Refreshed Perspective

As I sit silently on my bed with my laptop on this warm spring evening, red wine in hand, I’m comfortably calm in my presence. Whilst I’ve been absent from my blog over the past few weeks, my life has almost been consumed by a dynamic shift that has arguably enhanced my overwhelming feelings of content. In all honesty (as unusual as it feels to be stating such truths to a world of strangers whilst simultaneously and perhaps slightly naively feeling a sense of anonymity) I can say with full clarity that I have not felt ‘well’ since the birth of my third boy six months ago. However, approximately three weeks ago after getting sick once again I decided I’d had enough and changed my diet!

I eradicated as many toxins from my life that were manageable and started focusing on what was important in my life including the foods I consume. I dropped caffeine completely (which was surprisingly easy considering I was a two to three a day coffee drinker), I wiped all takeaway foods and as many sugars and saturated fats as possible and actually started eating more. Instead of waking up to two coffees and then eating what ever was accessible for lunch, I now have green tea with lemon and a smoothie containing mixes berries, fruit, kale, chia seeds, coconut water and almond milk. Avocado has become a daily staple, with eggs followed not far behind and as a big carb eater, I can now say bread is almost non-existent in my diet – except for one slice of cape seed grain bread with my eggs.

So why share this with the world? Despite having a twin sister who is a personal trainer, yoga instructor, business coach, triathlon runner and all around spiritual being whom although has never outwardly tried to force her way of life on to me or any of my family (who in reflection is far more centred, honest, spiritual and far less selfish than I ever gave her credit for), I now whole heatedly see and believe that you are what you eat and what you consume effects your whole being and soul. That as a consequence of this quite substantial diet shift, my whole focus has shifted and I’m feeling far more centred and in tune with my self.

My current energies are all focused on fashion – as they usually are; and potential business beginnings that will hopefully satisfy my hunger for fashion and bring some new and driven passions into my world. Although this new focus has temporarily seen me shift my focus from this blog, I have very excitedly found some amazing new trends coming out for boys that are going to be so much fun in my search for new directions!

As posted about previously in a men’s spring 2014 style summary, boys wear is following heavily in the bright prints, cropped pants and funky blazers! The recent CIFF catwalk show highlighted the big trends for boys in 2014, which included Cannes 86, Cowboys and florals, Beat The Street and Academia. I can’t wait to see some of these fun outfits hitting the stores soon!!

I’m loving the bright and fun colours that are coming through with those orange slouch pants being my favourite by far! As well as denim on denim – it works here.

So although I’ve gone away and refocused, I can say I have a refreshed perspective on whatboyswear and I’m very excited to bring some fresh new ideas to my blog as well as some new direction – whatmumswear being something I’m looking at exploring too!!!

Watch this space!!

Related articles

• CIFF KIDS: Our Top 3 Scandinavian Kids Labels: From wool onesies to interior design, a look at the three best offerings for kids at the recent Copenhagen exhibition (coolhunting.com)
• Copenhagen’s Clothes Considers Kids (lisabeels.com)

The Illusive Baby Boys Wear: My Recent Findings

Boys! Boys! Boys! Never before has this word been so consuming and relevent to me as it is at this particular point in my life. Consumed by an ever-increasing rise in energy levels, physical activity and refereeing brotherly disputes and wrestles, my life as a stay-at-home mum has definitely intensified with the addition of my third boy. But surprisingly it is not as difficult as I had originally imagined. Perhaps it was me planning for the worst possible case scenario and imagining a new very hectic existence, or the truly invaluable help of my mother that has aided my transition from a mother of 2 to a mother of 3, or the fact that babies really are not that difficult – at least in comparison to my very active 4 and 2-year-olds! They really do just eat and sleep at this tender young age (which makes me laugh when I think back to the time that we only had one baby and I thought it was so difficult!). Don’t get me wrong, the lack of sleep, balancing the ever existent demand of attention and trying to distribute my time evenly between all three boys and my husband, isn’t always easy, and I have accepted the fact that ‘me time’ simply doesn’t exist anymore, but I do think things could have been worse (perhaps I’ll bite my tongue in 3 to 6 months).

