Harajuku Mini for Target- Children's Style!

What a good time to speak about children's fashion, which I've been meaning to do for ages. Harajuku Mini for Target is a little spin-off of Gwen Stefani's popular fun and funky Harajuku line, but for the little ones. It debuted on Sunday, November 13th and nothing in the line is over $30. I've always loved Stefani's style and when she had her first son Kingston, I was LOVING the way she dressed him. Not the traditional cutesy way, but more of like a little hip dude. Then Zuma came along and the same thing. Both of her boys are total style icons when it comes to kids. The line is available in stores only and for those of you who happened to go on Target.com during the Missoni for Target madness, you're probably still scarred for life and grateful for this. The day after Missoni launched I was innocently trying to get on the Target site to look at something un-related and couldn't even get on. WHAT? Missoni totally flattened the website. Out of commission. So, the fact that this new Harajuku Mini line is only available in stores is great for that reason...for those of us who happen to live near a Target, or two or three (like me). Buuut not so great for those who don't since they are basically left deprived of super cool kids fashion. I've never seen an item of Missoni clothing in person, just the signs and the racks filled with Target's Xhiliration clothing that were probably thrown there in desperation after the racks were left bare. Since Harajuku Mini is a kids line and not everyone has kids is most likely the reason why the same thing didn't happen to them.

Sunday I happened to walk by the display in the girls section and fell in love with all the girls clothing, then proceeded to complain that nothing cool is ever for boys, blah, blah blah...the usual rant of a hip mother with a son ;) If I see one more football or animal on boys clothing, I will scream. I guess someone kind of heard, so they started with the skulls, which I HATE on children. That's just me though, I find it weird. Since my son was born, I've been constantly trying to re-invent the wheel when it comes to dressing him. He has to look hip! He has a pair or two of skinny jeans every season since he's been able to walk. But it is definitely not an easy task, and I kind of enjoy that because it forces me to be more creative. Girls stuff is everywhere in abundance, in one store you can get a whole new wardrobe, twice. I have to put pieces together from different stores, always mix and matching. It definitely keeps me busy. Anyway, so last night I was looking up the clothing line on my phone while in bed and realized there are toddler boys items!! I mean, why didn't I think there would be? She has two sons for Pete's sake! So this morning on my way to work, I was a Mom on a mission! I had nightmares last night of tees with soccer balls on them chasing me! So I jumped off the train and went to Target and asked where the boys clothing for the line was...turns out it was in a totally different area from the first display I saw. There were two items I was specifically interested in, and guess what? There was only one of each of them in my son's size! Talk about luck and a sign from above! Shhh, don't judge me. I was in and out of Target in about 10 minutes. Never happens when hubby is with me to actually witness :/

Here is the landing page for the line on the Target website. I absolutely adore the logo, it's a little hamburger! Another fav of mine! :P

The Huffington Post is where I took a look at the lookbook since the Target site didn't seem to have the whole line displayed, click here to see it. 50 looks!

This is what I got my son, the top and the canvas slip-on sneaks.

The top was $20, and I'm still a little bothered by that. I've actually never spent that much on a top for him ever. I think the fact that it was a designer and not only that, Gwen, made me bite the bullet. I'm thinking about $15 would have been better for a long sleeved tee for a toddler, especially since the sneakers were only $17. I didn't see those cute pants. I'll have to check again. I didn't have time this morning and naturally, there were more girls clothes in the line on the racks than boys and they were all mixed together causing me stress. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Which could mean that most mothers snatched them up in complete exuberance, or that there were barely any items for boys to begin with. One thing is for sure though, I got the last 5T in the tee and the last size 11 in the shoes! I hope they fit!!

Here are some other cute looks from the lookbook on Huffington Post.com:


Yes, I would put my son in plaid pants. I didn't see them, hubby will be glad about that.



IN LOVE! Very rasta with the lion and red, gold & green colors!

Adorable. A funky sleeper!

How cute is this? Zebra print?! Come on!

