Sophie wears her first dress

People warned us before Sophie was born that with a girl, we'd break the bank buying her clothes just because there's so much more adorable stuff out there for girls. Couple that with parents (ok, a mother...) who love to shop and we've got a serious problem... Like the time before she was born when we spent what was to us a small fortune at the Oliebollen sale, or how instead of a proper birthday present for myself, I ask my sister to get Sophie this reversible pinafore instead... Dresses are the hardest to resist although Sophie hasn't actually worn one since she was born. She was too tiny in summer to wear anything that wouldn't end up looking like a nightgown, but now that's she's a little bigger, the weather's turned chilly. She only wore her first dress this weekend to our friends' Christine and Jason's wedding, and we think she looked exceptionally F-I-N-E :)
The night before, we realized that while Sophie does have several dresses in her wardrobe, none of them were appropriate for both the occasion and the weather. And so we had to make a mad dash to the mall to get her something nice to wear. After whizzing through Baby Gap, Macy's, Gymboree, and The Children's Place, we settled on this chocolate corduroy dress from Baby Gap. It was the fantastic medallion print that sold us on it and we figured we could layer it with a million different coloured-tees because of how bright it is. Which we did- to make the outfit a little more fun, we layered a striped tee underneath and put Sophie in a pair of Babylegs leg-warmers and she was all ready to style the wedding, 39F (4C) or not... :)

I love shopping dresses for Sophie and several things I avoid:
1) whatever makes her look like a poodle (lace, fluff, stiff petticoats underneath);
2) anything too prim and fussy (heavy velvet, sashes, bows and ribbons everywhere, starched collars)- I think children should have fun in their clothes; and
3) anything too pink

Things I look out for:
1) Thoughtful details like a pretty lining and snaps at the shoulders for easy wearing (the clean mod design doesn't hurt either...):


2) Interesting designs (no matter how simple):


3) Vibrant prints (I would buy all of Sophie's clothes off etsy.com if I could):


4) Whimsical fabrics (who says children shouldn't wear black and white?)


I'll be so screwed if Sophie grows up and wants only to wear jeans...