Urban Sunday

Preview Alert! Special Occasion Wear is in store for HUDSON’S December issue!

Neckties are an essential piece of formal attire, as well as a statement-making casual accessory! Urban Sunday, a fresh face in the world of children’s clothing and accessories, launched a new line of these dashing accessories at the ENK Children’s Club earlier this month.

Made in the USA of 100% cotton with certain styles in organic fabrics, the stylish neck- and bowties attach with a soft Velcro neck strap, to wear loose or snug. From ginghams to skulls to houndstooth and more, neckties come in five sizes and bow ties in two, fitting ages infant to 12 years. The double-pointed bow tie adds a hipster flair, while the traditional bow tie completes a preppy look the right way.

HCRSourceBook also likes this accessory for girls: a simple blouse and skirt become haute couture by adding a classy solid or sassy patterned necktie!

A California native who earned her stripes as a patternmaker in the New York fashion district before returning to the west coast created the design vision behind Urban Sunday.

-Janet Muniz

Dollie & Me

After a successful soft launch in 2009, Dollie & Me hits close to 2,500 department stores nationwide this fall and holiday season, expanding the product line by 200% and laying the groundwork for a projected 400% increase in sales this year.

The new lifestyle brand featuring girls’ fashions matched with dolls offers parents a more financially practical and stylish alternative to over-priced dolls and young girls apparel. Named a 2010 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner, the 18-inch dolls and the matching fashion and accessories for the girl and her doll are designed by longtime girls clothing designers at Kahn Lucas.

“What Dollie & Me is doing is invaluable,” NYU Child Study Center‘s clinical director Susan Schwartz, M.A., Ed. tells HCRSourceBook. “Providing girls with a way to express their individuality is both validating and liberating and those are key components to developing a healthy and confident sense of self.”

The Apparel. The fall & holiday 2010 collection includes dresses, sportswear, sleepwear, outerwear, dress-up costumes, handbags, hair accessories and jewelry in girls sizes 2T-14X – and for the dollies.

The Dolls. Partner Alexander Doll Company, Inc., designer and manufacturer of Madame Alexander dolls, produces the 18-inch dolls of exceptional quality, style and value. Dollie & Me’s Rachel, Ava and Gabriella have many realistic features, including sleep eyes, jointed bodies with soft torsos and high-quality hair for styling.

Now Available. Dillard’s has committed to over 170 store-within-a-store concepts. Find Dollie & Me in over 1,200 Kohl’s and 1,000 Sears stores as well as Sears Canada. Sears is also hosting over 100 in-store children’s charity events with Dollie & Me and K.I.D.S. on December 4. Also available on Amazon.com.

-Janet Muniz

Nomie Baby’s new product

Nomie Baby is a collection of problem-solving products for parents developed by Manhattan mompreneur Katie Danziger. After a messy spill on her youngest daughter’s “do not machine wash” car seat cover, Katie realized there is a need for machine washable, waterproof covers that are reasonably priced, so she launched Nomie Baby in 2008. The company now sells machine washable car seat covers, stroller blankets and their latest product.

Strittens are special stroller handle mittens designed to attach to any stroller type. The one size fits all strittens feature a wind-resistant outer layer, a warm fleece lining, are machine washable and dryer friendly.

Strittens

“I am always either forgetting my mittens, or they are in a different coat’s pocket,” Katie tells HCRSourceBook. “I wanted something that was always there to keep my hands cozy and warm, and easy to slip my hand in and out of to make a call or do something with my child.”

Stroller Blanket

In addition, Nomie Baby car seat covers have Velcro openings, super soft fabric, absorbent padding, and the elastic edges fit most car seat brands. Stroller blankets have a wind-resistant outer layer with cozy fleece lining and zip around the child.

With all Nomie Baby products retailing for under $50 and designed to make life easier, they make a thoughtful gift for the holidays. Available for online purchase online and select boutiques nationwide, including Albee’s and Citibabes in New York, NY.

Inspired by Katie’s youngest child’s extended stay in the NICU, short for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Nomie Baby donates 10% of profits to help premature babies in NICU.

-Janet Muniz

What’s a SwitchittZ?

SwitchittZ are specially made, interchangeable, embellished attachable characters and other graphic elements that kids can place right into the design of the shirt to create customized looks.

