Does your child love clothes more than you do?

BY D.J. DUCKWORTH
Contributor to The MOMS

I love clothes. I love shopping for clothes. I love looking at boutiques like Lily Lulu Fashion and finding the perfect outfit. And evidently, so does my 6-year-old son! Whenever we get a catalogue in the mail, he’s quick to grab a pen and start circling the looks he wants us to buy. He is usually drawn to the graphic print tees and anything with a fish or other water animal on it. Of course, I’m always thinking to myself, can he wear that to school? How will that work on the playground? How long will he wear that? And of course, I’m wondering how will it fit? After all, you can only tell so much from a photograph on a page. My other concern is, as you might expect, how much is that going to cost me? Budgeting is something that so many people spend time doing these days and, in this digital age, it’s easier than ever to do due to the existence of websites like Raise that give you access to promo codes and discounts, like Kohl’s coupons, which means that your next clothing shop won’t set you back quite as much as it otherwise would – ideal for if your little one is heading back to school!

So we were both thrilled to see that Ralph Lauren has brought his children’s collection to life with an on-line e-book called the RL Gang. We recently met the RL Gang Class of 2012 thanks to MomTrends at Bloomingdale’s. Corbin thought it was really cool to see the RL Gang come to life on our computer screen. If you aren’t familiar with it, each character represents a certain style, like bohemian, rock star, explorer, etc. And the clothing they are wearing coordinates with their style and adventures. We both think it’s a great way to shop for clothing. For me, it gives me an idea as to how the clothing fits. For my son, he gets to decide which look he wants to wear based off of the e-book video and not just a photo. We both get to see the clothing in action!

I think for those of you who have kids who are difficult to dress and struggle with their daily clothing selections, this live catalog, if you will, is a great way to get them to wear a more put together look. They are entertained with the e-book while they get to decide what they’d like to wear. So you knock out two birds with one stone! To me, that is multitasking at its finest. Now, if Barney’s on-line would do this for me, then my shopping experience would be a much better one too!

THE MOMS / STRUT KIDS STYLE:
Corbin’s look:
Boden skinny jeans, zip up hoodie and red striped long sleeve shirt. He was sporting his new green Adidas sneakers!

The MOMS on ABC's The Revolution

You know you have good fashion sense when Tim Gunn approves. And luckily he did. So as Tim says, there’s no need to be frumpy or dumpy! Take a look at our appearance on ABC’s The Revolution.

Love the looks? The clothes can all be found at Bloomingdales. The shoes are Stuart Weitzman and to round out the looks, we added baubles from Bauble Bar. The looks are the perfect looks for the transformable mom.

Strut Style in pink

Lovin the first warm day of the year in my full Gap outfit.  Best way to feel spring is to look spring with a white shortsleeve sweater and pink jeans.  Top it off with Bauble Bar jewels and Stuart Weitzman boots and it’s a perfect look for a perfect day.  (Although had I left home later today, I would have gone with a spring-ier shoe but still obsessed with these gray wedge boots!)

 

 

Do Children Comprehend Religion?

BY MELISSA GERSTEIN

For our Spring Break stay-cation just a few weeks ago, I was determined to make the most out of it. We were going to tackle the city as tourists and I made plans to show my six year old the city like she has never seen before, which included her first Broadway show.

Many of my girlfriends took their little ones to see Godspell and suggested that she would love the singing and dancing. My daughter is a Sutton Foster in training. I wondered if the story would be too intense. I was curious if she would get upset by the ending when Jesus dies and I was concerned about the overall content.

Little did I realize when we booked the tickets for a Wednesday matinee it happened to also be the holiday Ash Wednesday. I thought to myself, how ironic, booking Godspell on Ash Wednesday. Maybe the conversation about God was just meant to be.

As we walked in Times Square towards the theatre, the questions began. “Why are people wearing dirt on the forehead” and “why do some people have this black stuff and not us.” The answer was simple at first…because we are Jewish and this is someone else’s holiday today. That was not satisfactory for her.

So I attempted to tell her more about Jesus Christ and how Ash Wednesday marked the first day of Lent. Then I tried to explain Lent. I saw confusion all over her face as I continued on about religion and how everyone has different beliefs and traditions – concepts she also learns at Hebrew school.

Then we went into Godspell. I am one of many who never saw this musical growing up which is quite surprising since I grew up dancing and singing in musicals in my local town. Could it be that my parents never wanted me to see Godspell or that the opportunity never presented itself?

From the moment the the stage lights went up, I was blown away by the talent on the stage. The singing and dancing was mesmerizing and for that moment in the theatre, it didn’t matter that my daughter didn’t understand the story. Then the ending of the show came, which I was worried about for her. Death is hard to comprehend at six and then to see the sacrificing of Jesus Christ. How would this affect her? Would she be scared or hurt?

I watched her as she watched the act. She was actually fine and in fact, she is more mature then I give her credit for. I think the initial instinct is to protect our children from death and pain, when in fact, they can handle many more adult-like situations than we give them credit for. Since she appears to be quite engaged in it, I want to instill a sense of spirituality in her even more. Maybe I’d like her to accompany me to the churches as well from now (like church in elk grove). I am pretty confident that she’d probably be able to understand the preachings and will try to incorporate the sayings into her life.

Anyway, as we left the theatre, we discussed the celebratory musical. At the end of the day we came to the conclusion together that story is the celebration of life and love and that was what resonated on our Ash Wednesday afternoon together.

Strut Style with Mayim Bialik

What a week.  We woke up to a tweet the other day from Mayim Bialik that said “Am seeing more of @TheMoms this book tour than my own family but its all good, love them!”That about sums up our week.And what do you wear when you’re meeting one of the quintessential stars of your childhood?

