New York designer Grace Sun recently launched her adorable line of cashmere childrenswear under the label O+Kay with their first (Fall ‘10) collection already available. Perhaps normally considered somewhat of a luxury fiber, and most certainly delicate, cashmere wouldn’t necessarily be the first & most obvious choice from which to design a kids collection. However, rules are made to be broken and sometimes, when they are, great things happen. O+Kay is most definitely A-OK!
Priced from $40 to $125, there’s something for any mini style within this collection of high-quality basic knits, with the solid-color pieces letting you keep it casual or enhancing something a little more dressed-up.
Although only currently available in sizes 2T to 5T, demand has allowed them to extend this to size 8 for the the Holiday collection! which we’re told will be very much about red and purple.
Stay tuned for more on the coming O+Kay Holiday collection!
www.opluskay.com
Strolling down Broadway after a late lunch yesterday I was distracted by the small crafts market that’s just popped up at the Madison Square Park.
Amongst the usual that you can expect at such a venue I noticed a very cool collection of childrenswear, Paradis Found, made exclusively with recycled and vintage fabrics. All handmade and one-of-a-kind pieces, there was a fantastic range of coats and hats in preparation for the coming cold months here in NYC.
If you happen to be in the neighborhood over the next month, drop by to check it out (and say hello to Dana Paradis, the designer behind the range). Alternatively, check out their website.
Last night I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Temper Trap show at the New York city SPIN magazine office space. Amazing semi-private gig! and a fantastic gift from co-sponsor VANS – a voucher for a pair of personally customized kicks!
Understandably this morning has been spent clicking around the VANS website matching and rematching colors and styles to design my very own colorway. I’m a huge VANS fan and must have had dozens in the past, but once I hit the “submit order” button I felt sure that these would most definitely be the coolest thus far!
There’re 4 classic styles to choose from starting as a plain white canvas, and although mine ended up being quite subtle in final design, your kids’ can be as wild as their little punkrock hearts desire!
Sure it’s nothing new as VANS has been doing customs since they started out (with the first shoes made to order and pick-up on the same day), but it’s SO much fun!
Definitely check it out, if only for a distraction.
www.vans.com/customs
Back in May last year we posted that the online community-centered apparel store Threadless had launched a dedicated childrenswear sub-site called Threadless Kids, with super fun designs for “Babies” (0-24 months) and “Kids” (2-12 years).
If you’re in New York’s Lower East Side drop in and check out their pop up shop in Orchard St.
In case you don’t know what it’s all about:
Members of the Threadless community submit t-shirt designs online; the designs are then put to a public vote. A small percentage of submitted designs are selected for printing and sold through an online store. Creators of the winning designs receive a prize of cash and store credit. Why not start a design project with your favourite toddler this weekend…!
Last month the Vans collaboration with selected footwear dealer Undefeated to produce the Hernan Era LX pack in both adults and kids sizes. True they’re nothing amazingly outstanding design-wise (although very nice indeed!) but just the fact that the colabo was extended to kids sizes is fantastic, making them possibly be the hottest mini kicks I’ve seen this year!
Available in 4 colorways, the suede and nylon uppers match the colored vulcanized sole, with just a hint of white (or red) detailing.
Pick up a pair for yourself and the little ones at Undefeated locations in California and Las Vegas, or online.
The coming Spring/Summer in the southern hemisphere is set to be stylin’ with the new collection from SOSOOKI childrenswear. The latest range from this hip label blends street style with storybook fantasy. It has a dash of retro with a modern twist. Playful designs and contemporary styling come together in this cool collection just for boys and girls age three to seven. So this season SOSOOKI kids can set their own trends, with a range that is refreshingly individual without being too grown up.
The SOSOOKI collection is developed from its offspring label SOOKIbaby, drawing inspiration from this hugely successful infant’s brand. So, as SOOKIbaby’s grow up, they can become SOSOOKI kids. This season, cool nerd styling is mixed with fairytale mushrooms, vibrant colours and street mono prints. SOSOOKI’s spring summer range makes for a totally unique collection that is bound to be a hit with the little ones.
Nerds are the new black, with a geek theme included in the boys and girls collections. Making the smart kids, into hip kids, are the ‘It’s cool, not to be cool’ slogan tees and nerd glasses printed onto shirts. For boys, there are a great collection of cool tee prints to choose from, including ‘The King’ Lion, ‘Party Animal’ balloon dog, and ‘Hanging with my Gnomies’.
