Dressing Your Baby in Vintage

As a lover a vintage with a healthy fear of looking like I'm wearing a costume, I'm always working hard at a balance of vintage and modern in my wardrobe.  I also do the same juggle with my kids outfits.  It's fun to put my girls in pretty vintage pieces, but they often have that "my great grandma made this for me" or "this was my mom's when she was a baby" look, so I have to be careful.  Here's a fun example of how I styled Fiona, mixing new and vintage.  

   

Start with a blank canvas, ie. a diapered baby.

Select a basic tee and interesting leggings to get the outfit started.

Layer on a vintage baby cardigan.  These are easy to find at any flea market and most thrift stores, a family member may even have some in the garage.  Be sure to add cute shoes (or socks that look like shoes) and something for the weird chunk of hair in the back of your baby's head.  What? Your baby doesn't have that?

 tee: baby gap

leggings: hand me down

sweater: vintage, via estate sale

socks: trumpette

bow: target

Ruby's Work Station

This week has been crazy!  We've been working so hard to get the new shop and blog up and running and we've had a few bumps in the road.  Having two kids adds a lot to the mix when you are trying to grow your business.  It can be stressful at times, but I am so thankful for my girls.  I've been trying to figure out ways to make our time at the studio more productive.  I set up a little desk with vintage chair and loads of supplies, so Ruby has a place to work. 

We are definitely almost there, so stay tuned, the new shop is going to be great! 

Vintage Baby Bed with Bird Mobile

We are settling in nicely with the new baby and have been adjusting well so far.  I even went to work a few day this week.  I am finding it to be a lot easier the second time around, so I am really thankful.  Before Fiona was born, I set up this little baby bassinet at the shop, so she had somewhere to sleep while she was there.

Bassinet ~ borrowed

Bird Mobile ~ vintage via ebay

Doll ~ Lil' Sprinkles

Pillow ~ vintage via The Vintage Clothing & Textile Show

in with the OLD: dolls

I found these adorable little 70's fabric dolls for Ruby recently and they reminded me of how much character old things have that I just don't seem to see in the new stuff.  Of course if you were looking at handmade dolls on Etsy, you would find this level of quirkiness, but at Target? I don't think so.  Toys are supposed to be whimsical and make you smile, that is exactly what these do for Ruby (and for me).

First photo by me, second found here.

Ruby's Vintage Shopping Adventure or Lack There Of

I purchased this vintage dress from a women at a vintage clothing show that said it was hers when she was a little girl. I love the color combo, the pin stripes and the little embroidered doggies.  I put Ruby in it the other day and followed her around taking pictures.  It's pretty much impossible to get her to pose, so I wrote a little story to go along with the random photos I took, pretty silly, but kind of fun.  Hope you have a great Wednesday!

 Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ruby who loved to wear vintage.  She found some money that had fallen out of her mom's purse, so she thought she would go out on a vintage shopping trip.

 She was very excited for her adventure!

 

Ruby threw on her favorite knit gray shrug, borrowed her mom's sunglasses, grabbed her baby doll and set out to her favorite vintage shop.

 When she was about half way down the driveway, Ruby remembered that she couldn't drive and she missed her mommy, so she headed for home.

 Luckily, Ruby had her thumb to comfort her when mommy saw that she had tried to go shopping with her money.

dress ~ vintage

shrug ~ thrifted

shoes ~ the gap via ebay

socks ~ target

barrette ~ vintage

Ruby's Vintage Patchwork Dress

We've had some warm weather lately, so I jumped at the chance to put this sweet little vintage patchwork dress on Ruby.  Recently, she has been pretty adamant that she wear her pajamas all day, so getting her into this dress was no small feat.   I came up with the brilliant idea to "trade" (sounds much better than "bribe") her for something she would really appreciate.  So, after a bit of negotiation, she traded putting on the dress for one organic tortilla chip and letting me take pictures of her in the dress for two additional chips.  I think we both got a pretty good deal.

 

Rethinking Baby Gifts

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about what we buy for our children.  Loads of cheap plastic toys line the shelves of Target and other discount stores calling out to our kids with their bright colors and low prices.  I recently bought a set of doll toys for $20 which included a bed, bouncy seat, car seat, carrier, changing pad and high chair.  Ruby has barely played with it and all the pieces are taking up space in her room.  Over the last few years we have accumulated a lot of toys that she barely plays with and have no aesthetic appeal.  I am starting to think about what I buy for other people when they are expecting or have young children. On Saturday, I went to a baby shower for a friend and I had been saving this vintage set of wooden stacking blocks for her baby since I found out she was pregnant.  I love how well it is made and how timeless it is.  I can't imagine Ruby's doll toys will be as good in 50 years. 

 

Another must have item for my baby's room is an owl shaped pillow! Here are a few that I am considering after an extensive Etsy search. Maybe I'll even make my own in my spare time. :)

From Pretty Lil Things

From Joo Sweetie


From Pinch Face



From The Small Woods



From Manic Muffin Totes


From Cuore



From Zemphira

IT'S A GIRL!

I had an ultrasound today and found out that I am having baby girl. Jeff and I are thrilled! I immediately began searching for baby girl things. Here are some of the items I found on Etsy with the search "vintage baby girl" in the handmade category.



Red Possum


Smiley Jones


Max and Magnolia



One Lucky Baby



Swell Kid