La Coqueta Kids

I was asked by Celia, mum of four and owner of my new favourite kids store La Coqueta to answer a few questions on her blog about mums in style. Not a chore at all having to talk about my style tips, love of fashion and my kids! You can check it out today on their website La Coqueta Kids
As you can see im a fan myself and have even taken to stealing Mini's cat ear headband. Its just too cute!

I did rather a big shop. There is so much to love but i just adore their Pampa check and have bought Phin the shirt, Mini the dress and Ottilie the blouse as well as their festive Red Greca Sweater which i got for all three. Just watch out for our christmas snaps.

I quickly put Ottilie in their Maranta trousers - I love this blue and yellow tartan colour way and the drop crotch style makes them super comfy too. I paired them with a frilled blouse from Bonpoint and Marie-Chantal yellow cardigan and brogues, but they'd work equally well for boys too.

Double Trouble

Winter's Ice

What a gorgeous day, crisp, cold blue skies are my favourite but the drop in temperature didn't deter my two from embracing their ice cream with gusto. It's a treat they adore and this weekend Papoo joined in too.
Mini wore a beautiful lilac ruffled dress from Jasper Conran for Debenhams given to her by Julie, my fantastically talented massage therapist. We Layered it up with a Bonpoint poloneck and stone cardigan, caramel tights and her pink desert boots. While Phin kept up the tonal theme with his grey cable knit marie Chantal sweater and ice cream moustache.

Iggle Piggle

Mini is passionate about Iggle Piggle. She runs up to me clutching my ipad screaming 'iggle iggle mama'. And once i put it on she wiggles her hips and tip toes about doing pirouettes around the room in glee. Today Mini and Phin went on an expedition to the Transport Museum. They had the best time climbing on board the buses and trains and finished off with a pick nick on the bus back home. Mini wore her Marie-Chantal embroidered tunic for the occasion with her chestnut tights from CdeC and chipmunk boots.

Now if i can just try and tie my scarf...

Haute Hippy

Minis rocking her hippy luxe look today thanks to the lovely Lucia. It's from Marie-Chantal and comes in a beautiful heather grey tunic with chocolate and tan cross stitching. It's a simple style but super comfy. We've paired it with a pair of chocolate ribbed tights from Zara (they do the best for colour/style/cost ratio), her mushroom poloneck from Bonpoint and her chipmunk chelsea boots. Happy days.

First party dressing

There are a flurry of first birthdays happening as Mini's friends celebrate their first twelve months with friends and family. Today's was Tabitha's turn with a old school style tea in an elegant communal square. Mini wore her White smocked puff sleeved dress adorned with antique pink roses from Marie-Chantal. I love that it's getting a smidge too small so that it puffs out perfectly at her waist and the shorter length gives it a Milly Molly Mandy feel (ps thanks grandma Eve for the book, Minis going to love reading it).
By the end of the afternoon mini had smeared strawberries down the front and baked bean sauce in her hair but hey nothing beats a soak in Napisan to bring her dress back to life for the next party.

Busy days

Mini's a busy bee. She loves hanging out in Phins bedroom, picking up his pyjamas and rearranging his clothes, sipping from his water bottle and reading his books. Noggin the Nog's Viking escapades are a firm favourite. And Phin is pretty chilled about this new bedroom interloper, he just lies in bed and watches the busy bee at work. Today mini's wearing her super cute denim short dungarees from The Gap with her MC frill collar shirt, White Mary janes and her lime green bow.

Puffed up

It was a bold move putting mini in White linen shorts. And not one that paid off I might add. They may be a phin hand-me-down but he was surprisingly clean (somehow that trait hasn't lasted) but mini managed to coat them in a tomato sauce glaze by the lunchtime finale. They did look mighty fresh and pretty paired with her puffed sleeved and frill collared blouse from Marie-Chantal but it's nothing that a bit of hard scrubbing with a cocktail of Boots household soap and napisan won't get out. Thanks Penny for the tip! Works a treat.

Rose Bud

What a cheeky monkey. She may look like a perfectly behaved princess but she sure knows how to pull a face. Placid is not a word I'd use to describe my daughter. At one year old she's certainly showing signs of a wilful, feisty and opinionated temperament. But then I'm no shrinking violet so what was I expecting?!
Today we celebrated fathers day with lots of friends and a sumptuous brunch. Mini used the occasion to unveil her new rose bud dress from Trotters given to her by Phins old nanny Tata. It's so darn pretty in a 1950's retro Americana way, with a big bow at the back and edged in White ticking. We accented the outfit with a lime green hair bow and lots of attitude.

Fresh Florals

Mini is flexing a fresh floral look today. Its such a sunny style, bringing many compliments and smiles in today's torrential rain. She's wearing her new 60's floral print blouse by Marie-Chantal, it has a short puffed cap sleeve and frilled collar and i love the mix of off-beat colours, aqua, chocolate and dashes of tangerine which coupled with the naive style of print give it a hint of Murakami. It comes from the ever so stylish Nazli who also generously gifted Mini the clementine coloured bow to coordinate with her new top. Nazli loves bows, dare i say, almost as much as i do and she understands an outfit is not complete without one! We've added her white Gap jeans and her wonderfully vibrant turquoise cardigan from Caramel and to finish off the look, her brand new white summer sandals. They are from the American brand Elefantito, who not only make clothes but also do a range of the prettiest shoes. These are a gift from my dad, or rather Mini's Papoo and are beyond delectable.  They have scalloped edging and a little leather bow adorning the front. Perfect for perfecting her first steps.

