Alex and Alexa have just launched a gift and toys range on their site. The new collection brings together jewellery, top old fashioned gifts, and toys with a classic feel. Alex Theophanous, CEO of alexandalexa.com says, “We have decided to introduce a gift and toys range as we feel there is a huge opportunity in the market. Building on the success of our current fashion offer this new premium range gives our customer greater choice”.

Key items include a stunning range of modern jewellery and charms by Molly Brown for the style conscious, creative and modern pop up books, the irresistible vintage tinned styling and stamping  kits by the quirky brand Wu Wu, the old time favourite snakes and ladders board  game, a great selection of  premium heritage wooden toys, including the Classic wooden rocking horse and wooden plane. The luxurious Burberry and Chloe changing bags will no doubt be on every glamorous mums’ wish list.

We have found a great mask making kit to inspire the ‘home made parent’ in you just in time for Halloween – if not for your child, then for you!

and we can’t go past the ever popular Trunki range. This would be perfect for carrying around the candy ’swag’ your children will be collecting on Halloween!!

Stylish. Unique. Beautiful. Welcome to Woo’s, a wonderful worldly place where you’ll find some of the globe’s best-designed wares for Mother, Child and Home. Owner Pip Graham travels the world to bring you the best in fashion (specialising in Scandinavian). Sold only and exclusively at Woo’s, you’ll be at the fashion forefront with access to beautiful brands such as Custommade, Gronnbaek and St Tropez. Infuse your home with gorgeous scented oils, Swedish designed handmade candles and luxurious Portuguese soaps. Whether it’s for the kitchen, bathroom or even a gift, add a little magic to your world. And for Child, adorable garments from new born to ten years that everyone will adore.

The story behind the name

The image (and icon) of little Woo was snapped by renown British photographer Cecil Beaton. Not only did Beaton photograph icons from the worlds of fashion, literature, music and film (such as the Rolling Stones, Salvador Dali Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe) he also captured this adorable girl sitting atop her beloved dog Hamlet. And that little girl is Pip’s mum, nicknamed Woo, who has provided much inspiration for the store and what it stands for.

We have picked out some of our favourite, on trend, pieces but there is so much more to choose from at the online store WOOS

This long sleeve tee is from Danish brand GRO who we love for their uniqueness

Another Danish brand, Celavi is showing us how to look good in the rain.

These smock shirts by Franka from Sweden, come in 4 creamy soft colours

You can also like WOOS on Facebook

We caught up with Kristen Taylor, creator of Juvie, the online boutique for girls and boys clothing, for her take on Spring 2011 trends.

Kristen:

Girls love the bright prints, looser silhouettes and color blocking. Boys are seeing lots of color and music-influenced graphics.
As children’s trends follow ever-more-closely on the heels of adult fashion, you will see many of the same looks and ideas from the spring 2011 women’s and men’s collections translated for the little ones this same season.

This spring, those trends include color blocking, lots of prints, and longer, looser silhouettes for girls. Girls will be drawn to the fun mix of bright prints from Desigual, a knitwear designer from Spain that does funky cool separates. Ismodern’s designs for spring are similarly rich in tone, but with a more refined feminine look in crisp, color-blocked solids.

Dresses with layers of ruffles that become a bustle have become a must-have from London line No Added Sugar.
Girls looking for the popular beach casual look go for LA Made, a Los Angeles line known for high quality jersey looks. The go-to item this spring is a soft denim tank maxi dress, with a three-tiered skirt.

What can’t Juvie keep in stock this season? For casual wear, buttery soft burnout fleece, tie-dyed for extra
bohemian vibe, is a sensation. Vintage Havana has found the perfect combination of style, crazy comfort,
and price with their butter soft fleece hoodies. Skinny is still the word for girls pants, shorts and capris. It Jeans continues to deliver modern looks, with standouts including a skinny khaki cargo pant, and soft, lightweight denim bike shorts for girls.

Boys will find lots of deep blues, reds and greens in Appaman’s Brooklyn-cool spring line. The trend is
also away from neutrals and toward color for boys t-shirts from Chaser, which feature modern art graphics
and favorite vintage album cover art.

Only 1 month old, this great online store has plenty to look at (and buy)! We had a chat to Mini Wardrobe’s co founder, Caroline Kendal, about why you should check out this fabulous shopping site. Mini Wardrobe is also offering MiniHispter fans 20% discount on purchases, just enter the promotional code MINIHIPSTER20.

