Shopping Around
Spoonflower: How cool is on-demand, custom-printed fabric?
I was roaming around the web tonight and landed on Heather Ross's website. If you haven't seen it yet, Ross's book Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching is a fun book with some cute children's projects.
But, that's not what drew me to the site. Heather Ross is also a textile designer. And, a pretty amazing one, at that. While perusing her site, I noticed that many of her out-of-print designs are only available on-demand from Spoonflower, a fabric printing company based in North Carolina. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Keeping up Appearances, Shopping Around | 
Tags: books, fabric, Heather Ross, sewing, tips | 
No Comments »
Ralph Lauren: RL Gang Interactive Children’s Picture Book with Back-to-School Shopping Focus
Ralph Lauren has hit on a new marketing concept: the virtual shopping story book. The RL Gang: A Fantastically Amazing School Adventure is available on the Ralph Lauren website as an interactive shopping tool (i.e., they let you click on the children in the video story to view their wardrobes and shop for them.)
The story, narrated by Harry Connick Jr., is not particularly well-written (the mention of "an amazingly amazing book" and "moist" apples made me cringe a bit), but I reminded myself that this is about retail marketing, not children's literature. And, as a marketing piece, it's great. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Kids Brands and Retailers, Shopping Around | Tags: kids brands, marketing, shopping, stories | No Comments »
Upcycled children’s back-to-school clothing saves money and the environment
Clothing purchases on new items such as jeans, shirts, and shoes, are expected to average $225.47 per child, the single largest back-to-school expense for the year.
The question is: Do our children really need all of this clothing and does it all need to be new, or have we set an expectation that puts unnecessary pressure on our families' budgets and on the environment? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Keeping up Appearances, Shopping Around | Tags: back to school, eco-friendly, market research, resale, tips, upcycling | No Comments »
10 Tips for Kids Clothing Back to School Shopping
The temperature is cooling down and the stores are fully stocked with book bags and clothing basics. Must be back to school time again. Here are ten tips to help you find what clothing your kids will need for BTS at a price you can afford. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Keeping up Appearances, Shopping Around | Tags: back to school, shopping, tips | No Comments »
LoobaLee Offers Name Brand Children’s Clothing Resale and Thoughts on How to Dress your Children Virtually Free
Last summer LoobaLee launched an online service to help parents buy and sell gently used children’s clothing. And, they've been growing like crazy ever since.
They carry upscale, name-brand, and boutique-quality children’s wear and accessories and now have over 1000 brands available through their site. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in From the Industry, Shopping Around | Tags: consignment, kids brands, LoobaLee, resale | 1 Comment »
Kids’ Denim Trends for Fall 2010/Winter 2011
WGSN, a style and design trend analysis company, says we'll be seeing classic, retro, and stylish trends in kids denim just in time for the back-to-school season. Read the rest of this entry »
Finding Diaper Brands that Fit Your Baby and Your Budget
Disposable diapers often common in mega multi-packs. I keep hearing from moms that don’t seem to be able to use all of them up before their baby needs the next size up… To top it off, sizes seem to fit differently and work differently from diaper brand to diaper brand. Here are some tips for trying and buying diapers that fit without breaking the bank. Read the rest of this entry »
Baby Shower Shopping Power
The April/May Earnshaw’s issue had an article about evolving consumer tastes and habits and how they are influencing retailer. The piece that stood out to me, though, was a sidebar about baby showers. This post highlights statistics from a recent survey by TheBump.com about baby showers. Read the rest of this entry »
How do you save? 20 Tips for Saving Money on Kids Clothing
No matter who we are, we all like to save money or find deals on kids clothes. They just grow out of them too-darned fast to splurge on everything all of the time. Here are some ideas for shopping smart, exploring sales, and extending the life of kids clothes so you can save some money for more important things. Read the rest of this entry »
Shopping for and Buying Children’s Clothing Online
I'm all for shopping local and thrifting when I can, but I also realize that sometimes, there are trade-offs in time doing the things I really want to be doing, price, gas, and availability of options. When you can't find something near home, shopping online can be a great way to balance these trade-offs. Read the rest of this entry »