“I get inspired with the good old days’, a retro style print or shape and then incorporate a modern day version of it by adding fresher elements to the design,” said Dijana Dotur Designer, founder and Co-Owner of SOSOOKI.
Smarten up little tearaways with the funky check prints on shorts, shirts and tees. Or be really fancy with the dress shirt and bow tie print and every SOSOOKI boy will want to pull up his braces with the cool shorts with braces.
www.sookibaby.com.au
In the calm north-Brooklyn neighborhood of Clinton Hill you can stumble upon some real gems; a chocolate factory turned spa, the Pratt Institute, and.. Still Hip kids resale boutique.
We took a few minutes to catch up with co-founder Gabrielle Napolitano to find out exactly why their homegrown business is quite so hip, and what to expect from their coming back to school sale on August 29th (info here, along with their schedule of events & classes).
Give us a brief history of Still Hip.
Simply put, another local mom and I were chatting and decided with our similar energy we would do great together in business. We brainstormed and came up with a list of things that were important to us and came up with children, community, budget and being green. Hence Still Hip!
I had a t-shirt line called hip-tot so we thought keeping the ‘hip’ branding would make sense and even though their used, they are still hip!
What was the main motivation behind moving into resale?
Resale just makes sense. Kids grow out of their clothes so quickly it’s crazy! Plus, what could be greener than reuse?
You have some celebs frequenting the store. Any gossip?
Wish I had some real spicy stuff, but I’ll say that Peter Sarsgard has been in a few times with his daughter for nothing more than to use the bathroom!
What’s your number one favorite thing about Still Hip?
Aside from our awesome turtle, Giles, I would have to say my ‘workers’. By this I mean all the kids that come in and tell their
parents that they work in the store because I let them push the buzzer to open the door or feed the turtle. It is the sweetest thing to have a kid give you a big ole hug when they see you at the playground and then they run and tell their friends that they work for you. LOL!
Five hottest items in stock right now?
• Oilily fall dresses (we have 3 and they are super fab)
• Pali Italian wood crib
• Vintage high chair from the late 60s
• Vintage wooden rocker
• Summer car seat good from 5-60 lbs!
I could go on…
Still Hip
283 Grand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718.398.0008
stillhipbrooklyn.com
Anything Crayola sounds like fun! As does anything Vans!
But Vans X Crayola…? Wow!
Incorporating some of their most classic styles, Vans has team up with Crayola to bring you the new Vans Colored By Crayola collection of back-to-school mischief shoes.
Personal favorites include the ever-popular Sk8-Hi’s available in both his & hers pink and blue:
and the forever-classic Classics, available in blue, pink, purple, red & yellow:
The icing on the cake here is that each pair comes with a Vans x Crayola coloring book. The cherry on that icing is that you can nab the coloring book online immediately!, here or click the image below.
Pick’m up on the Vans website, or of course on Amazon.com
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There’s always a mountain of items to be purchased (or recylcled!) for the kids heading back to school after the summer. But being summer, and kids being kids, they’re most definitely in need of a bag or backpack for sleep-overs or visits to the lake…
So why not pick them up a new one now before the rush, and give them something that’ll be useful through the summer too?
Here we’ve dug up some very cool and fun bags (& great bargains) to help point you in the right direction.
For your convenience, descriptions beneath each item are linked to a purchase destination.
AGES 4 – 6
With nothing heavy going on the little ones backs, more consideration can be paid to design and fun!
Skip Hop Zoo Pack Little Kid Owl Backpack.
Rory the Lion, little kid backpack.
Creative Kids monster backpack.
AGES 6 – 12
Carrying their own books, lunch and sport equipment, growing bodies can benefit from a wheeled alternative…
Kid’s Sparkling Wheel Rolling Backpack with Lunch Bag in Shadow Puzzle.
Kid’s J World Sparkling Wheel Rolling Backpack with Lunch Bag.
AGES 12+
Very little you can do will stop their desire for the only coolest of bags (& brands) at this age…
JanSport Big Kid Classic backpack.
High Sierra Loop Backpack,Blossom Big Plaid/Ash
Volcom Purma Plaid Backpack.
DAKINE Girl’s Jewel Pack
