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You are here: Home / STYLE / Fashion / The Zalando Toddler Style Challenge

The Zalando Toddler Style Challenge

August 27, 2013 by Molly 29 Comments

I was minding my own business the other day, pootling around on the computer when a message popped up on Facebook from my mate Alison.

She’s not just any mate, is Alison. She’s a brilliantly stylish magazine journalist who just happens to write one of my favourite blogs – Not Another Mummy Blog.

Anyway, Alison asked if I was up for a bit of a style contest with her, using nothing but my wily mum fashion sense and the huge array of kids clothes on offer at Zalando. Of course I agreed.

So, I bring to you….

Zalando Style-OffIf you’ve never visited Zalando before, be warned – you’ll need at least an hour to peruse the many, many, many different outfits on offer. It took me an hour to eventually choose my three year old’s outfit, so huge was the choice. 

Zalando Style-Off 2

When I’m choosing new clothes for Frog, I have five things I tend to look for:

1) They need to be comfortable

2) They need to be good quality

3) They need to be fun

4) They need to NOT feature a cartoon character

5) They need to be affordable

With all that in mind, this Tootsa MacGinty dress jumped out at me.

Frog already has a pair of Tootsa MacGinty harem leggings, so I know how great quality the clothes from the brand are. Plus, they’re bright, fun and – except for the dresses – non-gender specific, so can be used again if any other bambinos come along who aren’t of the dress variety.

Zalando Style-Off 3

The Tootsa MacGinty St Ives dress was £13 reduced from £28. I teamed it with a pair of cute STUPS high-top trainers for £29 and a Scandi-inspired yellow Kiri scarf for £6 from Finkid, all ordered from the Zalando website.

Zalando Style-Off

Our budget was £50 and the only rule was to stick within the price and choose something for our child and not ourself (harder than it looks).

Given the huge array of outfits on offer, you’d expect Alison and I to go for totally different outfits, right? Wrong.

Yep – we both ended up picking the Tootsa MacGinty St Ives dress! What can I say, the lady has good taste.

We’ve both styled up the dress in a slightly different way though. Head over to Alison’s blog to see what other items she plumped for. And then come back and tell me which one you prefer because, you know, it’s a style contest and all.

 

***

I was provided with a £50 voucher to spend at Zalando for the purpose of this challenge. 

 

Filed Under: Fashion, STYLE Tagged With: clothes, kids fashion, kids style, outfits

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Comments

  1. Attachment Mummy says

    September 11, 2013 at 1:02 pm

    Very cute, love the pattern on her dress!

    Reply
    • Molly says

      September 13, 2013 at 7:27 pm

      I do too – I want one for me!

      Reply
  2. Gill Crawshaw says

    August 28, 2013 at 8:02 am

    Thanks to you (and Alison!) for pointing out that Zalando stock Tootsa MacGinty. I’d completely missed that when I was looking. And thanks for the dress idea, I may also have bought the same one too…:-)

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:38 am

      Yay! It’s a gorgeous dress. And once they get too big for it as a dress then it’ll make a cute t’shirt. Win. x

      Reply
  3. Carolin says

    August 27, 2013 at 10:04 pm

    I love the dress. The colours are amazing. Perfect happy dress. I can really imagine that it cheers you up once it’s grey and wet outside…

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:39 am

      I’m planning to team it with a long-sleeved t’shirt and tights or leggings once the autumn chill kicks in. It’s so cheerful isn’t it?!

      Reply
  4. Pinkoddy says

    August 27, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    What a fantastic outfit and those prices are not to be sniffed at.

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:39 am

      They’re really reasonable – and so many fabulous brands on offer at Zalando. You’re sure to find something you like.

      Reply
  5. Mummy Barrow says

    August 27, 2013 at 12:19 pm

    Do you happen to know, per chance, if they do that dress in ummm adult sizes?

    Asking for a friend.

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:40 am

      They don’t. But… I *may* have already considered stretching the age 3-4 one to see if it fits, um, someone a little bigger.

      Reply
  6. Sim @ Sims Life says

    August 27, 2013 at 10:58 am

    The dress is stunning – love Zalando… may have a look on myself later 🙂 x

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:40 am

      Be warned – you’ll end up on there for ages, so much choice!

      Reply
  7. Emma says

    August 27, 2013 at 10:22 am

    That dress is just gorgeous! Zalando has helped me out here on more than one occasion, great site! 🙂

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:41 am

      It’s brilliant isn’t it? So many brilliant brands on there.

      Reply
  8. HollowYawns says

    August 27, 2013 at 10:06 am

    Makes me wish I has a girl to dress up in cute dresses like this!

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:41 am

      I must admit, I do like choosing girls’ clothes. Mind you, with an opinionated child like mine, I know I won’t have the luxury of choosing her clothes for much longer!

      Reply
  9. Liz Burton says

    August 27, 2013 at 9:38 am

    I adore that dress – does it come in my size?

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:42 am

      Alas no. I reckon we need to start a Tootsa MacGinty adults campaign!

      Reply
  10. Mammasaurus says

    August 27, 2013 at 9:09 am

    I LOVE THAT DRESS! I want it myself!

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:42 am

      Me too!

