Dressing Children for Spring.

I just received two beautiful packages full of adorable spring clothing for my children. The first was from H&M — I went crazy a week or two ago with all of their new releases. I can’t believe these gingham sneakers are under $20! They remind me so much of Cienta! And I love these on-trend “just like mom” paper-bag-waist denim shorts. They look like they’re from SEA.

PATTERNED COTTON DRESS // GINGHAM SNEAKERS // BOW SANDALS // DENIM SHORTS //

DENIM SHORTALLS

Not seen in the photo above, but purchased in the same order for my son: these striped swim trunks (yellow) and these canvas sneakers (sage green). The patterned dress and the swim trunks have the iffiest quality of the lot. I mean, what can you expect for $5 and $10 respectively? The swim trunks have a kind of plastic-y texture I don’t love BUT — my son will be in and out of the pool, attending camps, running through sprinklers all summer long and it will be convenient to have inexpensive back-ups to our fleet of Minnow boardies. But I would say the other items in my order are of decent quality, especially the sneakers and denim pieces.

The second package that arrived was a generous gift from new-ish children’s boutique Danrie. I actually placed a large order with them myself when I discovered them a few months ago and then connected with the lovely founder, Julia, and we’ve been shooting notes back and forth on the triumphs and travails of parenting since. She generously sent me a box of goodies for my children and I was audibly oohing and ahhing upon open. The first thing I want to say about Danrie is that — though I spend non-trivial amounts of time seeking out fabulous new brands on the web, I’d not heard of most of the brands I ended up selecting from her site. She includes so many chic European small labels, some of which have an heirloom-esque quality to them. So if you’re looking for unusual, one-of-a-kind type pieces for your littles, Danrie is a great starting point. These are not outfits you’re going to see on the playground. I also wanted to mention that you can tell Julia and her team care deeply about the pieces they sell — not only are they unique, but the parcels are beautifully wrapped, with little goodies for the children tucked inside. This time, I received two little coloring books and some Danrie stickers that occupied my children through a very long Palm Sunday Mass. It’s the details — you can simply tell when a company cares.

In the parcel for mini: This quilted jacket from Kidiwi is reversible! One side is gingham and the other floral. Absolutely precious. She will be wearing this to Easter Mass on Sunday. I also selected this beautifully smocked floral dress from the same brand for her — the botanical pattern is sensational and so mature relative to a lot of the more “kid-looking” florals out there — and this fun little romper from new-to-me label Miki Miette that I know she’s going to love. She tends to prefer more athletic/sporty/non-smocked pieces nowadays and this is one style where we can meet in the middle.

For micro: this adorable striped “Ciao” t-shirt from Barcelona-based brand Buho, these chambray bermuda shorts from French label Arsene et Les Pipelettes (note the contrasting bungee-style drawstring waist), and these swim trunks from Mon Coeur (made from recycled plastic bottles!). I had never heard of any of these three brands and am obsessed with all.