Tuesday, February 26, 2013

All Hail Stripes!


Back in my gothy days, I foolishly stated that my future children would wear black.  Haha, of course, I did!  Silly, I know.  But I think we all go through thoughts of such folly at one point or another during our lives.  I'm a huge fan of stripes, on leggings in particular. And not just your basic 2-color palette, either. Color is one of the basic concepts in dressing children to look like children.   

I discovered color during my 3 years as Store Manager at Oilily, and learned how beautifully incongruent tones can work together, complementing what would otherwise be a rather ordinary outfit.  While multi-color stripes can be paired with certain floral patterns (be careful with that - I'll address it in a future post), they can also liven up something bland or ordinary, and can help pull together a random piece you have in the closet that seemingly has nothing to go with it. 

I can never have too many pairs of striped leggings for my daughter.  Under dresses, under skirts, with a tunic top, they are versatile, fun, and practical.  Denim tends to really pop when paired with colorful stripes, as in the photo below from Christmas (also paired with floral, btw). 


I see striped leggings often in stores, but for some reason, some just don't jump out at me, don't appeal to me.  You have to keep your eyes open for them.  The ones below are from Crazy 8 (the lower-priced little sister to Gymboree), Target, and Old Navy.  I'm pretty sure I never paid more than $6 or $7 for any of them.  And they're well-worn, as you can see, but they never lose their appeal.  I worry about the day when she outgrows a pair or rips out the knee during recess, and am always on the lookout for backups when I'm out and about.


7 comments:

Anna said...

So when you purchase leggings how do you pick the size? I think I've been purchasing things a little too small- buying the exact size she is in. I just recently learned about crazy 8, my daughter has one in KS and bought little G the cutest sweater dress for Christmas. She commented on the pricing. I might have to start sending her $$ to shop for little sister! (I agree with leggings under everything- modesty isn't our forte!)

Becca said...

I tend to go a little bit big in leggings. It's not like they're going to fall off in most cases, since they're so stretchy. If the backside is saggy and the legs are long, I make sure I have it layered under something long enough to cover it and roll the pantlegs a little or scrunch them up to mid-calf. And, depending on who's selling them, some tend to run smaller than others so I know to go bigger (can't think off-hand who runs small, but Crazy 8's tight knit fabric, seen all the way on the left in the photos, different than their regular cotton stretch, *does* run small).

Becca said...

Oh, and I have a whole post specifically about leggings coming up soon!

Anna said...

Thanks, I purchased 6x at Gymboree to match the outfits since that is the size she was in and they already seem small, so only one season. Next time I might go up one or two sizes. I rarely shop with her so maybe once with a try on session would be helpful.

Lisa said...

I'm a huge fan of leggings too! Cate wears a uniform Mon - Thursday to school, your basic navy, khaki, hunter green, white scheme. She does better in dresses so we can avoid button in clips so I'm always looking for cute leggings to accent the uniform since our school doesn't regulate those! I have a really hard time finding ones that work so I'd love a heads up anytime you see cute ones.

Unknown said...

Ha...I think we might be the same person. I also had goth days and swore my children would like Wednesday from the Adam's family. And now well..my nine year old is leaning that way but it's her choose:P

Anyway I love stripes. And I love this blog. Fun!

Becca said...

Thanks so much, Ginger! And too funny about your daughter. It's a natural progression sometimes! :-)