Girl with the Pearl Necklace

Where's the sun gone? Who cares, Mini's smile lights up the sky as do her bright coloured clothes. She's in full on Bonton today, wearing a combination of their Yves Klein blue and white stripe trapeze top, watermelon cotton leggings and zingy lemon cardigan and matching bow from Marie-Chantal. But what tops it off is her gorgeous pearl necklace with its neon peach grosgrain ribbon and gold tassel from J Crew. Phin, meanwhile is also shining bright with his citrus and grey star print t-shirt from Bonton and grey skinny jeans from Stella McCartney.

Mini adores big brother Phin, she thinks he's hilarious, cackling at all his moves. The two of them have the best time together, serious double trouble.

Garden Pixies

What a change a day makes. Yesterday's gloom and rain was swept aside with bright blue skies and almost summery temperatures. We don't need much of an excuse to hang out in the garden and get our Cabbages & Roses linen throw and pillows out. Today Mini and Phin had their friends Ava and Zac over and what a stylish set they make. Mini is wearing another one of her classic Bonton smock dresses, a white and red pin spot version and matching red leggings, a white Bonpoint vest and red and white striped socks from Trumpette. Zac meanwhile is in a navy and white checked shirt and blue cords both from Marie-Chantal.

 

What fun snuggling under the covers and climbing Tea Rose our resident garden elephant. We bought her from the elephant parade where she was on show at Tower Bridge, and now she lives under a Rhododendrum bush in our garden. Phin ditched his H&M denim shorts but kept the rocker vibe going with his Che Guevara t-shirt bought by his grandparents all the way back from Cuba and worn under his blue check shirt from Caramel. While Ava wore her woodland floral shirt from Bonpoint (Mini has the dress version - its our favourite) and a pair of navy Gap leggings topped off with an enormous Marie-Chantal hot pink bow. Oh how Mini can't wait to have enough hair to merit a bow of such magnitude. In fact Ava's bow collection is said to rival that of Mini's. And why not, there's nothing better to top off an outfit than a big juicy bow!  

we love you Tea Rose

White Wedding

It may have been mother's day but more importantly than that it was Tata's wedding. Phin's old nanny Marta was getting married, or rather she was being a princess today and meeting her prince (way too much Disney in our house i'm afraid).  As Billy Idol proudly sang, it was a 'nice day for a white wedding'. The sun was shining and what better occassion was there to unveil her white broderie anglaise smocked dress from Marie-Chantal. A generous gift from the lovely Natalie, who also gifted the ultimate party shoes from Stuart Weitzman. All finished off with delectable socks trimmed in lace from John Lewis, perfect for showcasing those gorgeous chubby thighs that i just can't help squidging.

Phin was so excited about Tata becoming a princess for the day. He dressed for the occasion in his stella for Gap skinnies, blue and white nehru collared shirt from Bonpoint, caramel cardi from Cos and chocolate cord blazer from Marie-Chantal. And then he got a kiss from his princess and the day was complete.

Pretty Polka

Mini's an independent woman already. She certainly knows her own mind, shrieking with delight when she manages to steal food from my plate and throwing massive fits if she's not part of the social scene. Luckily she still lets me dress her to my heart's content, so today she's a vision in khaki. I've put her new polka t-shirt in stone and olive by Bonton with her tapered khaki pants (getting kind of snug now what with those delicious thighs and chubby ankles) and her moss green sleeveless cardigan both from Bonpoint. We've topped it off with a larger cotton bow from Marie-Chantal and her hand-me-down leather maryjanes (almost the only ones she will keep on) by Pepe.

Away with the Fairies

Mini joined bro Phin to help celebrate her cousin Josie's 4th birthday in Fairy Land. They both enjoyed sitting on glittery toadstools watching fairy queens pirouette in their tulle. Mini was of course dressed to blend with the fantastical mural complete with her Angels Face grey Tulle skirt Worn this time with her White collared body from Bonpoint and aqua knit from Marie Chantal and White floral shoes from Stuart Weitzman both lovely gifts from Natalie L.

Mini's on the Move

Its got to that point where pinning little Minster down for her daily fashion pic is proving rather more difficult. What fun it is for her to wave her arms with gay abandon, kick her legs with glee and crawl off at high speed when mummy tries to take a pic! We may have a top of the range Panasonic Lumix to help us but even that can't cope with her speedy manoeuvres. So for today please excuse her blurry grey star print dress from Bonton, her emerald green ribbed poloneck from Caramel and her aqua ribbon from Marie-Chantal.

And she's off...

you can't catch me!

Ha! Here i am.

Peppermint Pocket Rocket

Mini is looking like a little water nymph today. Decked out in pale aqua and grey she is a vision in her  second hand  duds. Her fine crochet mint cardigan from Marie-Chantal is thanks to Grace and Alice and her striped T comes via Xander and Kai and then onto Phin. Mix it all up with these super cute legging and lace ra-ra skirt combo found in the sale basket at The Gap and this little peppermint pocket rocket is ready to go. 

Bow Baby

Mini's tresses are growing, albeit rather slowly. Still at least there's enough hair for her to sport her large array of bows. Most of which come from either Marie-Chantal or ilovegorgeous. We've gotten so used to her wearing them that without she looks almost naked or at the very least underdressed! They have a simple metal slide concealed by a grosgrain or cotton coloured bow and simply slide into the hair. There's no clicking so you don't have to worry about pressing too hard against their soft skulls. And they come in three different sizes. Mini mostly has the smallest but also has four mediums like today. The largest are absolutely glorious but really do need more hair! We keep Mini's locks in shape with her natural bristle hand painted hair brush from Nursery Window, a beautifully practical gift from our lovely friend Natalie. Today Mini has been preparing for her Papoo's 82nd birthday and she's chosen a Liberty print dress and gunmetal grey cardigan from Bonton with her red Baby Bloch ballet shoes