New School Year, New Wardrobe Sweepstakes from Lesters.com

Back-to-school shopping at Lester's while I was growing up was always a treat. My sisters and I would count the days till the end of August when our mom would take us to buy just a few new items for our school wardrobe. These days, girls are luckier than ever--thanks to a this chance to win a $500 shopping spree from Lesters.com.

With a new school year starting, now is the time to step up your style with the season’s most sought after looks from Lester’s. This fall, back to school shopping is quicker and easier than ever with the launch of Lesters.com, the ultimate online fashion destination. The new Lester’s online outpost features must-haves from trend-setting brands such as So Nikki, Vintage Havana, Wildfox, J Brand, Chaser, The North Face, Ugg Australia, and Volcom, making back to school cool just a click away.

Lester’s is inviting shoppers to help celebrate the new site with an exclusive giveaway. To enter the New School Year, New Wardrobe sweepstakes, simply log on to Lesters.com for the chance to win a $500 Lester’s shopping spree and kick off the school year in style.

The sweepstakes closes on August 14th so act now or you'll miss the chance to stock your closet with cool style finds before the first bell rings. Go to www.Lesters.com to participate.

chic treats: you gotta love lester's

Growing up in Brooklyn, Lester's was a household name. Some of my friends shopped there for their everyday school clothes but for my me and my sisters, any special occasion--sweet sixteens, recitals, graduations--called for a trip to the famous designer shop. The dresses or outfits we purchased there would be treasured and rarely shared (unlike everything else we owned).

So when I heard Lester's opened up a store in Manhattan on the Upper East Side, I was so excited to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised to find there was a kids' store and an adult store too. The fashion emporium was filled with cool tees, chic jeans, edgy dresses and tons of accessories. (Love the Hunter Rubber Tote and the cutting edge shoe shop--I even picked up a beautiful pair of suede wedge sandals for myself while I was there).

But the kids' store is out of control. It was obvious that camp season is right around the corner. You'll find the hottest camp fashion, accessories and gear, plus lots of stuff your kids will love that you never imagined even existed. Load up their personalized duffle bags (shown here) with word bracelets, snap on watches, fashion bandaids, color war attire, and American and European swimsuits. You'll even get a $25 gift card when you spend more than $500 worth of camp essentials.

Make sure you save time to do more than just "drop by"--you'll want to spend some time at Lester's, where you uncover a different fashion find as you scour every corner of the store.

Over 60 years ago, Lester and Lillian Kronfeld established their first store; and Lester's remains a family-owned and operated business today. Stop by any of the stores--in Brooklyn, Greenvale, Huntington LI, Manhattan, New Jersey and Rye-- for personalized service, unmatched selection and a pleasurable shopping experience.

Go to www.lestersnyc.com for more info.

laundry lagger? call laundrylocal.com

After a couple of rugged soccer games, baking chocolate cupcakes at school and a rare nighttime accident, there are a million things you'd probably rather be doing than your kids' laundry. Now there's respite for the laundry-dreading crowd. LaundryLocal.com does your laundry for you...so you can get busy doing something you'd much rather be doing.

Busy New York and Los Angeles residents can say “bye-bye” to the hassle of dropping off and picking up their work clothes at their local Laundromat and “hello” to the convenience of a laundry delivery service. It’s as easy as 1-Pick Your Spot, 2-Schedule a Pick-Up and 3-Confirm your information. Doing your laundry has never been easier. Just enter your address a select a prescreened service provider for valet laundry service (they’ll pick-up from your door and deliver your clean clothes back to you with no hassles!)

Why didn't someone come up with this sooner? Go to www.laundrylocal.com to schedule your pickup. Then go out and get a manicure--you deserve it!

sample sale: Splendid/Ella Moss

Vintage dresses, tunics, rompers, in alluring eyelet and chic stripes...I can't get enough of Splendid girls' clothes. The hoodies, tees and shorts in tye-dye and tri-colored dips for boys are adorable too. At Ella Moss, flirty dresses, rompers, ruffles and tunics are all the rage. Get your share of both amazing kids' lines at this two-day sample sale.

WHO: Splendid, Splendid Mills, Splendid Girl, Splendid Littles, Ella Moss, Ella Moss Black Label, Ella Moss Girl and Little Ella

WHAT: Sample Sale including clothing for women, men, tween, toddler and baby

WHERE: Cooper Building: 860 South Los Angeles Street, 8th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90014

WHEN: Friday, June 4 – Saturday, June 5, 9am-4pm

WHY: Great deals on styles for the entire family!

sewbaby: one-of-a-kind clothes for your little one

Need a baby or birthday gift? Want to dress your own baby or toddler in something you don't find on the racks? Check out these adorable pieces from Sewbaby.

Moms who resort to shopping via the "add to cart" button on babygap.com or oldnavy.com should especially take note: Sewbaby onesies, tops, pants and other offerings make a far more unique and personal purchase and can be customized. That's something that's hard, if not impossible, to do elsewhere. Whether it's choosing your fabric or your design, Sewbaby can do it all.

