a little more salt water love

I own a pair of salt water sandals, actually I own two pairs one in red and one in brown. They are seriously comfortable, and I wear them all the time. I think my oldest daughter may be a bit annoyed that they look like kid's shoes (which they are), but for me comfort trumps everything! 

I was shooting a job for Billabong kids line, and I had on my red sandals, my little model had the exact same shoes on! We were twinsies, but she was so much cuter in her sandals!

vivi taking a break from shooting in her salt water sandals, www.mysaltwatersandals.com

Even big girls can rock some little girl wear!

lily in vintage romper and new sandals

be creative....101

It’s amazing how you can take a skirt, and make a dress out of it, with little to no effort. Old lace pieces make beautiful scarves during any month. Boys blazers are adorable on girls, and can be found at second hand stores for a few dollars. Even boys formal wear pants and jeans make great pants on a girl, especially with suspenders. 

Learn to sew or knit...just a little. There have been times when I can’t find the right item of clothing. The right bloomers or the right colored skirt. I can’t really follow a pattern well, but I have been able to whip out a few simple elastic skirts from muslin that have cost about a dollar. Anything that has a cinched waist can be a cinch to make!

on zoe, boys jeans √, satin suspenders √, and girly t-shirt √....enough said.

With a collection of basics and neutrals, at arms reach, it’s easy to add pops of color for an outfit that is classic, but modern, and totally international. For tweens, you may find that other kids begin asking where your kids shop, and where they’ve gotten certain items. Originality, in a classic way, can cause quite the stir in middle school. And kids want to look a little more sophisticated than they are. The majority of the girls in schools will go for classic, european, over cheap and trashy any day. Even in 6th grade, a lot kids are following some fashion someone on Tumblr, reading Teen Vogue, or blogging. Stand back and watch the creative sparks fly!

so this was a first day of school photo of one of my girls, notice the detached look in my daughter's eyes! I was completely annoying her. she took some major chances with her pattern play in 8th grade, and the look totally works. the shirt was from a local thrift store, the skirt was jcp, the flats payless.

curating....101

Now that you have a closet or collection of clothes, it’s time to curate. See what works together, see what outfits you can put together, or better yet, allow your kiddo to mix and match pieces. Putting together outfits, from a child’s perspective is the best way to ensure fashionable, and super original ensembles. Don’t underestimate a child’s fashion sense, they are more savvy than most adults, and are naturally fashion risk takers! Yeah, I know there are times when you want to hold a little sign over their heads, that reads something like- "yes I did dress myself today!" But, try not to rain on their fashion parade.

a super neutral pallette on a little lovely!

is this real life?....thrifting virtually

•• these are not my images, but are my collages

My local Salvation Army is pretty incredible, actually it's beyond awesome. But, not everyone lives near a grade "A" second hand place. So, I did a little leg/ finger work and found a few great resources online. One that I stumbled across, Thred Up, had such a great selection of very gently used pieces. You can sort by gender, size, color, brand, you name it! I put together a holiday look for boys and girls, add some undies and socks and you're good to go. Each ensemble, including shoes was right around $50. I hope I see some 6 year old fashion blogger out there wearing the jumper/ fuzzy coat/ pink clog look, and maybe some hipster dude will be looking awesome in his monochromatic/ fire flame tennis shoe ensemble.

all pieces were rounded up to the nearest dollar, and clothing, minus shoes are size 6 kids. take a look at www.thredup.com!

uniform policy....just not like everyone else

•• these are not my off figure images, but collages are mine.

So, here are a few little ensembles that start with a pretty basic uniform piece. I love a bargain, and a classic (I'm sure that you couldn't tell), but these outfits rock! Prep school-school of rock, it's all the same!

and it all started with a basic white peter pan collar uniform shirt.

don't want to spend major $$ on a basic grey crew neck sweatshirt? buy one from a school uniform supplier.

this outfits uses a varsity sweater as it's base, and some awesome school shoes, and of course kitty cat ears, meow. my youngest wore her cat ears for years, and they do add a little somethin, somethin to an outfit.

awesome uniform shops online: www.flynnohara.com, schooluniforms.com

p.s. uniforms are made to fit high schoolers, which means that they fit you too!