As I look back at baby photos of my first two boys and then compare them to my third, it surprises me how different all three were and are! From no hair, to almost black hair and now to very fair hair, it makes me think about the future and wonder how each of them are going to turn out. Another thing I wonder about, is why people continue to present the same style of baby clothes, in the same colours and styles despite the significant upsurge in ‘baby trends’ and fashion over the past 4 years. I must admit, I haven’t received a significant amount of baby clothes this time around as most people assume I have that covered (which is not really the case considering the 3 month and season difference between the three boys), and from what I have received most have been quite cool and bright – particularly the baby suits received from my sister that were bought online from www.next.co.uk, similar to these colourful lovelies…

However, we’ve still receive the same neutral, boring or baby blue pieces that can be found everywhere! Fortunately I’ve managed to find some great little newborn bargains that allow me to mix and match my new colourful items with some of the dull and lifeless pieces I’ve either had for my older boys or were given.

Bonds has always been a staple in my boys wardrobes, even now, and although they do have a far greater range and variety then they did four years ago, the market is still very heavily girl dominated which can make finding boys wear in the required size difficult (as always)! However, after heading to my local Trade Secret store, I did manage to pick up some very soft and comfortable navy track pants and hoodie at a cheaper price that I’m planning to brighten up with some colourful and funky $10 tees I found at Cotton On for kids…

 

The past 4 years has seen a growth in variety and styles for baby boys which is exciting and despite finding some funky little pieces, I’m still finding the baby wear market to be heavily dominated and aimed at girls, which is highly frustrating! It astounds me that even when fluro and bright colours have dominated ‘fast fashion’ trends for the past 12-6 months, it is assumed parents are still drawn to the boring old baby blues and browns that consume the baby boys wear market! Perhaps they do, but either way, I feel when we live in such a hot and sunny country – even in winter, it wouldn’t hurt Australian fashion designers and retailers to look at fabrics and labels that are fun and colourful for boys particularly in winter, as to reflect the playful, cheeky and energetic traits of boys and children in general.

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Then there were three!

After a very uncomfortable and hectic 9 months, or 38 weeks and 5 days to be exact, I can proudly announce the birth of my third bundle of baby boy joy!! Much like my first two boys, he did not let the scales down and came in at a very healthy 8 pound 6 suggesting I’ve got another 6 ft plus boy to contend with later in life , which couldn’t make me happier!

It’s amazing how quickly the mind can subdue all memories of the painful experience of childbirth in a matter of moments, once your eyes catch a glimpse of the new little miracle that has entered our world. The human body, particularly the female body, truly is an amazing thing, and as I look at my newest family edition, I ponder on the miraculous ways in which I was solely creating, carrying and nourishing this amazing little boy. That for approximately 9 months, we were completely one…amazing!!

Mushy sentiments aside, I can now envision what my next 20 years are going to entail; food, growth spurt, food, sport, cars, trucks, food, growth spurt, sport, testosterone surges, cars, girls, and more food and sport!! A very physical lifestyle that will undoubtedly keep me fit, healthy and active!

Although I have been offline for the past few weeks, I’ve been collating endless post topics that have now been extended to baby boys wear and the new dilemmas of finding boys wear in the illusive sizes 1-2!! However, I can happily report that after a couple of baby boys wear shopping trip ventures, I was pleasantly surprised at the introduction of new styles available for baby boys. Yes I was overwhelmed by a mass selection of baby girls wear – as I expected; but being the start of the season, I was able to find some funky little bright outfits that were very affordable from brands such as Bonds, Cotton on kids and The Kid Store, plus a few gorgeous little gifts from the UK’s Next.

There truly is no greater feeling then being a new mother, even the third time around, and now that What Boys Wear has some new inspiration, I intend to share all my funky little finds with you shortly, but for now I’m off to a baby photo shoot and enjoying my 2 week old…

Let your Boys imagination run into space!!

