Just what is zulily? It’s a fabulous new online store offering daily sales on top-quality apparel, gear and other goodies for moms, babies and kids. Members can enjoy savings of up to 70% off retail prices—not to mention discover some exciting new brands and products. It’s a members-only site so that they can keep their deals “top-secret”, but membership is free!

Each day, zulily launchs 3-4 new deals, and those deals are live for 4 days. They have limited quantities, so when they sell out of an item, it’s gone!  Sign-up and shop zulily.com to save on brands for baby, mom and kids!

Today I purchase the beautiful Truly Me White Dress, shown above, from the brand Hannah Banana for my classy girl, Montana. With summer coming, I think the beautiful dress will be used frequently! I can’t wait to see her in it!

I currently have a contest running AND an exclusive $10 off $30 purchase coupon running on A Mom in Red High Heels. Click over to get all the details and enter to win a gorgeous CJ satchel from timi & leslie courtesy of zulily!  Both end on May 9, 2010.

The wedding season is about to kick into high gear.  I’ve had a few mothers of tween girls ask me about the age cut off for being a flower girl so I thought it might be helpful to clarify the issue.

Typically, a flower girl is a child between 4 and 8 years of age.  Older girls between the ages of 9 and 16 are usually junior bridesmaids.  That said however, age doesn’t have to dictate how a special girl participates in a wedding ceremony.  A wedding is about sharing a special moment with loved ones and older girls can still make charming flower girls.

The role of a flower girl is different from that of a junior bridesmaid.  Flower girls walk up the aisle just before the bride whereas a junior bridesmaid walks with the other bridesmaids.  Last year, we made custom flower girl dresses for two delightful 9 year-old girls.  The flower girl dresses were traditional white sleeveless dresses.  The girls carried small floral nosegays that coordinated with the bridal bouquet.  Both girls were very excited to be part of the wedding and the bride loved the idea of sharing her special day with them.  So the next time there’s a wedding in the family, be open to having a tween flower girl.

contributed by Chief Princess Mom, providing wedding etiquette and flower girl dresses for tween girls.

Most of us are aware of anorexia. Perhaps like me, you associated the eating disorder with teenager girls.  Well, last week an eleven year old fainted at my feet and apparently anorexia is something increasingly seen among 8 to 11 year old children.

My eye opener happened last week.  I’m in the process of creating a line of tween special occasion dresses.  We make a sketch, sew a sample garment and then fitting it on a real person.  The person who fits the sample is called (surprise, surprise) a fitting model.  It’s important to use a real person so that you can see fit nuances and correct the pattern before you go into production.  Fitting models are not super thin models seen in fashion magazines and on the runway.  They are simply people who wear a specific size of clothing.  For the new tween line, my fitting model is a charming 12 year old girl. She has a wonderful attitude and is quite patient as we poke and prod her with measuring tape, common pins and other tools of the trade,  Last week she came with a friend who was also interested in being our fitting model.  Her friend was taller and had started to develop a bust.  Since girls who wear a size twelve dress come in all heights and weights, we welcomed another reference point to see how the clothing looked on a real child – even if she was on the thin side.

Our new fitting model tried on the dress and we started the fitting.  Not even 5 minutes went by when she turned ghostly white and fainted.  Fortunately, she regained consciousness after a few seconds.  We had her sit down and her friend strongly suggested she needed to eat. At first she didn’t want to eat anything. Some gentle questioning revealed that she hadn’t really eaten anything except a small cup of dry cereal that morning and heaven knows when and how much she ate before the cereal.  That’s when anorexia came to mind.

We hear about anorexia among girls.  As mothers of young girls, we need to be aware and pay attention to possible signs of anorexia.  It starts younger than we think, so don’t immediately dismiss an 8 year old who says: “I don’t want to get fat.”  Naively, I didn’t think that an 11 year old girl would be concerned about being fat.  I guess I was wrong.

Contributed by Chief Princess Mom creating a new line of tween dresses.

We spend a great deal of time developing our daughters’ various talents be they academic, athletic or the arts.  But most  girls are not encouraged to enjoy their natural beauty.  Some parents fear their daughters may become vain or think it just isn’t that important.  I beg to differ. Encouraging her to have a healthy sense of beauty now will not only help to build confidence, but also it will help to give her a life-long healthy perspective on her beauty.

When you start to notice her enhanced relationship with mirrors, I recommend you take a few photos and casually look at them together.  Ask her what she likes about herself in the photo.  You may have to cajole her a bit, but it is worth the effort.  Listen carefully to how she describes herself or what she tells you about herself in the photos. Then offer your opinion highlighting her assets and addressing any negatives she may have shared with you.

The photo conversation opened up a whole lot of topics about healthy beauty for my daughter and me.  We talked about the shape of her face (heart) and some of her features (almond eyes).  Acknowledging her wide forehead, we had a fun time talking about great hairstyles she might want to try.

Start a healthy beauty conversation with your tween daughter.  Help her get comfortable with her features and her natural beauty.  Her approach to beauty standards, how she reacts to peer pressure about her looks, beauty products, and her sense of style all start with the young girl looking into the mirror.  Help her to love the person she sees looking back at her.

Deborah Hernan

Founder, Ottilie & Lulu

http://www.ottilieandlulu.com

Snow drops have pushed through the ground which means that spring is on the way.  In a few weeks families will be getting together to celebrate Passover or Easter.  It’s a time to give thanks for our blessings and spend time with our loved one.  Many will take pictures so you may want to take a few minutes and select something a little extra special for your children to wear.   I still have a fabulous picture of me and my sister resplendent in matching lime green polyester pantsuits. The outfits included a white plastic belt which closed in the shape of a butterfly.  I smile every time I see the picture even if the fashion statement makes me cringe. What can I say…It was the 70s and I was 7!

Nowadays, I prefer something traditional so it can be saved for younger siblings when my older daughter grows out of the outfit. Little girls are easy to shop for.  There are many traditional girls special occasion dresses with peter pan collars and sashes at the waist that will look charming both in person and in photographs. I love the dress in the picture above but then again I designed the dress and had the fabric woven to my specifications.  The dress looks timeless and ensures your children don’t ask the dreaded: “Mother, what were you thinking?”

Unfortunately, many brands only go up to a size 8 for traditional dresses.  But what happens to girls that don’t want to wear a “baby” dress, yet aren’t quite mature enough for an older style.  I’ve found that skirts help bridge the gap quite nicely.  You can pair the skirt with a turtleneck or a cardigan and receive a begrudging nod of approval from the tween in question.  Pants in a plaid or velvet material also look dressy enough for the occasion.  If your heart is set on a dress, I’ve had good success with the Contessa tween dress from A Little Indulgence (my company just to come clear).  The lines are simple and feel grown up. There isn’t a dreaded bow in the back of the dress to turn it into a “baby dress.”  The style is so popular, that I’ve had mothers beg me to start making it in adult sizes.  Whatever outfits you and children decide upon don’t forget to take plenty of pictures.  After all, that’s part of the fun of getting dressed up.

Contributed by

Tracy Young, Chief Princess Mom of A Little Indulgence who wonders if you need Passover or Easter Dresses?