      Reply
  11. Sonya Cisco says

    August 27, 2013 at 8:44 am

    A gorgeous dress, not surprised you both chose it!! I miss little girls clothes, my 17 year old just won’t let me pick for her anymore. I will have to see what Zalando have got for Toddler boys!

    Reply
  12. MummyNeverSleeps says

    August 27, 2013 at 8:29 am

    Ooh I’m not surprised you and Alison picked the same dress – It’s gorgeous! Love the outfit 🙂

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 27, 2013 at 8:33 am

      It’s a gorgeous dress isn’t it – I want one for me!

      Reply
      • Alison, Not Another Mummy Blog says

        August 27, 2013 at 1:12 pm

        me too!

        Reply
  13. Alison, Not Another Mummy Blog says

    August 27, 2013 at 8:20 am

    LOVE how you styled this – great idea to pick out the yellow. But I vote for ….. MY OUTFIT 😉 (We are allowed to vote, right? Ha!)

    Reply
    • Molly says

      August 27, 2013 at 8:39 am

      Gosh it’s like the X Factor, only far more serious and highbrow…

      Reply
  14. Emma @mummymummymum says

    August 27, 2013 at 8:11 am

    ooooh Frog looks great. i LOVE Zalando. xx

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Children's clothes with Zalando and Tootsa Macginty | says:
    September 10, 2013 at 10:29 am

    […] to hit ‘buy’ on some patterned tights and a lion-face cushion when I read  Alison and Molly‘s reviews and realised I’d completely missed that Tootsa Macginty clothes were stocked […]

    Reply
  2. The Zalando Toddler Style Challenge - Not Another Mummy Blog | Not Another Mummy Blog says:
    August 27, 2013 at 8:22 am

    […] head over to Mother’s Always Right to see the outfit that Molly chose and how she styled it. Been over to have a look? Yes, […]

    Reply

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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Trying this thing where I live in the moment, cele Trying this thing where I live in the moment, celebrate my wins and stop focusing so much on my fails. I’ll let you know how it goes 😬✨🤞
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[Image description: Molly in the bath with pink water, holding a glass of prosecco. She has her eyes closed and is smiling.]
The self-isolation ends today so I’m planning a The self-isolation ends today so I’m planning a hike this weekend with my favourites. I don’t even care if it pours with rain, everyone is grumpy and I can’t open the thermos cos my husband’s screwed the lid on too tight. 
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I’ve missed the outside and it’s only been for two weeks, which feels pathetic to admit given that so many people are trapped at home perpetually, either through lack of accessibility, having to shield, or having little or no support for chronic health conditions or mental illness. 
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I’m so aware of how privileged I am to be able to go outside and stand under the sky on top of a big hill this weekend. I won’t forget it, or lose sight of that, for a minute. ✨
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Hey! Are you a teacher in a school with dwindling Hey! Are you a teacher in a school with dwindling budgets? Or maybe you run a kids’ club or youth group that relies on donations to keep going? Then I’m looking at 💥YOU💥
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On Tuesday November 3rd I’ll be hosting a ✨FREE✨ Body Happy Kids workshop at 2pm. There are 10 places up for grabs and you can apply via the link in my bio. These places are reserved for those that can’t afford the regular sessions (which cost £25 a place / £125 a group).
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It’s a one hour, evidence-based interactive workshop giving an introduction to body image and children, how it intersects with well-being, safeguarding and attainment and what you can do to make your setting a “body happy” one to give kids the best chance to thrive. 
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Tag someone you think could benefit from the opportunity, or let your kids’ school know! (PS there’s a downloadable info doc on the website you can send them for more info 👀) SWIPE ➡️ for testimonials 💕 #BodyHappyKids 
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It’s been a crap day - for no reason other than It’s been a crap day - for no reason other than I’ve hit a wall after 11 days of self-isolation. (Sharing this with the caveat that I know I’m hugely privileged and many others have it far worse, but toxic positivity is a thing and I think it’s important to share the less-than-shiny stuff too, particularly on an app that can trick us into thinking everyone else is living their best life every day.)
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This year I’ve invested a huge amount of time, brain space and emotional energy into a piece of work that recently finished. I expected to feel relief when it was done but instead I feel... weird? Like, a bit bereft, lost, anxious. A bit out of sorts, and not sure what to do with myself. 
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I’ve got zero motivation to start the next big work thing on my list but also finding it super hard to just sit still and give myself some time and space. Plus, self-isolation 😬.
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It’s ok not to be happy all the time. It’s ok to feel the messy stuff. Solidarity if you’re feeling it too. ❤️ #MentalHealthMatters 
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(REPOST: I’m reposting this with just the body-s (REPOST: I’m reposting this with just the body-shaming tweet and without the paparazzi photo of Billie Eilish that accompanied it. Someone rightly pointed out that everyone sharing the photo doesn’t help Billie and on reflection I agree - it just gives more power to the person who took her photo without her permission.)
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[Image description: A graphic showing a tweet which reads “In 10 months Billie Eilish has developed a mid-30s wine mom body. Next to it is a photo of Molly in underwear with the caption “I’m 37, a mum and drink wine. Here’s my glorious body!”]
Self-isolation uniform as standard ✨ (PS She’l Self-isolation uniform as standard ✨ (PS She’ll always be my baby. May she always know how lovely she is 💕)
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