For us, as always, it’s about comfort.   First we moderated a discussion with Mayim at Barnes and Noble as Mayim wows moms and dads all across the city with her intellectual and non-judegemental style of parenting.

Denise wore a knit dress by Laundry paired with her favorite wedge Stuart Weitzman boots.  She wore the outfit all day and was easily on the go from her kids school drop off at 8:30am through the 6;00 discussion at Barnes and Noble.

Melissa was shining in her DVF top and Banana Republic pants.

 

We fit right in with Mayim in one of our favorite looks, a maxi dress…my personal favorite for any event – day or night.

 

And if one event with Mayim wasn’t enough, we also hosted a blogger discussion for Beyond the Sling.

I opted for a BCBG off the shoulder top with my favorite dark, wide legged AG Jeans and Melissa again brightened the room with an orange tank from BCBG and a blazer from Club Monaco.  All of our amazing jewels are Bauble Bar.

As always, we both run around town all day long in Stuart Weitzman shoes…the most comfortable for everything we pack in one day!

 

Crafty and CelebraTORI

When we last spoke to Tori Spelling, she was newly pregnant with her third (although she hadn’t announced it yet, we had mother’s intuition).  We bonded over jewelry (she also has a line at HSN, spoke endlessly about our kids fashion choices and compared notes about date night)  Now, less than a year later, the super-mom of three is launching another collection to add to her brand – a new craft line on HSN on March 13th.  The collection will include customized stationary, memory books and stamp kits.  And if you want it all in one place, Tori’s line includes the “craft clutch” that stays together in a cute clear clutch.  All of this will also be showcased in her new book, CelebraTORI which will be released on April 3rd.
We had a few questions for the crafty mom….
The MOMS –  We are so inspired every time we hear about something else you are doing – the perfect example of a mom entrepreneur doing it all.  Where does your inspiration come from?
TORI – My inspirations come from my passions. If I love doing something then I want to create with my spin on it and share it with others. Crafting is definitely one of my lifelong passions!
The MOMS – What is your favorite craft / activity to do with you kids?  Do you find time to do it everyday? 
 TORI – The kids and I love making things for people. Homemade to me equals love and that’s what I’m teaching my kids. Together we make cards, presents, home decor, and treats. We try to craft at least once a week and we live for holidays!

The MOMS – What is your advice for moms who might not be crafty? 


TORI – Crafting doesn’t have to be the overtop intricate and perfect projects that your grandma used to make. The modern woman and mom doesn’t have a lot of time on her hands. So I just say jump in. Start with small projects and don’t worry about perfection. Imperfections make things unique!

 

The MOMS – What is your advice to moms who want to start something new?


TORI – If you want to start something new don’t immediately overwhelm yourself with a completed time extensive project. Start small with realistic goals and a budget. And most importantly, have fun learning your way through it.

Strut Style – Melissa's all about comfort

By MELISSA GERSTEIN

For Strut, The Fashionable Mom Show, One of my outfits was Tory Burch.  I would invest in these sparkly gray pants because they are a great paired with anything!  They can go with a white t-shirt or tank or button down for the “office mom” and they are fabulous for a fun night out.  They were styled with this Tory Burch black and gold top which is the perfect top for any mom.  It can easily transform to be worn with a pair of jeans.

I’m all about comfort.  Check out the fun Carlos, by Carlos Santana heels too.  40 Bucks!

Strut Style: Anatomy of our outfits

For over the past year, we have brought you our Fashion Friday pieces where we showcased the looks we wore on our television show, Moms and the City and A Dad Named David. But, since the success of Strut, The Fashionable Mom Show, we’ve decided to bring you Strut Style, with our first post: Anatomy of our Outfits. Because it really all began with Fashion Friday….but now it’s so much more.

What is the perfect outfit for a mom? For me, the outfits I wore to Strut the runway at The Fashionable Mom Show are the three perfect outfits for the transformable mom. Some people may think that once you reach a certain age, there are some things that you can’t pull off. Maybe that is true, but it’s all about how you feel when you wear something. Whether you’ve decided to rock a Louis Vuitton Fake bag instead of spending thousands on the real thing, or you want to wear your doc martens with skinny jeans, that is completely up to you! You can turn anything into the perfect outfit. If you are more of an alternative style dresser then there is fashion out there for you that can make you feel good, for instance, items such as skull clothing might be up your alley, if so, take a look at what is available and go from there to create your own outfit.

This is the rocker in me. It’s an outfit I would rock to work and then for a night out. My top was from Macy’s, and my hot leather pants were Helmut Lang from Bloomingdales.

/p>This is me — everyday. Gap T shirt, Gap jeans, comfy yet stylish boots, a Gap leather jacket, and accessories that make school drop-off easy and transformation to a meeting do-able. I like the appearance of these and the fact that I can extend it to other occasions if I need to! Boots have always been a favorite of mine. I especially like to strut around in a pair of knee high boots feeling like I’m the boss. They give you so much confidence and character it’s uncanny. Perhaps these kinds of boots wouldn’t work for a school drop-off, but a night on the town? Absolutely.

And anyway, there are more reserved styles to choose from. I just love boots. Along with boots, I might consider purchasing a beautiful leather bag for myself. While purchasing a new leather bag, I may need to conduct proper research as these bags are generally highly-priced, and putting up my money on an unsuitable bag might not be a good idea. Nowadays, there are various types of the leather present in the market like full-grain, split grain, and caviar leather (check out Chanel Caviar Leather: Definition, Uses, Care and Maintenance – LeatherProfy).

And there’s no better way to end a day unless you’re in a dress by Laundry. And this is the perfect color and perfect fit — for this fashionable mom!