If your boys are anything like my 2 and 4 year old, imagination is everything! From pirates to cowboys, transformers to toystory, any kind of dress up or pretend character world is a haven of fun and adventure – and some down time for mum also! So it isn’t much of a stretch for the boys to transfer these fantasies into a fun filled room that screams adventure. Although themed rooms are a tricky one to navigate in terms of style and functionality, there are endless ways in which you can make your boys room more exciting on all scales. A hand painted mural for the artistic parent, themed wall art or an all out themed room from roof to quilt covers. Which ever way you choose to go sourcing themed decor is getting far easy with the accessibility of the WWW.

Whilst my 2 year old tends to follow my 4 year old in his adventures, outer space, the solar system, planets and how it all works is one fascination of my boys at the moment and creating a space themed room is a great way of introducing science concepts (obviously depending on the level of involvement parents have in linking the imaginative with factual information) to there developing little brains whilst simultaneously allowing them to use there imaginations to travel through outer space!

Here are some great ideas for your boys room…

You can purchase any of the below wall art at www.zulily.com on sale for another 5 days – with heaps more variety to choose from…

    

BOYS WEAR…Where To Begin!!

Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys! They become a part of our lives at one point or another as a friend, foe, father, lover, partner, husband, brother, colleague, team mate, nephew, cousin or via numerous other interactions, but when you are blessed with a son – or in my case two; it becomes exceedingly apparent in no time at all that boys are far more complex than us females give them credit for! Not only has it been proven that their brains work and function differently to girls (Biddulph, S “Raising Boys 3rded” Ch. 4, Pg. 63) but it has been drawn to my attention throughout my four year journey as a mother of two boys, that even from the age of 2 boys are developing a fashion and style consciousness that is intricately connected to their sense of self and identity.

From denim to cargo, chinos to skinnies, cotton to wool, hoodies to cardies, boardies to slacks, boys have stepped it up in the fashion department and are becoming consciously aware of their self-appearance and fashion style far earlier then department stores and children’s retailers are either realising or offering greater accessibility to. My 4 year old son for example almost always selects his own outfits both in purchasing and for day to day wear – which we encourage as a means of building his independence; and he has a variety of choices in style that reflect the tastes and styles of mum, dad, grandma, pop, aunties and uncles, great grandparents etc. and of course his own. Yet he is already aware and has his own opinions on which clothes are appropriate for which occasion. If we go out for dinner for example, he’ll select a pair of skinnies matched with an oversized singlet or tee and new era hat as this reflects dad’s style, or if he goes to kindy he’ll almost always select a character style tee as he knows this will impress his friends. Even my 2 year old son will ravage his draws for his royal blue Munster shorts that he got for his birthday when he sees his older brother and dad in a pair similar.

It is my observation that boys mimic the styles of those around them particularly their dads. However, when searching boys wear sections both in store and online for styles that reflect those of current men’s wear fashion and trends, I find myself either confronted with children’s designer branded clothes that are great but impractically priced for every day outfits and a 6-8 month size longevity or affordable clothing that is out dated and/or heavily restrictive and limited in styles, colour and size. So how can it be that when we live in a consumer based society that is globally connected with accessibility to almost anything with a touch of a keypad, that boys wear in Australia is so restrictive and limited!
Well I endeavour to source, hunt, Google, shop and find where the quality and affordable boys wear is hiding both at home and across the globe and highlight them through this blog. I aim to show latest fashions, trends and styles and how you can reciprocate these looks in your boys for far less. I’m fully aware that fashion and style is subjective – one person’s cool is another’s daggy and visa versa; and that up to a certain age toddler and boys wear is a direct reflection of his parents and those around him, and I am not here to judge – I simply refuse to dress my boys in baby blue Whinnie the Pooh t-shirts with beige ¾ pants!!

So whether it’s just for me or for other style conscious parents with boys let’s begin the hunt for quality, on trend, accessible and affordable boys wear!!!