When did the site start and what was your inspiration?
Caroline: “MiniWardrobe has just celebrated its one month birthday but the idea has been brewing for a long time. As a mother I was frustrated at the cost and inconvenience of having to traipse from shop to shop, whether it be online or on the high street, looking for single items for my children. I wanted to find a good mix of brands and styles in one store. I also wished I could find a children’s website where the clothing was not only put into categories but styled as an outfit too, therefore, simplifying the process. For me, it was really important that customers could gauge how an item would look on their own child. This was the inspiration behind taking good quality photos of the outfits on real children with a zoom facility so that you can even see the textures if the fabrics. We want to welcome everybody at MiniWardrobe and so have ensured that we source a broad range of looks that can suit most people’s budgets.”

What is behind your process of selecting the brands?
Per: “Having seen the end result of luxury brand kids lines, coming through the doors of our warehouse, we realised that you don’t always get what you pay for, especially in children’s clothing. Often, luxury labels allow their quality standards to slip after a time or, otherwise, sacrifice quality for snazzy merchandising and promotion. This is not what we want to provide at MiniWardobe. We have, therefore, decided to focus on brands that produce genuine quality for the price they are charging. This has lead us to seek out new and relatively undiscovered designers who want to make an impact with their collections and for whom quality is paramount. We also want to offer variety within our clothing, and have set about to provide looks from the more traditional through to urban and from sleepwear through to outerwear.”

How are you different to other online childrens stores in the UK?
Caroline: “Well there’s a whole list, are you sitting comfortably?!
a) We have built a website to appeal to even the most technophobic of visitors, the site is easy to navigate, has great product photography and zoom functions, as well as detailed product and sizing information and a truly straightforward checkout process.
b) All of the outfits are photographed on a real child (customer’s children, not models) and then organised into one of our clothing collection categories, according to style. This means that the customer can buy the whole outfit in a single click of a button.
c) We have developed a loyalty program so that points can be put towards future purchases or donated to one of our specified children’s charities. Customers can earn these points, not only by shopping with us but by helping us review products, or by recommending us to their friends. We even award site visitors with points before they have actually bought anything, merely for registering their details.
d) We have a Kids Area. We want everyone to feel welcome in the Wardrobe, not just the adults, but the children as well. We recognise that kids are becoming increasingly involved in picking their own clothes and we want to help the feel included. In the Kids Area, we provide educational games and activities and once they have completed them, the child can earn loyalty points of their own. These can be used to purchase a special gift or can be donated to our chosen children’s charities.”

How do you give back to charity?
“We are building up a portfolio of charities in order to give our customers, adults and children alike,  a good choice of worthy causes for them to donate to. Points earned in our loyalty scheme can be donated to these charities and we are also implementing an ‘add to charity’ button at the checkout so that customers can supplement their donations, easily. We are focusing on children’s charities, which we feel is in keeping with our site but particularly because we appreciate the value of teaching children the value of charity at a young age. We know that they empathise with kids less fortunate than themselves and, therefore, will have a better understanding of the wonderful work which these children’s charities do.”

Adina Belloli, founder of the online shopping site Little Lunalu, sat with us to show some of the key pieces from kids’ favourite  french label Finger in the Nose…

“This Autumn (Fall) we’re seeing a lot of red, white and blue so there’s a very Americana feel to the Finger In The Nose collection as well as British rock-n-roll edge”, commented Adina Belloli. “Finger In The Nose is offering some gorgeous plaid shirts for boys and girls, as well as some really striking outerwear, including a few stunning jackets, which we expect to be some of our biggest sellers”

A lot of authenticity, a touch of Rock n’ Roll attitude, combined with a dose of functionality! The peeps at Finger in the Nose are telling us that check is back this winter and there will be something for everyone…

“In the 20’s, Thomas Burberry’s nova check was registered as a trademark in England. In the 70’s, Vivienne Westwood introduced check in Punk culture with the Sex Pistol’s clothes. Since the beginning of Finger in the Nose, they choose to reinterpret checks in children wardrobe.”

They like it!
Glam-Rock: revisiting the mini-kilt, worn with black leggings and a pair of  biker boots.

They definitely choose it!
Preppy: designing their tartan skinny pant combined to a pair of elasticated boots and a long cardigan.

