Let me start by saying these are FANTASTIC! A staple of her wardrobe for 3 out of the 4 months here in New England. Last year I had them only in grey, this year I just stocked up on grey, white, pink, and purple. They are great under dresses and skirts. The perfect thing to make those dresses work for more than a month or two out of the year. They are so soft, wonderfully stretchy, and hug like a pair of tights yet offer more longevity than any pair of tights would for daily wear and play. I pulled out last seasons grey pair to see if they'd still fit her this year and noticed that the lace trim was looking a little worn. It wasn't ripped or with holes, but you know how elastic gets when it has one too many rounds in the dryer? Yea, we were there. Thankfully, kids grow like a weed anyway so you'll probably need a new pair each year. But, at $5 a pair online, you can't go too wrong! And, you can always check out www.retailmenot.com for a coupon. I found one, I think it was a 20% off coupon, that I used when I purchased these online, so it brought it down to $4 a pair. Seriously? How wrong can you go?
Also from TCP, these shoes.
Also from TCP, these shoes.
They are advertised as water shoes, and truthfully they will be JUST fine in the water, though I'm not sure I'd test them out in the sand as they'd let a lot of sand into the shoe. However, at a splash pad, pool, or puddle jumping? Just fine! We bought them for the purpose of wanting a cute white shoe to go with some of her summer dresses, yet because she's only one and a half I didn't want something that was super constrictive on her foot, nor a dress shoe that had zero traction on the bottom. As a bonus, to a white shoe, they can be wiped clean with a cloth, and are not a cloth material, so I anticipate they'll keep their clean, neat look for longer. At $7.99, again, a very worth while purchase. They have them in purple and in pink, and the material is a cross between crocs, and a foam. They are squishy like a crock, but not as plastic-like so the foot won't sweat nearly as much. The sparkle that's on them is hardly noticeable, and it's not something that will shed on clothing, though I do imagine it will wear over time.
***update*** it's now the end of July and these have held up great! She actually outgrew them before they faded. I dare to say she wore these the better part of 4 to 5 days a week for a few months straight, and they got dirty. But, with a little vegetable scrub brush and some dawn dish soap they came back to white with NO problem!!! Seriously, how perfect. I am sad to report that TCP seems to have had them disappear from their site, I think they may have sold out this year. But definitely keep an eye out next year. I'm sorry to say we're in search of a new white shoe for the rest of the season now
Skidders are another one of our favorites here.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Skidders. L learned to walk in these and I will probably continue to buy them for her until she outgrows them...if that's at all possible since they make these in women's sizes. (They also carry boys versions too). These are not a great winter outdoor shoe (here in New England). And while, they are machine washable, I don't know that I'd recommend them anywhere they're going to get super wet as they don't dry quickly (hang dry over night and they're good by morning). That being said, I did take L out walking in this pair yesterday as we hit a whopping 57 degrees and the snow was melting. She found a few small puddles and happily ran through them and I admit, when we got home, they weren't wet and her feet were still dry. I'm going to call that more luck than anything else but, either way I'll take it. The bottoms of these are made of rubber, and I admit that you can smell the rubber for the first few wears/washes. Subsequently, their feet will smell of rubber (these are more easily worn as a sock-less shoe, fyi). But, it's not that bad. Because the tops are either a sock, or an elastic strap as these are, there is PLENTY of opportunity for the foot to flex and move as it should be allowed to in order for the foot muscles to properly develop. I LOVE that. Protected feet that are allowed to flex as if barefoot. As you can see, the rubber comes up and over the toe, to help keep toes protected during stubbing and tripping. I can't recommend a better first walker shoe for children who are dead set on walking outside and there may not be a place that's safe for them to do that barefoot (especially if you're renting an apartment instead of owning your own home).
And last on my list, while not a purchase item, I love me some eBay. We're planning for a North Carolina trip in April. So, while it will be reasonably warm down there, it won't quite be summer weather for us up in New England yet, and L is on the cusp of changing sizes, so it will be my luck that whatever she wears down there may not fit her come summer up here. Therefore, I don't want to spend a whole lot of money on a mini summer wardrobe to have to buy again later. I LOVE eBay for kids clothes (as well as a ton of other stuff).
A.) Same prices as consignment stores (possibly) and you can narrow your search by some very specific items.
B.) Items can be found in pretty much new condition. Seriously, you should see the adorable Old Navy capri's I scored for her the other day.
D.) I can by from people who live in other states. That means they have access to stores that I may not, and brands that I may not. Where I'm at, it's pretty much Carters, and that's it, unless you go Walmart or Target brands. Walmart doesn't fit her well, and I LOVE Target brands, but sadly this means there's a very good chance I'll see the same outfit on about 4 other kids at the playground at any given point in time. It doesn't bother me too much, truthfully. But, it is nice to be able to dress her in things that aren't popping up everywhere else.
And, as an added bonus, as much as I want to buy other people's stuff, people want to buy ours as well. And, since we keep ours in excellent condition, it's not hard to get rid of. Think of it this way, if I buy something on eBay, like this pair of capri's I just got, I think after shipping I paid about $4 max, and I keep them in the same like new condition that I got them in (seriously, it looked as if the tags might as well have JUST come off these), then I can turn around and sell them on eBay for let's say $2 minimum (buyer pays shipping) and now it's cost me $2 for a pair of capri's for a season for L. If I bought them retail I would have possibly paid upwards of $10 to $12, if not more for them at a store (though I never would have paid that because I don't shop that way) and then turned around a season later and sold them for a few bucks, or got a few bucks for them at a local consignment shop. Through eBay, I'm out $2. Through retail I'm out at least $8 to $10. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what the better deal is.
Anyway, those are my current must haves for L. I'm sure we'll find some more before the season's out.
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