Category Archives: Kiddo Style: Modern

Heart on My Sleeve

Oh, heart. Your day is almost upon us.

No shape has as much of a burden to live up to as the heart. Be it bubbly, romantic or even broken,  the heart always makes an impact. Sorry circle and square–you are noble and charming, but it is the heart that makes us smile before we even know why.

Even heart haters can’t deny the heart’s charm when paired with a child. Particularly around Valentine’s Day where the heart takes center stage.

I like clever unexpected hearts like these on this sweet hat sung out instead of notes from a bird.  Thank you Etsy seller, Rompshop.

Send your little Valentine to bed in these heart happy pajamas from that land of all things awesome and Swedish,  Hanna Andersen.

Vintage loving parents (and I know you are out there…) will fall head over heels for this little sweet little jacket made from a vintage heart-laden tablecloth from Sugar Darling.

Give your little chef a chance to cook his or her heart out with this sweet little heart apron from Etsy seller, Monsbird.

And remember, boys can rock the hearts too. At least any boy wearing these skivvies from Etsy Seller, Small Threads.  Tee hee! You gotta start ’em early with the self esteem, amirite?

So wear your heart on your sleeve or on a little person’s sleeve and smile!

Polarn O. Pyret — O. Pathos!


I’ve always loved Swedish style.

It all goes back to when my parents moved to a house in Malibu across the street from a Swedish family.  They were glisteningly gorgeous to me as they sauntered around the neighborhood wearing clogs and simple, yet perfectly designed clothes with their young daughter Annika toddling behind them.

I wanted in. I told my mom I decided to become Swedish and I’d need a pair of yellow clogs to start.   Unfortunately, you can’t change your heritage with shoe fashion–at least according to my mother.

But I was determined.  I thought maybe I could marry my way in to that glorious country, which led to my thankfully short crush on the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show. It ended because I  had no idea how to get to Sesame Street, which I had a feeling was rather far from Malibu…

But now I can soothe my inner Swede with goodies for the Peach from Polarn O Pyret, the insanely cute Swedish clothing company featuring well-made stripey goodness for kids AND all the preggie ladies out there.

Oh, I love Polarn O. Pyret so much. But really, how could I not when they  clearly know my weak points–like big gingham prints like this?

And that’s just the beginning. Check out these cute designs:


People, half of these jaunty pieces are on sale.  ON SALE. Up to 70 percent off.

Perhaps if I buy enough, they’ll make me an honorary Swede. A girl can dream…

I see London, I see France…

Knickers, panties, underwear. They were often the forgotten child in kid’s clothing. Totally utilitarian and nothing but white white white.

That is until the ultimate kiddo underwear line came along in the seventies and redefined the meaning of fabulous knickers. Underoos.

Yup. That’s right. Admit it—you would have sold your kid brother to get your little paws on a pair of the Wonder Woman ones. I know I would have and thrown in a year’s worth of cutsies in the lunch line just to seal the deal.

If I had a 1979 edition of Webster’s dictionary, I’m sure it would have had this picture next to the word AWESOME.

Or this one:

Alas, Underoos are no more. But never fear–your Modern Kiddo gals are here to save the day and find some equally sassy and cute underpants for your little ones.

Like this dynamic duo of cuteness from Little Miss Matched! Great knickers on sale with matching tank tops!

Give the boy in your life this week of great underwear from Paul Frank‘s great kid’s line, Small Paul.

The force will certainly be with you as the world’s best parent if your boy finds these Star Wars inspired briefs in his dresser drawer.

I saved the best for last with these adorable dotty friends. Dots! Ruffles! Ricrac! People you know how I feel about ricrac!

But before we bid you adieu for the week, I’d like to take a moment to salute that fallen hero, Underoos with some photos of the lucky few who actually owned a pair. You can see the unbridled joy in their faces!

Photos via: Flickr, Awesomeoff.com, PlanetDan and SteveJaime

Happy weekend, everyone!

Knit Wit :: Retro Modern Crocheted Dressies

Howdy gang! OK this one goes out to my girl Dottie. This is totally her kind of post! Growing up I had the most amazing godmother. My Tante Judy was very creative and a talented seamstress. She knit me the BEST little dresses (in fact, you can see one here). Because of this, I’ve always had a fondness for little vintage knits. Aren’t these just the cutest?

This is where I admit to you that, while I’m a creative person and love craft projects, I can’t figure out knitting to save my life. Don’t even get me started on crochet. I want to learn, really I do, but I think I have a knitting block. For those of you who are talented Knit Wits, bravo! But for the rest of us….check out these charming knit dressies from Melanies Masker. Born out of “Yarn-O-Mania” (their words!) and filled with quirky details, each yummy design is so vibrant and cute. I’m also so in love with the photoshoot they did, where all the sweets are made of yarn too. Clever, clever!









“Hello Dottie…it’s me. Yeah….so while Alix is out shopping I found a free dress pattern for you to make! You’re going to love it. Seriously. Take a look at this awesome little jumper!!!”

If you’re a Dottie, download this adorable pattern at penelope craft (click “free patterns”).

If you’re an Alix, go shopping at Huset and snag a Melanies Masker dressie. They’re 40% off right now!

Little Red Shoes

My mother mother knew I had a problem early on.

A problem with shoes.

The illness started with a simple pair of patent leather red mary janes that I desperately wanted. When I  did get them (when they went on sale my mother likes to remind me) I wore them every chance I could get.  I had to be bribed to not wear them during bath-time. And to this day, I still have a undying love for red shoes.

I fear I may have passed this shoe gene along to my daughter, but I am preparing for the illness with the only prescription I can write. To buy her shoes, starting with some adorable red ones!

Let’s start off with a classic red shoe like these cuties from Footmates that have a totally vintage vibe–so 1940s in style!

Care for yours with dots? Yes please! I’ll take these with the little hearts on the strap too!

People are very passionate about Crocs–they love them, they hate them, etc. But when I saw this super stinky cute pair of red mary janes called Alice from Crocs well, my heart melted a little. If you kiddo won’t wear them, then I suggest hanging them from your rearview mirror.

I adore these little red shoes with leaf accents from Umi at a great price at 6pm.com.

Speaking of shoes I’d like in my size, these canvas t-straps in red (and maybe navy too) from Olive Juice would be the perfect shoe for spring and into summer!  Couldn’t you just imagine them on a little tan freckly girl hopping on a boat?

Oh! And these insanely cute shoes from Garvalin are so awesome I broke out in a cold sweat, just looking at them! Snowflakes?!? A little friend?!? And that cute sole?!?  Well, just call me Vice President of the Garvalin kid shoe fan club now!



But people, we need to bow down to the ultimate little red shoe for girls—brought to us by our beloved friends at Target. Yes, it’s the Wizard of Oz Dorothy red sparkly shoe that has sent girls for the past ten years into a fashion frenzy promising their parents they will go a whole month without the Cheetos snack pack if they could just GET THESE SHOES.

Where were you, sparkly shoe thirty years ago? You could have saved me from being grounded for two weeks after the infamous glitter/keds/red Rit dye/Dad’s white work shirts incident of 1980! Pathos!