Rachel Weiner, a graphic artist turned preschool teacher and now the mom behind the line, started making baby clothes a couple of years before she had her now 2.5 year old daughter Ella.

"After I quit teaching and had Ella, I wanted to use all of my background interests and started sewing presents for my friends who were having babies," she says. "I started doing T-shirts and then people started asking me to make some for their newborns, and that's how it began."

It's no surprise that Weiner has a passion for clothes. "I grew up as the only girl in a family of four kids, so I owned 25 Cabbage Patch Kids. I would act like their mommy and dress them up all the time!"

Weiner searches the garment district and online for amazing fabrics and uses her Upper West Side Manhattan apartment as her workspace. She says, "My customers are mainly friends and family who have babies/toddlers themselves or are giving presents to others."

While all of her pieces make you stop and admire, some of the most popular include the gift sets which may include a letter shirt and bib for a new baby, or a number shirt for a child turning one or two. She makes clothes for Ella and recently made her a personalized doll stroller too. She explains, "I wanted to make her doll stroller stand out amongst those of her friends at the NYC playgrounds."

Remarkably, her biggest challenge isn't creating the designs or giving customers what they want but finding the space to sew. "I only have one table in my NYC apt so I have to clear everything off to use the sewing machine! And finding storage space for all the onesies and fabrics I buy isn't easy either!"

But when a customer sends her a photo of her baby wearing Sewbaby clothes, it's all worthwhile. She hopes to one day expand her business from blog to website to make it easier for customers to order. For now, check out her entire collection at http://sewbaby.blogspot.com.

holiday gift guide: give Splendid Littles

Who doesn't want to have the best-dressed kid on the block? There are so many cute clothing companies out there so when a celebrity--who can splurge on practically anything--chooses one over the others, we want to see what's so special about it. Nicole Richie has been dressing her kids, Harlow and Sparrow, in Splendid Littles and was recently photographed with her family, including Sparrow wearing a Splendid Littles striped onesie. Turns out the clothing brand offers lots of adorable options when it comes to baby clothing, including the three-piece thermal romper set shown here ($99). There are cute tiered dresses and leggings and tunics for toddler girls, plus long-sleeve fleeces and hoodies for toddler boys. Replenish your kids' wardrobes or shop for yourself (think cozy leggings, thermal henley tops and pjs too). Buy all your holiday baby gifts at www.splendid.com.

clothes for kids: rollingrack.net

All of us with young kids can relate: Our child gets an outfit as a gift and it sits in his/her closet until one day we remember it's there and suddenly realize he/she's outgrown it. Or, we just buy too many adorable dresses in size 12-18 months! How many can one kid wear? Newsflash: There are plenty of kids who could use all of those unworn items and the Rolling Rock Fashion and Apparel Group has found a way to get them to them.

A collective of talent dedicated to the Fashion Industry and the people who make it happen, the organization's screened members include couture designers, high-level company executives, retail designers, buyers, merchandisers, public relations professionals, photographers, make-up artists and others. Rolling Rack members represent the fashion spectrum from Armani, Estee Lauder, Benneton, Lacoste, Guess, Puma, Nike, Calvin Klein, La Perla, Lloyd Klein Couture, Girbaud, Levi's and everyone in between.

Last year, Rolling Rack, along with Marc Ecko, Russell Corp and Kate Quinn Organics generously donated over $1200 of brand new clothing to the students of Port Monmouth Road Elementary School in Keansburg, NJ. The school staff raffled off beautiful clothing gift baskets. The winners of the baskets took home hundreds of dollars of new clothing and the school raised over $500 for their student activity fund and to purchase new children's books. "It broke my heart when a first grader came up to me and she was so proud of her new winter coat; I knew her parents had gotten it from the local charity," says Founder/President Gary Montgomery.

This year the urgent need continues. Montgomery was contacted by another elementary school in North Carolina where 90% of the children cannot afford a daily lunch and many of them are proud of their second hand clothing purchased from charity shops.

If you'd like to help these children, most of whom live under the poverty level, you can do so through Rolling Rack's/Meet The Fashion Press's combined effort, the Threads of Gold program. You can donate brand new children's clothing, or make a donation. Go to www.rollingrack.net or email gary@rollingrack.net with questions or to give now.

expert advice: back-to-school cool

Kids want to look cool for school but they also want to create their own unique style. Dominique MacPherson and Melinda Marinack have an eye for choosing modern designer clothes for mom, baby and child at up to 60% off at their members-only shopping site, www.theminisocial.com. So start your back to school shopping now. For the best value and cutting-edge style, Dominique and Melinda suggest layering a few key pieces over your favorite spring and summer staples. Throw a printed hoodie over a t-shirt, layer a long-sleeve thermal over a short-sleeve one. Add tights, leg warmers or a cardigan to a pretty dress and you're ready for the new season. Check out the royal ash gray hoody by Kingsley, the multi-stripe tunic and leggings set by Splendid, a button-down cardigan by Nest (shown here) and jelly bean baby leggings by BabyLegs. For more great looks, go to www.theminisocial.com.

you can have your cake...

