shoes, and socks that look like mary janes, and rain boots that look like mary janes! But, socks that look like tennies are pretty cute too. So far we haven't had too many wardrobe issues, except my Evan is a puker so we go through many outfits in a day - this bib would come in handy ")
ReplyDeleteWe have many "daddy's little helper" or "mommy's little monster" shirts. What better way to cover up a dorky shirt than with a hip bib!
ReplyDelete