Getting Dolled up with Melijoe

Every morning at our house starts out the same: Jack wakes up and races into our room to let us know that he is going downstairs to watch a show. Zoe trickles in later fully dressed to say good morning and starts into a story about her dreams or what was going to happen at school that day. Beau and Theo, who are generally with us at that point, take the longest to wake up and moan and groan about getting out of bed. It’s the best part of our day.

The next part usually isn’t quite as fun and often the most challenging part of our daily routine. The before-school rituals of eating breakfast, getting dressed, brushing teeth and heading out the door as quickly as possibly without any arguing or tears is battle Justin and I often lose. I don’t like the racing around one bit.

One of the biggest culprits in those morning fiascos is clothing. My kids happen to all care very much about what they wear. Zoe has always been like this, but up until now I’ve been able to put outfits together based on what she loves and she’s worn them happily. In the last year, she’s gone from allowing Justin and I to have a say in her daily outfit to hardly allowing us to be involved at all. She picks out what she wants to wear and lays them on the ground in complete outfits before choosing the perfect one. I almost always love what she puts together and have given her complete creative control except when weather dictates otherwise.

Jack in Replay & Sons BOY tee at Melijoe.com.

Jack has gone from having zero opinion on what he wears to vetoing 90% of the options I show him in the morning. He’s not interested in styling himself, but he wants the final decision at all times. Often he goes to school in basketball shorts and a tee shirt and I’ve given up pushing him to wear something that I find a little more proper.

Beau is easy enough. He doesn’t actually like the physical act of getting changed and dressed whatsoever, but that part is always easier if whatever he’s wearing is new. He loves new things.

Dressing my kids is so much fun for me. I love shopping for unique and well-made pieces and especially finding them at a good price. We all have our things, this just happens to be one of the things I like to do for fun. Over the years and bazillion loads of laundry, I’ve definitely established my favorite brands and shops, but finding new ones is always a treat. Recently I was introduced to Melijoe, a European based online boutique that carries upper scale children’s lines of clothing and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found there.

Beau in a Paul Smith T-Shirt at Melijoe.com.

Tee: Stella McCartney. Bermudas: Souris Mini at Melijoe.com

I found wide selections of shorts, unique tee-shirts and gorgeous dresses for all three of my picky fashionistas. Jack’s bean-pole frame requires draw strings or adjustment straps on all of his pants and shorts, while Zoe pretty much always just looks for the fancy shmancy in whatever she wears. I found plenty of each in both areas, not to mention a bunch of unique and fun tees for Beau as well. There are mid to high end brands available on Melijoe, and I was thrilled to see Stella McCartney on there. I think her kid’s collections are always unique, young and playful-some of the things I like the most in children’s clothing.

Beau’s tee: Stella McCartney at Melijoe.com

Melijoe was started by a woman who seems like a kindred spirit to me: A mother of four named Nathalie Christen-Genty who was having a hard time finding clothing for her first baby. She started the website in her apartment in Paris, and it has grown to be one of the most successful online shops for children. I’m all for supporting female based businesses (especially as a mother myself) and I was happy to find some clothing for the kids that they really like and that I like as well-and I know they won’t fall apart anytime soon.

Zoe in a Lili Gaufrette cotton dress at Melijoe.com.

Ultimately, I want them to go into and about their days feeling comfortable and confidant no matter what. Clothing tends to play a large role in that, and if I can cover my bases by finding the right quality pieces, then I can justify spending the money (though I also have my limits of course). I’m taking full advantage of having even a little creative control over their wardrobes before I lose that completely in the next few years. Surely those challenges will present themselves accordingly, but until then I’m having fun with it.

And, if it helps our chaotic morning routines even a little, I’m happy to make sure that that element is as well managed as possible for all of our sakes.

For you Twitter and Instagrammers, Melijoe is running a photo contest called #Melijoefamily. To enter, snap a photo of your child in their favorite Melijoe look and share with @Melijoe_Fashion on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #MelijoeFamily for a chance to be published in Le Magazine and to win a $650, €500 shopping spree.

This post was sponsored by Melijoe. I will be making a donation on behalf of Theo and Beau to the Santa Cruz SPCA as a part of this sponsored initiative.