• Baby Bottoms

That’s always the trick with dressing kids. We want them to be comfortable, to be able to run and jump and play, but we also want them to look stylish and put together.   This only gets tougher as they get older — they want more say in what they wear and have their own ideas for what is stylish.

That’s why we started MoxieStyle — a new monthly feature on the website created to help you have the best of both worlds. We’ll show you how to let your kids just be (super-cute) kids, whether they are heading to a play date, school, or a formal occasion. And you’ll never have to stress — since you got their outfits for a steal at Moxie Jean. We carry only the best name brands at prices you’ll love and of course our 100% money back guarantee.

Not sure what Style your kids are? Take our Style Quiz and find out which style(s) your kids look best in. We’d love to feature your favorite looks in an upcoming issue. Send us pictures of your kids dressed in your favorite Moxie Jean outfits at hello@moxiejean.com.

1. Check the big stuff.

2. Check the edges. ALL the edges. We always look extra close at the neckline and snap covers for baby clothing, where spit up stains often take hold, and of course the seat of the pants–outside AND inside. But for kids’ clothing, it’s the edge of the long sleeves (right where they would dip it into their food), and the bottom cuff on the pants that gets dragged along the floor.

3. Look at it in good, natural light. Sometimes you can swear that a white dress is flawless indoors but then stand by a window and a stain magically appears. We always use plenty of bright, natural light that shines into our store to double check everything before purchasing.

4. On polo-style shirts, be wary of the collar. So many times it’s the collar crease on a polo shirt that shows the wear. It’s faded and turned white and worn out. Turn up the collar so you can compare the crease to the fabric around it and make sure it isn’t

5. Know what can be fixed. A replacement for a plain white button is easy enough to find and resew. But a gold heart-shaped button, not so much. A dress hem can be tacked back up in a few minutes but a frayed sweater hem is tougher. We keep our secret weapon–a lint shaver–always on hand with a set of extra batteries. Sometimes, a little pass of the lint shaver over a fleece jacket or a applique on a sweater can make a huge difference!
If you purchase baby and kids’ clothing from Moxie Jean, you can be confident that we have done all these inspections and more before styling it and putting it on our site. But if we ever miss something, you can feel confident that we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all our clothing.

Shop our great selection of high-quality, like new kids’ clothes in sizes Newborn through 8.

I used to trade hand-me-downs with my sister but our kids’ quickly got out of sync in size, and we have different taste for our kids, too (she’s more tea time and I’m a free spirit).

So we started to look into buying gently used kids’ clothing. We quickly found that garage sales and consignment sales were a huge time suck (and time is our most precious asset!) and eBay was like the Wild, Wild West: you don’t know who to trust and you can search for days looking for just one great deal.

We founded Moxie Jean to be the one place you can go for baby and kids clothes that you know will be in great shape, adorable and already put together into outfits so you don’t have to search for days to find what you want. In eBay lingo, we only accept clothing that is NWT (new with tags), NWOT (new without tags) and EUC (excellent used condition). Everything else is donated to charity.

(Image: pulihora CC-by-nd)

(Image: Juhan Sonin - Creative Commons by )

Those frilly dresses and dapper suits are so adorable in teeny, tiny sizes. But do you really need or want that stuff for your newborn?

As a mom of three young kids myself, I can tell you what you should really spend your money and time on when it comes to newborn clothes.

1. Onesies. Mostly you want short-sleeve onesies for layering under outfits and sleepers. Babies aren’t too good at keeping themselves warm (or cool, for that matter. They’re just not too good with body temperature in general). So you need an extra layer between the diaper and the outfit. I think long-sleeve onesies are fine for underneath a jumper or overalls but you don’t want them under a long-sleeve sleeper because it’s too much fabric on their arms, even in winter.

2. Footed Sleepers. Babies mostly sleep for the first few months. And eat. And poop. And then sleep. And you will need to change them several times a day (see the bit about eating and pooping). So most of the time keep them comfy in sleepers. I prefer the kind that have snaps starting at one foot, coming up the leg to the crotch and then going down the other leg. Why? Because front zip or full snap sleepers make you bend their poor baby knee practically in half to get it out of that leg PLUS they leave the baby’s chest bare while you are changing them.

3. Footed rompers. A romper is really just a name for any one-piece outfit. It could have short sleeves and shorts, long sleeves and full legs, or even a snap bottom under a little skirt (my favorite). The point is that there is nothing bunched up or constricting around the baby’s waist, which is key. See, when babies first come home from the hospital, you don’t want anything around the umbilical cord. After that, you will continue to be amazed by how tiny their little waists are and you just don’t want them to be pinched.