This is not just another mompreneur venture...theminisocial.com is the brainchild of Los Angeles based moms, Dominique MacPherson and Melinda Marinach, who worked for years in the fashion and beauty industries (C&C California, BCBG and Stila Cosmetics). They pooled their talents to create this one of a kind sample sale site featuring brands their kids love as much as they do. Starting tomorrow, theminisocial.com will host a sale on Cupcakes & Pastries--a cute, contemporary girl’s clothing featuring cotton dresses in bright, inspiring colors. You can pick up some of these cutting edge designs for up to 60% off! Go to www.theminisocial.com for details on this sweet deal.

my favorite place

I can't tell you how many times I've set out to walk my daughter around the block to try to get her to nap and ended up at The Children’s Place. I mean, there seems to always be something I need there! I guess there's a reason why store is the number one specialty retailer dedicated exclusively to children’s clothing, shoes and accessories for ages newborn to 14 years old. Catering to the unique needs of growing families, The Children’s Place offers quality clothing at an unmatched value, providing a go-to destination for everyday staples and on-trend essentials season after season. Not to mention, the best deals on PJ's!

This month, six new Children's Place stores were opened in Texas. Modeled in The Children’s Place “Techno Color” design, they offer a spacious, bright and airy shopping environment that provides a friendly and convenient atmosphere for both children and adults. Think bursts of color, color-coded “rooms” designed to make shopping fun, and an open layout for better maneuverability with strollers and carriages.

To celebrate all grand openings, The Children’s Place has partnered with the Books For Kids Foundation, to help promote literacy among all children with a special emphasis on low-income and at-risk preschool-aged children. Customers that donate to the Books For Kids Foundation, at the register, will receive 15% off their next purchase at all new-store locations. In addition, the first 200 people at each new location will receive a FREE children’s book.

THE CHILDREN’S PLACE NEW LOCATIONS:
Shoppes at Abilene (3769 Catclaw Road, Abilene)
Alliance Town Center (9409 Sage Meadow Trail, Fort Worth)
The Plaza at Rockwall (1019 East 1-30, Rockwall)
Gateway Station II (1185 N. Burleson, Burleson)
Market Heights (201 East Central Texas Expressway, Harker Heights)
Harlingen Corners (2819 W. Expressway, Harlingen)

If you're not near any of these new locations--or don't even live in Texas--you can still take advantage of great shopping opps and savings at your local Children's Place stores (there are 900 across the U.S, Canada and Puerto Rico!) or check out the selection on www.childrensplace.com.

Or take advantage of this special kidandcaboodle offer. The first two readers who sign up to be kidandcaboodle followers will receive a complimentary $25 gift certificate. Just click on FOLLOW under Followers on the homepage and sign up. Then email kidandcaboodle@gmail.com with your name and address so I can contact the winner and send you the gift certificate. Good luck!

get comfortable

You go out of your way to find super-soft clothes and accessories for your baby--from onesies to blankets, even baby wipes! The creator of the Little Pharo clothing line can relate. Monica used 100% Extra-Long Staple Egyptian Cotton, an extremely luxurious and rare fiber. Her 18-month old son wears Little Pharo jammies or shirts and leggings whenever he is home. He also wears the onesies (sleeveless or short-sleeve in the summer, and long-sleeve in the winter) underneath his clothes because, she says, "what more important place would you want something ultra soft, than against your baby's delicate skin?" Not only are the pieces extra soft, but Monica claims she's washed them dozens of times and they're totally durable. She says they actually get even softer with each wash! "I am still trying to figure out what my son is going to wear when he outgrows the line later this year--it only runs up to 24 months for now!" she says. Choose lightweight summer pieces like rompers or leggings, or pick out your next baby shower gift (try the adorable onesies!) A portion of the proceeds from each Little Pharo garment purchased goes to benefit underprivileged and orphaned children in Africa. Go to www.littlepharo.com to order and enter the coupon code caboodle for a 20% discount off your entire purchase.

rock on

Whether you live at Baby Gap or swear by hand-me-downs from friends, chances are your kids' wardrobes can use a little boost. You know, one or two fun pieces that give it an edge...so they don't look like every other toddler at the playground. Rock Baby Rock, a high-end infant and toddler clothing line, was created to infuse kids' clothes with fun and energy that was missing from the childrenswear market. Think onesies, t-shirts, hoodies, board shorts, flared and straight legged pants, skirts, jumpers, and tiered or hooded dresses ($34 to $62) in infant sizes three to 12 months and toddler sizes two to four. Soon to be unleashed for Fall: The Wild, Wild Safari collection, designed to spread the love for the world we live in and its animals. Featuring adorable graphics of elephants, giraffes, hippos, lions and zebras, amidst paw prints, stripes and stars, the clothes promote messages like "love, love, love," "to love is to learn," and "knock on the sky and hear me." In the softest fleece, Supima cotton jersey and French terry, as well as brilliant colors like fuschia, carrot, teal, majesty, sunshine, castle rock and cocoa, they add an unexpected pop to any wee outfit. Go to www.rockbabyrock.net for stores and info.