Check out the ruffles on the hips! Too cute!

They also have some accessories like bags and headbands for girls. One plaid hat for boys from what I can see based on the lookbook. Run to Target and check it out!!

Fall Fashion for Less- Wedge Boots with Fold-Over Fur Cuffs **UPDATE**

Updates in red

So I went to Target last night to buy toothpaste for my son and somehow I found myself trying on and buying these:

Mossimo Supply Co. Kamea Wedge Boots

Errr, I went slightly off-track, but $28! I mean, why not? (Don't answer that). Plus, no one told Target to put them on the end-cap for me to notice on the way to the toothpaste aisle! Mind you, I prefer genuine leather and suede in any footwear that I purchase, especially if it is a timeless piece. Trends go by fast, by next year if they're out of style, I wouldn't have invested too much in them. BUT, they have to look good and not like I'm wearing flammable plastic. :/

The boots have that worn leather look and the fur is all the way inside as well. They are very cozy. The fur is in the flap only, but because they were so soft when I first put my foot in, I thought it was all the way through. That's a good thing! You can pull it up or wear it folded over like shown above. I normally wear a 7 1/2, but because of the fur, I bought the 8. Oh, by the way, it was the last size 8 so I had to buy them. I am a little worried that because they aren't genuine leather they won't hold up in wet weather, if at all. The heel is also what is called thermoplastic rubber and not rubber rubber (you know what I mean) and that's another thing I'm a bit skeptical about because it just sounds cheap, doesn't it? We shall see. I chose black because I have enough tan/brown/taupe boots. I haven't actually worn them, so I can't comment on the comfort. But fur + wedge should = comfortable, don't you think? Definitely not a walking shoe. They are a creeper because the fur makes you think comfort, and they are at first, but wedge or not, your foot is still on an incline and slowly but surely, the balls of my feet started hurting me. It probably didn't help that I wore them to run an errand on my lunch break. I have since taken them off at my desk. The rubber is great and provides good shock support though. They are also a nice looking pair of boots.

By the way, do NOT sleep on Target, they are truly the one-stop shop, their fashion is great, especially the designer brands that pop-up every few months. The trick is to wait and get them on clearance on the Target website ;) I always find stuff for myself, hubby and son, even better on sale.

Back to the boots, here are her more expensive siblings:

Aldo Peale, $90, material upper.

I actually prefer the taupe in these

Diba "Flower Girl" at Shoebuy, $120. Suede (I am guessing genuine since the word "faux" didn't preface it).

Rocket Dog's "Bonfire" at Zappos, $95. Faux suede and shearling.
"Francille" by Kelsi Dagger on Piperlime, $120. This is a different look but the same concept.

Now, 2 out of the 4 other boots I posted above are genuine materials and cost 3 times as much as the one I bought. You have to use your noggin when it comes to trends and fashion, it makes so sense spending that much for "faux" anything in my opinion. If genuine is what you want though, you're better off spending the extra $20 for the Diba or Kelsi Dagger pair than saving $20 and getting faux. Or you can buy the Mossimo ones and save that extra $90 altogether and spend it on some more Fall/Winter fashion. It's totally up to you =)

Okay, so I'm a nerd and found the definition of "thermoplastic rubber" on synoprene.com:

"Properties
Light in weight
Colorability
Good tear strength
Excellent abrasion resistant
Excellent dimension stability
Low temperature flexible
Excellent weather resistant
Performs like vulcanized rubber
Reusable and recyclable
Non-migratory
Excellent electrical properties
 
Applications
Superior in quality, the thermoplastic rubber offered by us is used in various industrial applications such as:

Footwear
In footwear industry, thermoplastic rubber is used in the the production of shoes soles, loaters sole, safety shoes sole & industrial shoes sole, sports shoes sole, ski-boot soles, kiddy shoes sole and related decorative accessories, unisole. modifier asphalt, modification modifier for SMC (sheet moulding compound) and other thermoset & thermoplastic composites."

Doesn't sound so bad after all.

Happy shopping!