Not-quite-one-year-old Thread Adventures™ is a New York-based company dedicated to creating products that encourage creativity in the young and young at heart. This fall, Thread Adventures introduces a new interactive clothing experience with SwitchittZ tees, which give kids the power to not only choose a favorite look, but switch it up in different ways.

“It’s fun to see what kids come up with when they wear their SwitchittZ,” co-creators Angela Cosentino and Mary Wassner tell HCRSourceBook. They developed the patent pending product along with their husbands and lots of input from their young children. “To us, SwitchittZ are about endless possibilities – each one unique and each one more fun than the next.”

According to them, the SwitchittZ experience combines a cool activity with the state-of-the-art style of different themes featuring fun, colorful and super-cool graphics that serve as a backdrop for kids to make their own scene. “SwitchittZ” are specially made, interchangeable, embellished attachable characters and other graphic elements that kids can place right into the design of the shirt to create customized looks. They can collect and trade SwitchittZ and wear their favorites whenever and however they choose.

Pre-washed, pre-shrunk and made from 100% cotton, each shirt comes with four interchangeable SwitchittZ, which are also sold separately. The SwitchittZ adhere easily to the shirt’s themed design with a uniquely soft, durable hook and loop fastening system.

Designed for children ages two and older, all SwitchittZ tees come in short and long sleeve styles and are available in stores starting in October/November. Thread Adventures believes that safety comes first and has implemented a fulsome testing program as required by law, including CPSC requirements.

-Janet Muniz

New Tween Line

Vancouver, WA-based Hula Mula – sister company to the popular boys collection Knuckleheads – débuts a tween line.

“We have two tweens in our home and it was because of their persistence and creative style that we added the new sizes,” co-owner and designer Melissa Nash tells HCRSourceBook.

Both of the Nash daughters were involved in the new Spring 2011 line which includes some vintage inspired pieces and comfy knits.

-Janet Muniz

Cute Shoes!

Be one of the first to read HCRSourceBook’s new weekly posts! Simply make a comment, then check the “email” or “send me site updates” box!

Cute kids shoe company Livie & Luca débuts the newest addition for fall: the Just Born collection of shoes for sizes 0-6 to 18-24 months.

Featuring soft leather uppers with a recycled rubber and suede hybrid sole, these baby shoes are ideal for indoor and outdoor adventures. Find the company’s popular classic styles in these soft flexible shoes, including the London, Holland and Woodland.

Livie & Luca is also debuting their fall/winter collection for children in sizes 4 to 13, featuring the new cadet boots and ruche Mary Janes. Each style features Livie & Luca’s trademark attention to darling details, including animated elephants, rainbow buttons, blossoming flowers and chirping birds.

Livie & Luca was created in 2005 by three moms seeking modern and funky shoes that were also lightweight and flexible for active children. Dedicated to giving back, the company has partnered with Art for Humanity to donate gently-worn shoes to children in Honduras. As they have since the beginning, Livie & Luca donates 10 percent of their online sales to rotating charities.

-Janet Muniz

Back To School

Are your customers shopping for back-to-school?

Sama Baby‘s newest line is a must-have for every baby and kid this fall: organic jeans. They are high quality, organic and affordably priced at $40 a pair for babies from 12 months old to six years old.

Founders Shivani and Neha Gupta have dreamed about offering a modern, stylish organic denim collection and are excited to finally share it with babies and kids worldwide. “We spent months testing the organic eco denim and wanted the jeans to look sophisticated, yet easy to play in,” explains Neha, who is head designer.

The result: Each pair is designed for the kid on the go:

-super soft, pre-washed denim in rich dark blue

-an adjustable elastic waistband on the inside to create a stylish outer

-laser-etched tags instead of itchy sewn-in labels

-signature embroidered elephant logo on the pocket

-rock star elephant lining

-square pockets on the Dylan for boys

-diamond shaped pockets on the Bridget, for girls

The organic cotton jeans are lightweight for mobility and all day play, and designed to accommodate various shapes, sizes, and growth rates. “We tested and tried our organic cotton denim out on children to find out exactly what level of fabric to use, and get the right amount of durability so that kids can play and have fun, while not feeling like they are wearing a heavy pair of jeans,” they say.

