Its cold (and also freezing in some parts) in the Northern Hemiphere and hot and sunny in the Southern Hemisphere. Either way, its time to get some colour into the wardrobe! Bring on the much loved, always reliable Converse, they have a great “design it yourself” system and it is so much fun! Plus your child gets their very own, one off pair, made by them! (or mum/dad).

There are 12 steps to follow and you can choose everything from the colour stitching to your very own personal ID. Here is a pair of the Chuck Taylor All Star Double Tongue Neon I made myself.

If you don’t have the inclination to to design your own, you can always choose from their great selection of brights below.

Or if you just want to keep your existing pair, but want to jazz them up a bit: Try these little beauties. Coloured laces.

She has come under fire for letting her daughter wear heeled shoes, which some child experts claim can harm the development of children’s feet and posture.

The three-year-old – wearing her trademark high heels – was on the set as Tom filmed new action comedy Knight & Day in Seville, Spain.

But Katie has defended her decision: “Like every little girl, she loves my high heels,” she said. “They are actually ballroom dancing shoes for kids. I found them for her and she loves them”

Parenting forums disagree, with many mothers claiming the shoes ’sexualised’ children and were harmful for their feet.

One parent on Mumsnet wrote: ‘Am I over-reacting or am I right in thinking that ‘celebs’ should not be leading the way in sexualising children?’

Let us know what you think:

The days are getting shorter and much colder, and at times you wonder how a pair of socks and some shoes can keep your children’s feet warm. It seems Ugg Australia has it covered, as does Juicy Couture & Burberry. Saks has placed these styles on the “best sellers” list.

UGG Australia

Juicy Couture

UGG Australia

Burberry

Juicy Couture

Simple have developed a line of sustainable sneakers called ecoSNEAKS®.

In addition to looking great, the ecoSNEAKS collection uses materials like recycled car tires, certified organic cotton, eco certified suedes, PET (think recycled plastic bottles), recycled bike tires, hemp and are machine washable, just to name a few. So they a leave better ecological footprint than ordinary sneakers….(ok that last one isnt exaclty part of the “eco friendly” list, but being machine washable is number one on the parent friendly list!)

As part of the development process Simple wanted to make sure they wouldn’t leave behind any scuff marks, so they made up a blend of non-marking natural and recycled rubber, they are engineered to be soft and flexible – meaning more movement for growing feet, plus they are wide enough to fit chubby feet, which covers off most children from 0 – 3 years!

Here are the Noodle and the Doodle:

Noodle

Noodle

Doodle

Doodle

Havaianas are an important summer footwear item for grown ups and juniors. Now our mini mes have an added bonus for their selection…. glow in the dark! (that is assuming they are up late enough to enjoy them)!

Rock and roll with these…..

I’m a big fan of the Brazilian flip flops, Havaianas, for my casual summer foot wear – nothing beats a pair of flips flops on a hot summers day, and these are especially groovy and oh so comfortable.

I was surprised that Havaianas have been around since 1962, and were inspired by traditional Japanese sandals (was this the birth of the flip flop?).  I was also surprised to see that they have a great range of kids flips flops, and I’ve picked out a a few of my favorites:

FOR THE GIRLS

Kids Slims:

Wonder Woman:

Slim Peacock:

FOR THE BOYS

Superman:

Batman:

Kids Surf (with 8 colors & styles to chose from):

Check them all out at http://www.havaianasus.com/kids-baby-sandals/

Kickin’ it with your favorite cartoon colabo: adidas X Mr.Men!

adidas has teamed up with the Mr. Men Show (remember the little books…) to produce a his and hers colabo sneaker with their ever popular Superstar 2 model.

Click the images for links to the items.

And for the littlest ones, a infant model:

If you dig these, then you’ll love the New Balance colabo range with Sesame Street!

The Spanish shoe brand from the Balearic Island of Mallorca not only makes iconic shoes for us grown-ups, but also for the not so grown up…
They’re unique, stylish and fun!

Here are a few that I really dig for him:

 

And some for her:

 

The kids section of their website is a lot of fun, and even if you’re not up for shopping you have to check out the kids shoe catalogue!

www.camper.com/web/en/CamperForKids.asp

I just came across this fantastic ‘design your own’ option on the Converse website. The cost is $45 for the kids shoes.  But don’t worry, there are also big kids sizes, so you and your minihipster can both design a pair of your own funky Converse and hit the streets together!

The design process involves 10 steps (which you can do in any order).  It took me about 10 minutes to complete, but only because I kept changing my mind and taking my time in selecting the design for each part!  You can see my artistic handywork in action through each of the steps below:

Step One – to get started, select the ‘blank’ shoe.  I chose canvas chucks:

Step Two – the outside body. You can chose from a selection of patterns or solid color. I chose one of the funky patterns:

Step Three – the tongue. Again, can chose from a selection of patterns or colors. I chose a color:

Step Four – the racing stripe. You can select from four colors of red, white, black or dark blue. I chose dark blue:

Step Five – the laces. There are five colors to chose from, and I opted for pink:

Step Six – the lining. An artists work is never done! Now for the lining, where you have the choice of colors or patterns. I thought I’d keep it simple and go for a color:

Step Seven – the heel stripe:

Step Eight – the stitching!

Step nine – your ID. In case your converse design isn’t individual enough already, here you can add your ‘ID’ to either the back or the side of the shoe:

Step Ten – the inside. Chose either pattern or color. I opted to spice things up with a second pattern:

And for a view of the finished product, here is the top:

And the front:

Pretty darn cool, if I don’t say so myself!!  Click here to get started on your own custom Converse for you and your minihipster, and have fun!

Did you know that the Authentic — a Vans classic since the beginning in 1966 — is now available in toddler sizes?!

Paul Van Doren and his three partners opened their first shoe store at 704 East Broadway, Anatheim, California, on 16 March 1966. The Van Doren Rubber Company was unusual in that it not only manufactured shoes, it also sold them directly to the public. On their first morning, 12 customers purchased shoes, which were made that day and were ready to be picked up in the afternoon. Those shoes were the Vans deck shoes #44, today known as the Authentic.

The toddler version is made with a softer and more pliable construction making it easier when learning to walk!
They have a great selection of colors for spring: from the always popular Liberty, a bright, vibrant purple, to Leprechaun, a true green.

website: http://vans.com/kids/