They want it!
Country-Rock: with big checker shirts, worn with a raw denim jean and a pair of sneakers.

icon check red jean

black cord

rosy blue pant

biker jacket

Available online through Little Lunalu
And, of course, through the Finger in the Nose website.

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

Already well-established in the USA and Europe, Little Lunalu has now expanded into the UK with the aim of making chic baby and toddler fashion accessible and affordable. Unveiling the very latest exclusive Spring/Summer 2010 designs from labels such as Saltwater Sandals and Acoustic Kid Clothing, the site is perfect for parents who not only want something different from mainstream fashion for their kids, but also want to help disadvantaged children – 5% of all sales made goes to The Little Lunalu Foundation which provides support to charitable organisations for children worldwide.

Little Lunalu is all about trendy, stylish fashion for babies and toddlers. The store has sourced over forty hip brands – from American Apparel’s cool baby basics and funky extras like leopard-print tights from Swedish designers Popup Shop, through to ‘mini-me’ items like Hunter wellies and Baby Bloch’s exquisite ballerina shoes for little girls. Other labels available on the site include Bamboo Baby (an entirely organic clothing collection), Let Them Eat Cake (a vintage-inspired UK fashion label) and Mini Rodini (recently named Sweden’s Designer of the Year).

Explaining how she’s linked high fashion with charitable work, Little Lunalu’s founder, Adina Belloli, says, “My passion has always been working with disadvantaged children. I’ve been a volunteer since the age of 12 and it’s just part of who I am. The other thing I’ve always enjoyed is fashion and, although they’re polar opposites, I’ve found a way to combine them both through Little Lunalu. When my daughter, Luna, was born, I realised that there were other mums out there who, like me, wanted to have more urban products for their children but just didn’t know where to find them. I decided to solve that by creating the online shop. But, staying true to my real passion for helping disadvantaged children, I also opened The Lunalu Foundation and give 5% of all our sales to this entity which, in turn, provides support to charitable organisations across the world such as Global Action for Children.”

From All My Children to all your babies, Penelope Stipanovich, New York City actress and mother, will be filling in the gap that exists for fashionable baby clothing, shoes, furniture, toys and accessories with Brooklyn’s most exclusive addition to the baby-business: Smoochie Baby. Located in the heart of the style mecca that is Williamsburg’s North Side, on Berry Street between North 7^th & North 8^th Streets, one block away from the Bedford Avenue Stop on the L Train.

Smoochie Baby offers New York City Moms and Dads cutting edge Eames rockers from Modernica, hard to find clothing from Lola & James and Antik Batik, coveted accessories from Elegant Baby and Dvider and super chic diaper bags from Mia Bossi.  For 11 years Stipanovich lived in the East Village and while pregnant with her son, Max, she cultivated a refined eye for hip yet luxurious cutting edge babywear.

“My desire to bring edginess for babies to Williamsburg is what inspired me to open the store.  New York is the world’s greatest city, but our babies need variety and options in the style department. A strong sense of style should be instilled from birth.”  “Big style for little smoochers,” says owner and operator Stipanovich.

Smoochie Baby is a start-up retail business focused on modern design. The concept for the store is unique in that it provides a complete source for non-traditional baby products. With an eclectic collection of clothing, furniture, toys, and accessories for babies and toddlers, Smoochie Baby is centered on smart, innovative design that will appeal to today’s modern parent.

Located at 110 Berry Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Ph 718.384.3340

Oh, our little friends are about to become seriously stylish. Luxury children’s boutique AlexandAlexa.com have just launched the first part of their SS10 collection.

Marc Jacobs, who debuted its children’s wear line for A/W09, is the first to hit the virtual shelves with the Little Marc Jacobs line, promising to kit out the trendiest of tiny toes in cute printed tees and ruffle-hem dresses for girls and striped polos and cool glow-in-the-dark designs for boys.

For now, today’s top picks are the Royal Blue Bow Front Cardigan, £79, for girls and the Multi-Stripe Polo, £56, for boys, both by Little Marc Jacobs.

source: MyFashionLife.com

Halloween is nearly upon us and its time to get into the spirit and start channeling some ghosts and ghouls with these tees.

Ghosties Tee @ Amazon

Some of our favorite tees are from BoobyTrap and they are offering all MiniHipster’s free shipping anywhere, so get your skates on and kit your little ones out in some Halloween love!

Ike Glow in the Dark

Battitude Sweetpea

La De Verde glow in the dark

Macabrone Hoodie