Sama Baby also follows the highest standards for organic cotton garments like using eco-friendly dyes, an environmentally-safe dying processes, and biodegradable bags to store their fabrics. Staying true to their heritage, the Guptas produce Sama Baby products at a family-run, fair-trade factory in India where the family frequently visits their cotton fields and oversees production.

Sama Baby Denim is sold online, at high-end boutiques across the country, and is currently in Whole Foods Markets, around the country. “Despite the recession, Sama Baby is extremely proud to be steadily growing and continues to fill stores nationwide while creating healthy, happy babies and a better planet for all,” they tell HCRSourceBook.

On another note, Shivani and Neha are managing editors of the newl Greenista.com, full of eco-friendly “tid-bits” delivered daily that launched on Earth Day.

-Janet Muniz

Baby Potential

Every baby has the potential to be whatever he or she wants to be.

Start here. Grow far. HCRSourceBook thinks this company tagline says it all! San Antonio, TX-based Baby Potential was founded in 2008 by Dacia Napier, M.D., a full-time radiologist and mother of two, and Allison Zeller, a philanthropist and mother of three. It’s a line of infant and toddler apparel featuring colorful career patches. The company’s core mission is to affect change by nurturing education through social marketing and community outreach.

“We think that access to education is something that America – with all its strength, should be able to provide its children through the joint cooperation of the public and private sector,” Dacia says. “Everyone has something to contribute. It is every individual’s obligation to help each other achieve it.”

Featuring classic styling and tailoring, one-pieces and t-shirts are made of 100% fine cotton, combed for softness and comfort, are durable and won’t fade or shrink. The Baby Potential signature, though, are the 12 different silk-screened career patches: Artist, Chef, Philanthropist – even Rancher – in addition to Teacher, Doctor and of course, Rocket Scientist among other career options adorn them and they coordinate with pants, skorts, bibs and burp cloths. The products are gender-neutral and available in six contemporary colors. Double-needle stitch detail reinforce the seams and shoulders are form-fitting. The one-pieces have a three-button style closure with premium snaps. Continue reading →

Kids Fashion from Europe

An HCRSourcebook first – video!

Three fun European children’s brands presented their new Spring Summer 2011 collections at several major European trade shows including Pitti Bimbo in Florence, Italy and FIMI in Valencia, Spain.

Tutto Piccolo. This new collection inspires visions of a romantic evening in Italy’s coastal town of Portofino in the 50’s, when elegance, sophistication and innovation defines the Italian lifestyle – in red, white and blue! Watch the fun frolic!

Cri Cri. In addition to presenting its new brand image, this collection incorporates classic shades of beige combined with pink and blue, dressing babies in soft, tender pieces.

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada Baby. Designed with unique tenderness and enormous creativity, this collection is full of color and contrasts.

-Janet Muniz

Enchanted Enfant Returns

Paula Franco joins the Enchanted Enfant team as newly appointed sales director.

News from a much beloved children’s brand: luxury line Enchanted Enfant returns to market!

Designer and founder Michele Brulé recently took some time away to mourn the loss of her mother to breast cancer, and now she’s back with a collection for spring summer 2011 inspired by historical works of art, vintage Parisian photographs and images of her mom as a child.

The Printemps 2011 Collection could be her strongest to date, emanating the signature romantic elegance that Enchanted Enfant has made its trademark. The Joséphine dress is a dreamy confection of silk chiffon with delicately ruffled cap sleeves, smocked empire waist and a sprinkling of jewel-like metallic trimmed rosettes available in plum, putty and blush.

Michele tells HCRSourceBook she is extending the brand with Couturier Collection, truly special, special occasion wear. Notable pieces include the stunning L’Opéra gown and Place Vendôme dress with glistening metallic lace trim and the must have Estelle Italian brocade coat, named after her six-year-old daughter and muse.

The Essentiels Collection is also extending the brand, chic easy pieces for everyday wear offered at a moderate price point for broader distribution. Key pieces include the Rue Cler pima cotton pointelle smocked top and legging, the raffia wide brimmed floppy sun hat and silk rosette headband.

What’s more, Michele and Enchanted Enfant is donating a portion of all sales from the Printemps 2011 Collection to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the first and only National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children .

View the collection at the next edition of ENK Children’s Club August 1 – 3.

-Janet Muniz