No Bows About It...Dressing My Little Boy

Obviously having a little boy has robbed me of the joy of buying frilly dresses and big hair bows, but here in the South it is acceptable to dress our little boys for a short time in cute smocked bubble suits and longalls as a consolation prize before they rebel against us and demand jeans and t-shirts like all the other boys. Of course, for his everyday "hang around the house" wear I'm not going to spend a fortune when he's just going to stain his outfit with carrots or outgrown them faster than a weed. Britton is a messy little fella, and changes outfits atleast 3 times a day. (Ummm, I blame this more on the fact that his Daddy NEVER remembers to put on a bib when he feeds him). For these clothes I prefer affordable brands like Carter's, Baby Gap or Old Navy. I often wait till Carters.com is having a sell and stock up on all the basics: onesies, pants, jammies, rompers, etc. Now for going out, my boy must be dressed to the nines and that means smocked bubble suits and shortalls in the warmer months and longalls in the fall and winter. Now all these adorable smocked and appliqued "fancy" outfits are EXPENSIVE, but I have found a few great places to buy his precious outfits at incredibly affordable prices, and you just so happen to be lucky enough that I'm going share my secrets with you.

1.) The Divine Consign Children's Show: This is the Mecca of all things frilly, smocked, and appliqued. They host these shows twice a year in 4 locations around the South (two in the Atlanta area, one in Montgomery, AL and one in Raleigh, NC). You must sign up online for an invitation to the event and will receive an email shortly before the show containing the details of the upcoming event: dates, times, location. There are several ways to be invited to the preview event before the general public: 1.) volunteer for a shift 2.) be pregnant or a first-time mom of a baby under 12 months 3.) Bring a grandparent. Now it is imperative that you qualify for these preview shows because the best stuff goes fast. Luckily, I have attended 3 shows and was able to qualify under the # 2 provision for all of the shows. Next time around I'm either going have to get myself pregnant again or just get Grandma to make the trip to Atlanta;) I have literally bought dozens of adorable outfits with the tags still on for a fraction of the price. Some of the high quality brands featured are Castles and Crowns, Petit Ami and Secret Wishes.

Some of the adorable outfits I bought at the recent Fall show

2.) SweetBabyTutu: This is a fabulous online children's boutique on Facebook. Simply "like" the page and start shopping away. It is the easiest and most convenient shopping ever!!! Basically,  a photo of  a new outfit will be featured on the wall with the sizes, price, and number of each item available. In order to purchase an outfit you leave a comment on that photo stating "SOLD, the size you want and your PayPal email address". You will receive an invoice through PayPal and once paid your item will arrive shortly through the US mail. I have purchased so many precious outfits on Sweet Baby TuTu, and they are always as cute as they appear in the picture and of the highest quality. Did I forget to mention how affordable they are!!! I have had nothing but the best success with this company and highly recommend them.

A few of my latest purchases from SweetBabyTutu

* I must give credit where credit is due and divulge that I did not discover The Divine Consign Kid's Show on my own but instead learned about it on a college friend's blog, Masters on Jefferson. Thanks so much, Nicole:)