I absolutely adore my children. They are funny, spirited (yes, they’re *those* sorts of kids….), humorous, and affectionate (oh, so very affectionate, it’s quite endearing if slightly inappropriate at some points – my son’s open mouthed kisses, for instance….).

But FARK ME they are expensive little buggers.

Since the moment you find out you have a cluster of cells inside you that in 9 short months are going to be a Whole Other Person, you start saving money so that you can afford to pay the bills and budget for a latte or two throughout maternity leave. You try to do so in the hope that in the meanwhile, you can also start to accumulate all the essential baby items – cot, monitor, nappies, buggy, carrycot, car seat, baby bath, some clothes, some more clothes, a few more clothes….. – without bankrupting yourself.

This is why VALUE is so important.

And it is also value for money that prompted this blog post.  I’m totally guilty of buying an item, then getting it home, only to realise that it goes with NOTHING else in the wardrobe. I’m probably more guilty of doing that for my clothes to be honest, wildly patterned tops now languishing at the back of the wardrobe never to be seen again and only to resurface when I’m doing a charity shop clear out, or can actually BE bothered to list anything on ebay. It’s not unique to me though, it’s happened more than once with the kids too.

It’s increasingly important to me that I can make an item of clothing work hard for its place in the kids wardrobes – not only that it GOES with stuff, but that it lasts too. I will try and invest in pieces that work like that, it makes me feel better when I go and spunk shed loads of money in places like Primark and the supermarkets. Decent basics from places like Boden and Gap, mixed with places that aren’t quite so overdraft inducing.

So that is a long way of saying: today I’ve taken an awesome bright green dungaree dress from Boden badge styled it in three different ways. The dress also comes in a blue denim, but I thought I’d go with the green, not only to give myself a challenge, but also because it’s such a bright cheery colour, and something I’d definitely put Coco in.

These are the outfits I pulled together: (apologies for the crappy polyvore collages, I’m still getting used to using it! Note to self: don’t learn how to use it whilst minding the 2yo AND trying to concentrate on the great British bake off….)

Dress throughout: Boden, dungaree dress, £24 – £28

 

 

I love this little outfit – I do think the print gets lost behind the dungaree dress a bit, but I wanted something loudly patterned to sit behind it.  I’d put the top and dress with the pink and green knee socks (HOW CUTE are knee length sock on toddlers?!), and these GORGEOUS little shoes from Little Bird at Mothercare.  I love that entire range – I love the retro and unisex look, it’s really reminiscent of the styles I wore as a kid (which I know is the point of the range!)

 

 

I’ll admit now I have this cardigan. Not for me but for Coco. I can’t blooming wait until she fits into it – it looks like something Coco’s Granny Mary would have knitted for her (instead lovely M&S has done so). The tights are cool – I’d probably wear the stripey ones here – and the purple boots are adorable.

 

 

 

I tried for ages to try and crop out the top left tshirt for this outfit as I thought the green and pink stripes would look really fresh, until I realised that actually, all 4 tshirts would probably look good! Although these metallic boots won’t in reality be any good for Coco (big calves, high arches, poor girl takes after me….) they look cool, and the scarf ties the outfit together to make it look like an outfit, as opposed to just a collection of clothes. It also doubles up nicely as a dribble bib and <shame on me> emergency nose wiper. Despite being generally anti pastel pink, I love the bird print on it – aren’t h&m fabulous for prints?!

So what do you think of the looks I’ve put together? Need your sunglasses a bit, right?!? (I’m never knowingly subtle….)

I’d love to hear about your favourite items giving you great value for money, and more importantly, the widest range of outfit options?

Comments below, I’d love to hear them 🙂

Lucy x