P.S. You see how i am repeating that “footed” bit? That’s because baby socks and (God forgive you) shoes are more for your entertainment than anything else. They don’t stay on that poor baby. So stick with footed outfits to keep their tootsies warm, even in the summer.

4. Bibs. Spit up is a frequent and unpredictable occurrence with babies, leaving damp and uncomfortable fabric behind. Bibs help catch those little burps, even between mealtimes, and it is a lot easier to swap out the bib than change the whole outfit. So save yourself headache (and laundry) by stocking up on bibs and keeping one on that sweet baby most of the time.

5. Outfits. If you go to religious services every week and want the baby to impress the crowd every time (which I totally get, my youngest is a complete ham in church), you may want a few. Otherwise, consider that most people will only see them one or two times while they are babies. And your parents will buy a ton of stuff, and so will your friends. I know it’s cute stuff but they will outgrow it in a flash. So get one or two dressier outfits so that you can have something to put on when you go out for lunch with your girlfriends to show off the new baby.

Need some newborn basics?

See Moxie Jean’s collection of great sleepwear for all ages

Newborn boys clothing and 0-3 mos. boys

Newborn girls and 0-3 mos. girls

1) Avoid fussiness around the neck. Lace collars look adorable in the store but are a pain for sensitive newborn skin. You will end up regretting the purchase five minutes after you put in on your precious child. Go for soft collars, or no collars.

2) Think about the opening for the baby’s head. That little newborn head will be floppy and intimidating, especially at first. You don’t want to pull anything over it. Make sure there is a bigger opening for the baby’s head and then snaps or a loose tie to close it up. Jackets that slip on and button up the front are great, but you’ll want a onesie underneath (and underneath sleepers, too). So stock up on plain onesies that you can layer under everything.

3) Go for one-piece outfits. Avoid something that is snug around the waist. When they first come home from the hospital, there will be the umbilical cord to consider. Even when the cord falls off, though, pants feel a little constraining on that tiny body. Pants are okay if they are soft cotton with a very gentle waistband, but avoid jeans or khaki pants until the baby is a little older. One-piece outfits with feet also provide a way to keep the baby’s feet warm without struggling to constantly put those cute but useless socks on.

4) Think of the resale value of clothes. Brands that are higher quality and last longer will have some resale value through services like Moxie Jean or your local consignment sale. Those super-cheap clothes from a big box store might seem like a deal now but they will fade, fall apart after a few washes and won’t be accepted by most secondhand dealers.

5) Save money by buying “like-new” clothing. You can buy higher-quality clothing at the same prices as those “throwaway” brands by shopping for gently used clothing at sites like www.moxiejean.com. Be sure to look for a satisfaction guarantee so that you know a site will stand behind the quality and condition of the clothing it sells.

Buying baby and kids’ clothes is fun, but of course the goal is for the baby to be adorable AND happy. It should be fun to dress the baby, too, so keep these tips in mind to keep baby comfortable!

Image: Nicolas Hoizey (Creative Commons – by sa)

Did you know that our Moxie Jean Style Team selects and styles every individual outfit and groups them together for complementary looks? We take the great clothes we get in and do the work of inspecting, sorting, matching and bundling for you, so that busy moms can get in, get what they need and get out.

From the time they are born, they need diapers, baby food, toys, gear, clothes–clothes! Onesies, sleepers, play clothes, dressy clothes, holiday outfits, bibs, socks. And worst of all, many outfits they only wear two or three times and grow out of.

I love organic, well-made clothes (buying well-made clothes, furniture and other goods is one way to be “green”), but as a mom who tries to avoid conspicuous consumption and who wants to raise my kids to be socially responsible, I have often lamented the cost and waste of kids’ clothes. My sisters and friends and I have passed them around, sharing them as much as possible to distribute the costs among us.

But then I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if there were a central repository where my friends and I could store our good clothes when we don’t need them? Someone who could keep them clean and organized, and send me just the best of the bunch, in the sizes I need, just when I need them?”

And that’s how Moxie Jean came to be.

Moxie Jean (formerly Good Karma Clothing for Kids) allows you to get great clothes from your favorite brands and designers, in the sizes you need, when you need them. We’ve made our site super-easy to navigate so you can get in, get what you need, and checkout in the precious few minutes you have to get things done on any given day.

And best of all? We’re giving you an exit strategy for the clothes your kids have outgrown: just send them back in the prepaid, reusable shipping bag and we will give you credit that you can use to buy the clothes your kids need now. Whether baby basics or boutique brands, you can supplement what you have or build a wardrobe from scratch. It’s the perfect trifecta for busy moms: save time, save money and save the planet.

Thanks for visiting and check back soon for great new clothes and for tales of real motherhood from someone who’s trying (but not always succeeding).